NOVEMBER 2011
VOLUME 9 NO. 11 inside
24 Keeping track of all the moving parts: interview with D.G. Macpherson BY MITCH MAC DONALD With a catalog of over 1 million products, W. W. Grainger aims to clean up in the facility maintenance market. It’s D.G. Macpherson’s job to keep the orders flowing smoothly.
31 The Florida factor
BY MARK B. SOLOMON
; The Port of Miami has fought an uphill battle to compete with
rivals for Florida-bound international sea freight. The expanded
Panama Canal may level the playing field.
35 Reverse the (hazmat) curse
BY TOBY GOOLEY
Reverse logistics operations are particularly prone to hazmat
violations because employees aren’t always aware they’re handling
hazardous goods. Here’s how to minimize risk to your operation.
39 Taming the trucks
BY PETER BRADLEY
Looking to bring order to a chaotic freight yard? There’s an app
for that.
45 Goodbye, milk runs
BY DAVID MALONEY
With space in short supply, Dutch dairy company
FrieslandCampina was forced to shuttle milk bottled at a Belgian
plant off site for storage. A sophisticated automated warehouse
brought an end to all that.
52 Teaching an old dog new tricks
BY SUSAN K. LACEFIELD
Cookware company Meyer knew that overhauling its poorly
performing palletizer and conveyors could improve productivity at
the dock. What the company didn’t expect was to stumble upon a
whole new use for the equipment.
54 Behind delivering “wow”
BY PETER BRADLEY
When your business is built on stellar service—delivering “wow”—
you can’t afford to stumble. Zappos.com gets the support it needs
from automated handling equipment.
