DC Velocity - June 2017

IN LATE 2015, SAN RAMON, CALIF.-BASED OMRON Adept Technologies Inc. faced a major logistics challenge: how to move the entire shipping process for the company’s industrial robots in-house. In the past, the task had been outsourced to a third-party logistics service provider (3PL). But following the robot maker’s acquisition earlier that year (Adept Technologies was acquired in October 2015 by Omron Management Center of America Inc., a subsidiary of Japan’s Omron Corp.), a decision had been made to handle shipping internally.

Problem was, there would be more to the transition than a simple handoff of responsibilities. There were regulatory implications as well. Omron Adept’s robots (like the Lynx model shown here) run on large-format lithium ion batteries, which are considered dangerous goods for transport purposes. That meant the company’s staff would not only have to get up to speed on shipping but also be trained to comply with stringent hazmat transport regulations.

As any hazmat specialist knows, dangerous goods trans-
port is a high-stakes endeavor. If a company fails to pack-
age, label, mark, or document its shipments properly,
it could face fines or penalties. Given the consequences,
Omron Adept decided to bring in professional help. On the
recommendation of a freight forwarder,
the company contracted with Labelmaster
Services for consulting support. Chicago-
based Labelmaster specializes in helping
companies—large and small—comply
with the complex and ever-changing reg-
ulations governing dangerous goods/haz-
ardous materials.

What tipped the choice in Labelmaster’s favor was the depth of its offerings, according to Wes Watson, director of logistics for Once the deal was struck, things moved quickly. Labelmaster’s first step was to conduct an audit of its

Faced with the need to transfer its shipping process in-house and train its staff on hazmat transport regulations, Omron Adept Technologies got the support it needed from Labelmaster. Global robot maker brings shipping back in house, with a little help from its (consultant) friends

opments, problems, and opportunities that could impact or disrupt their own operations. For example, information about a typhoon threatening a manufacturing site in Taiwan would alert managers in other countries that they could have trouble getting components from that location, allowing them to proactively line up alternative sources and shipping routes.

According to Flex, the data-visualization and collabo-
ration system has allowed its supply chain organization
to remove a total of 24 hours of decision-making from a
three- to four-week business cycle. The manufacturer also
credits the system with helping it avoid millions of dollars
per month in costs related to supply chain disruptions and
inventory problems.