Dan St. Peter

One of our annual traditions is to help others during the holiday season. The Salvation Army has a program which makes this very easy to accomplish – The \”Angel Tree Program\” Systems in Motion’s employees were happy to give back to the Elgin community this holiday season.  This year we participated in the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree.  We chose 20 kids of various ages and our “elves” went to work shopping for the top item from their wish lists. Between the employees’ donations and a very generous company match, we were left with money to spend with all the angels accounted for.  We quickly contacted the Salvation Army and asked what more we could do. We were informed that the infants can always use some developmental toys and toys to help with walking.  So, the elves hopped in their sleigh again and were off to the store where they filled two carts to the point they were overflowing and filled their sleigh to the roof. It never ceases to amaze us at the willingness and eagerness of our Systems in Motion family to give back to those in need.  We find a problem and work to provide a solution. Helping to give kids a nice Christmas and bring a smile to their face, is a perfect way to end 2020.  If you would like to help support this program, the link below will get you started! https://saangeltree.org/

For the 9th consecutive year, System in Motion has been awarded the MHEDA\’s Most Valuable Partner (MVP) Award. For Immediate Release:December 17th, 2020 System in Motion, Inc. has been awarded the prestigious MVP (Most Valuable Partner) Award for 2021 for their accomplishments in 2020.  For the ninth consecutive year, System in Motion has earned an MVP Award from the industry’s trade association, MHEDA (Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association). Award recipients must satisfy a rigorous set of criteria with less than 10% of the association’s membership earning the award.   As a 2021 MVP, System in Motion has successfully demonstrated a commitment to business excellence, professionalism and good stewardship. To qualify for the annual MVP Award companies are required to provide evidence of their commitment to their partners in business including their customers, employees and suppliers.  They must satisfy criteria in the following important areas: Industry Advocacy Customer Service & Safety Practices Business Networking Continuing Education Business Best Practices

System in Motion Partnered with Alpine Supply Chain Solutions to optimize the Facility Design based on historical order processing data. MJ Holding has been in the trading card distribution business since 1993. Their effective category management process has helped the company expand its retail distribution footprint across 8,000 retail store locations located in the United States and Canada. Their continual growth means that they frequently need to scale to manage additional items, product lines, customers, and eCommerce orders. This led them to outgrow their current facility.MJ Holding first partnered with System in Motion to develop a high-level cost estimate for a new facility and get the project approved. The company originally planned to copy their current facility layout and picking process with slight modifications to adapt to a larger space. But System in Motion brought Alpine Supply Chain Solutions in to perform a Storage Type Analysis (STA) to validate the plan.According to Michael Wohlwend, Managing Principal for Alpine Supply Chain Solutions, “The results of the STA identified what of MJ Holding’s inventory moved too slowly and what percent of it moved too quickly for the planned case flow picking set up, which could result in significant replenishment issues.” A further sensitivity analysis on top moving inventory identified additional changes to the original plan as well. In the end, System in Motion and Alpine used all the data acquired to identify the most appropriate storage location for each item to be stored in MJ Holding’s new facility. “The combination of System in Motion’ equipment and installation expertise and Alpine’s data-centric approach powered by Optricity’s OptiSlot DC™ (OptiSlot) Software, allowed us to learn important details about our business that we incorporated into the design and layout of our new facility,” said Mark Zabloudil, MJ Holding’s COO. “We expect the new design and layout will help us to not only increase overall picking velocity, but balance labor, and increase replenishment productivity.” About MJ Holding LLC Company:  MJ Holdings is the largest North American distributor of trading cards (including gaming, sports, and entertainment), related trading card supplies, collectibles, toys, and hot trend items. The company provides retail supply chain management and specializes in category planning, planogram development, initial distribution, replenishment, and modular merchandising for their retail partners. Additionally, they support manufacturers who are looking for retail distribution of their products. About Alpine Supply Chain Solutions:  Based in Chicago, IL, Alpine is a supply chain consulting company driven to ensure their clients get the most value from their investments. Their approach to every project starts with the data and ends with a cost justifiable solution. With deep roots in industrial engineering, Alpine’s approach is unique. About System in Motion:  System in Motion works as an integration partner for automated material handling and storage systems for the supply chain industry. We focus on understanding the customer’s process and project expectations, then selecting the best equipment required to meet those needs. We build relationships one solution at a time. About Optricity Software:  Optricity creates and supports warehousing analysis, optimization and performance improvement software. To develop its solutions, including the highly acclaimed warehouse slotting application, OptiSlot DC™, Optricity utilizes a blend of warehousing domain expertise, advanced mathematics and software engineering skills. The Platform of planning solutions includes slotting, profiling, integration, simulation, @Ease Warehousing Technologies™ and the Moves Conductor™ for warehousing operations.

System in Motion is proud to pass on the Hytrol System in Motion Company\’s plan to open a second facility to expand production capacity. Hytrol Conveyor to Establish Second Facility to Expand Production Capacity Today, Hytrol conveyor announced a second facility to open in June 2021. System in Motion is very proud to pass on this announcement to our customers. 10-19-20 –  Hytrol To Establish Second Facility to Focus on Parcel Production.   As we all know, 2020 has been a UNIQUE year (at least we hope so). The entire globe, our country and economy have faced threats and challenges none of us have ever experienced. Hytrol has been blessed and proud to play a key role in providing solutions to keep our country moving forward despite these unprecedented times. We are grateful for our integration partners and their customers for the opportunity to contribute to that effort, which follows several years of strong growth. We are especially thankful to all of the first tier Hytrol Family Members who’ve answered the call to design, build, ship and maintain the Hytrol conveyors that help keep products flowing to companies and doorsteps across this land. As you know, this confluence of increased demand in the midst of a pandemic has not come without problems. Our response has sometimes not met the high standards Tom Loberg laid out for us over 75 years ago. We’ve created uncomfortable strain on many of the relationships that we have worked hard to cultivate over the years. We don’t expect any let-up in demand and recognize we must respond with substantive measures to enhance our abilities. This message provides details regarding a significant step forward in resolving these issues and demonstrating our core value of commitment to everyone in the industry and community who trusts Hytrol. We are excited to announce that we will be setting up a second production facility outside of Jonesboro. We are investing $20M to create this new operation, and we expect to establish 200 full time jobs by the end of the first year of production. Over the last several months, many of our leaders worked diligently with the assistance of outside experts to develop a plan. They conducted an in-depth analysis of capacity constraints, growth projections, potential site locations, equipment needs, staffing requirements, and a timeline for operational effectiveness. That analysis led to the conclusion that a new location was the best option. Our Board of Directors and the Loberg Family have approved this plan, and our team has begun the work of implementation with an anticipated start date of the first part of 2021 with a rapid ramp-up. While we know the “what” and the “when” we haven’t made a final decision on the “where”. We anticipate announcing our final choice before the end of the year. We want to emphasize this new facility is in addition to Jonesboro, which will remain as our headquarters. We love Jonesboro – it’s our home. This is about growth, not shuffling jobs around. Our expectation is that the number of employees in Jonesboro will remain the same or even continue to grow. The focus will be to streamline operations in both locations and give our home facility the ability to leverage its strength in building our standard product. The second facility is being purposely designed for our parcel product line in order to have the capacity to meet the growing demand. Hytrol would like to thank all of our integration partners, customers, suppliers, and community members for the continued support. We are always working on improving our entire business and living out our core values. We believe the addition of this second production facility will greatly enhance Hytrol’s ability to continue providing the best solutions to the material handling industry through the largest network of industry experts. Sincerely, David A. Peacock President Hytrol System in Motion Company, Inc.  

Is your Receiving Area an ongoing issue? Does the thought of staffing a container to be unloaded, sorted, organized and staged for storage keep you up at night? Unloading Solutions Over the last 24+ years we have helped our customers improve their receiving operations.  We started to see trends in some basic common solutions.  Although each actual solution has some individuality, they can basically be broken down into 4 levels based on product, volume, and cost. Contact one of our knowledgeable Sales Engineers to develop a solution specific to your needs.

With all the changing targets and ideas, We have developed our TOP 10 list of specific actions to implement to help return to work safely. As some states start to loosen their “lock down” status in response to the pandemic we find ourselves getting back to work in a much different environment.  We realize we must get back to work to jump start the US economy and provide for our families.  There are a lot of questions in regards to how we get back to work.  Where do we start in regards to allowing us to be productive but still adhere to social distancing requirements?  Here are the top 10 ideas (actually 11) based on our experience in the industry to help you get back to business in this “new norm”.  Each item is a link to a more in-depth blog on each action. Safety and Hygiene Reconfigure your Production lines Workstation Barriers Goods to Person Order Fulfillment Automated Materials Delivery – Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) Automate Repetitive Tasks – Collaborative Robots (Cobots) Manage Operator Pick Paths or Re-slot your SKUs Facility Entry Cage Hands Free Operation Technology Conveyor Rentals  Dividing Shifts to reduce density of workers –  Dividing shifts can be a complex process based on each facilities processes. If this can be done and remain efficient, your process will direct you for the unique steps to take. We can help you implement any of the ideas above to get your operation back up and running!  System in Motion, Inc. is dedicated to making our customers successful.  We do this by building our team around our core values: Integrity Optimistic and Growth Oriented “Make It Happen” Passionate and Enthusiastic “Own It” Creative Problem Solver Systems in Motion Purpose: “Building Relationships One Solution At A Time”

Using a few simple components, you can easily reconfigure your production layout to help keep workers at a safe distance 2. Reconfigure your production layout Using flexible extendable conveyors allows you to quickly and efficiently rearrange your production floor to spread out operators and allow for social distancing.  This style of conveyor is relatively inexpensive and can be redeployed for other uses at a later time.   In stock materials are available at TheFlexibleConveyor.com. Another option is to distance operators on production lines you already have in place by lengthening or reconfiguring your existing conveyors and/or workstations.

Keeping operators at safe distances is not always easy. Using barriers will help improve the ability to keep workers safe. #3 Workstation Barriers If rearranging your layout is not a good option, see-through barriers can be added to your work area to help isolate operators from each other.  Several different styles of barriers exist from ones that mount to conveyors or workstations as well as portable panels that can be deployed throughout the plant.  Wirecrafters has a product developed for this specific application. Portable Panels Link  

Reduce the operator interaction by utilizing Autonomous Mobile Robots to move material from one location to another Automated Materials Delivery – Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) Do you have a lot of repetitive material handling in your process?  Are your operators manually moving products throughout your facility?  An Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) can help reduce the human movement and therefore potential threat of contamination.  These types of technologies are collaborative with AI style interfaces.  It is also a great way to reduce non-value added movement and increase overall efficiency.