MIS

Final Project

IT in Business and Life

Submitted by:
Group 2, Section A
Ankit
Lalwani

15PGP007
15PGP055

Venkateshw
15PGP121
ar J
15PGP013
TanehaVer
ma
15PGP017
Santosh D

15PGP037

Let us first see

How IT changes our lives

So many new technologies have appeared in the past half century that its
impossible to list them all. But these 10 high-tech breakthroughs stand out over
the last 50 years because theyve revolutionized the way Americans live. We
look back at their beginnings, as well as where theyve taken us today.

1. The Internet.
This one seems like a no-brainer, but the Nets unique strength is that no
two people will agree on why its so important. The worlds largest and
most unruly library, its also a global news channel, social club, research
archive, shopping service, town hall, and multimedia kiosk. Add to that
the most affordable mass medium ever, and a curse to anyone with a
secret to keep. Three-fifths of Americans now use the Net, but it remains
to be seen whether the connections to one another will transform us, or
prove that well never change.
2. Genetic engineering.
Everyone knows Watson and Crick, who unraveled the secret of DNA in
1953. But have you heard of Boyer and Cohen, who constructed the first
organism with combined DNA from different species in 1973? They
inserted toad genes into a bacterium that then replicated itself over and
over, passing the toads genetic code down through generations of
bacteria. Thirty years later, an estimated 70 percent of processed foods
contain genetically modified ingredients, such as soybeans or corn
engineered for higher crop yields. Of course, the much bigger potential
good and bad is in engineering humans. It might prevent birth
defects, and diseases later in life. But the side effects could be disastrous
and unknown. Is there an ethical way to beta-test human beings?

3. Digital media.

The camera doesnt lie went a saying not heard much since the release
of Photoshop 1.0 in 1990. Digitized audio, pictures, movies, and text let
even an amateur edit reality or conjure it from scratch with a
keyboard and a mouse. A singers bad notes, a models blemishes, or an
overcast sky in a movie scene can be fixed as easily as a spelling error.
Just as important, digital media can be copied over and over nearly for
free, stored permanently without fading, and sent around the world in
seconds. It rightly worries the movie and music industries, but how do
you put the genie back in the bottle if theres no bottle anymore?

4. Personal computers.
Before IBM recast the desktop computer from hobbyists gadget to office
automation tool in 1983 followed by Apples people-friendly
Macintosh a year later a minicomputer was the size of a washing
machine and required a special air-conditioned room. But the trained
technicians who operated the old mainframes already knew computers
were cool: They could use them to play games, keep diaries, and trade
messages with friends across the country, while still looking busy. Today,
thanks to the PC, we all look busy.

5. Space flight.
Americans from 50 years ago would be disappointed to learn we never
went further than the Moon no Mars colony, no 2001 odyssey to
Jupiter, no speed-of-light spaceships. Even the Shuttle is in trouble. But
the space race against the Russians that dominated the national psyche
(and a good chunk of the budget) in the 60s and 70s pushed the
development of hundreds of enabling technologies, including synthetic
fibers and integrated computer circuits, necessary to fly men to the Moon
and back. And the astronauts brought back a lesson from space: We saw
the earth the size of a quarter, and we realized then that there is only one
earth. We are all brothers.

6. Mobile phones.

The idea for cellular phone service dates back at least to 1947, but the
first call was made from the sidewalk outside the Manhattan Hilton in
1973 by Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher who rang up his rival at
AT&T Bell Labs to test the new phone. Thirty years later, more than half
of all Americans own one and cellular networks are beginning to serve
Internet access at broadband speeds through thin air.

7. Nuclear power.
When the Queen herself threw the switch on the worlds first atomic
power plant at Calder Hall outside London in 1956, nuclear reactors were
seen as a source of cheap, pollution-free energy. But a partial meltdown
in 1979 at the Three Mile Island reactor in Pennsylvania soured
Americans on nukes as safe power. Nonetheless, the United States today
has about 100 active plants that generate 20 percent of the countrys
electricity second only to coal as a source of power and have been
steadily increasing their capacity. Will the next 50 years bring a better
alternative?

8. Electronic funds transfer.

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco set up a paperless transfer
system with the Los Angeles branch in 1972. By the end of the decade,
instantaneous transfers of millions of dollars in value between banks,
insurance companies and other financial institutions had become
common. The real appeal of EFT today is its trickle down to the
individual: You get grab cash from your bank account anywhere in the
world, and use PayPal to buy and sell stuff on eBay without sending
money or checks through the mail.

9. Robots and artificial intelligence.

The term robot was coined by Czechoslovakian playwright Karel
Capek in 1920 robota being a Czech word for tedious labor but
the first real industrial robot was built in 1954 by George Devol. Five
years later, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology founded its

Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in a quest to mechanically mimic

human minds as well as hands. Today, robots assemble products better,
faster and often cheaper than manual laborers, while more than 8 million
U.S. airline flights a year are scheduled, guided and flown with the
superhuman assistance of advanced software. Still, some Americans eye
such systems with the cynical view of novelist Kurt Vonnegut, whose
1952 story Player Piano warned that the machines might leave people
without a purpose or a job.

10.Organ transplants.
In 1954, Dr Joseph Murray removed the kidney from one human patient
and implanted it in another. The recipient accepted the kidney as its own
rather than rejecting it as a foreign body. It was more than skillful
surgery: Murray had chosen a pair of identical twins, Ronald Herrick and
his terminally ill brother Richard, in hopes their similar genetic makeup
would reduce the likelihood of Richards body rejecting Ronalds liver.
Soon afterward, though, other researchers developed drugs that could
squelch a transplant recipients immune system long enough for the new
organ to become incorporated into its new body. Today, some 25,000
Americans a year receive a new heart, kidney, liver, lung, pancreas or
intestine and a new lease on life.

Google Crisis Response

Google Crisis Response is a team within Google.org that "seeks to make
critical information more accessible around natural disasters and humanitarian
crises". The team has responded in the past to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, 2010
Pakistan floods, 20102011 Queensland floods, February 2011 Christchurch

earthquake, and the 2011 Thoku earthquake and tsunami among other
events, using Google resources and tools such as Google Maps, Google
Earth, Google Person Finder, and Google Fusion Tables.
Google Crisis Response organizes emergency alerts and news updates relating
to a crisis and publishes the information on its web properties or dedicated
landing pages. It also provides opportunities for donation in collaboration with
agencies like UNICEF, Save the Children, International Medical Corps, and
local relief-providing bodies. Google also builds and provides tools to help
crisis responders and affected people communicate and stay informed, such
as Google Person Finder, Google Crisis Map, Google Public Alerts,Google
Maps, Google Earth, Google Fusion Tables, Google Docs, and Google Sites.
Google Crisis Response organizes emergency alerts and news updates relating
to a crisis and publishes the information on its web properties or dedicated
landing pages. It also provides opportunities for donation in collaboration with
agencies like UNICEF, Save the Children, International Medical Corps, and
local relief-providing bodies. Google also builds and provides tools to help
crisis responders and affected people communicate and stay informed, such
as Google Person Finder, Google Crisis Map, Google Public Alerts,Google
Maps, Google Earth, Google Fusion Tables, Google Docs, and Google Sites.

Tools
Google Person Finder
Google Person Finder helps in locating missing persons. It acts as a message
board for survivors, families and friends of those affected in a natural disaster
by putting in live updates about missing persons. During the 2011 Thoku
earthquake and tsunami, several Japanese family members were able to locate
each other using Google Person Finder.]
Google Maps
Google Maps supplies critical crisis information to the public through search
engines. It is used to provide crisis information such as road closure, areas
covered in debris, roads which are passable, and resources such as for
emergency medical stations. Using the My Map feature, KPBS, a broadcast
station, created a map which provided real-time updates on the San Diego
wildfires in 2007. The map received more than two million views within a
couple of days. Google Maps was used to track the path of Hurricane
Irenewhich hit the US eastern coast in August 2011. Besides mapping, Google
Maps also displayed 3-5 day forecasts for Hurricane Irene, showed evacuation

routes, and marked out the coastal areas of the which were in the danger of the
impending storm surge.
Google Earth
Google Earth is a virtual globe that allows extensive customization with editing
tools to draw shapes, add text, and integrate live feeds for information on
earthquakes, cyclones, landslides, and oil spills as they occur. During the 2010
Haiti earthquake, International Medical Corps and Doctors Without
Borders used the Google Earth application to track response efforts and
visualise cholera case origins.
Google Fusion Tables
Google Fusion Tables is an application which gathers, visualises, and shares
data online with response organisations and constituents. It instantly visualises
the data ranging from shelter lists to power outages in the form of maps and
charts. It also helps in playing a crucial role in crisis decision making by
identifying data patterns. During the 2011 riots in London, this application was
used in creating maps which showed indices of deprivation and riot locations.
Google Sites
Google Sites facilitates creation and updates of a website with critical response
information available from anywhere in the globe at any point of time. Its
highlight being that it can be created or updated without the help of web
developers or any knowledge of HTML programming making it easier to use. A
variety of information can be put up like forms to collect information, videos of
the crisis, photos of the devastation, and maps that protect important natural
resources and that help in search and rescue operations. Save the Children, an
independent organization involved in rescue of children in case of natural
calamities, has been regularly using this application.

Past responses:
Uttarakhand
flooding, July
15,
2013
After heavy flooding in Uttarakhand, Google worked with responders on the
ground to launch a crisis map with road information, and the locations of relief
camps and medical centers.
Alberta
flooding, June
22,
2013
As flooding continues to affect Alberta, the Google Crisis Response team has
launched a new crisis map with emergency-related information.
Oklahoma
tornadoes, May
24,
2013
In response to the devastating 2-mile wide tornado that struck the Oklahoma
City region, Googles Crisis Response team launched a crisis map for the event,
which includes Red Cross shelters, traffic alerts, storm reports and other
information.
Boston
bombings, April
15,
2013
In response to the bombing of the Boston marathon, Google launched Person
Finder to help those affected find and reconnect with friends and loved ones
Jakarta
flooding, Jan.
17,
2013
The Google Crisis Response team assembled a response page and crisis map to

track the flooding in Jakarta, and provide information and emergency resources
to those affected.
Typhoon
Pablo, Dec.
3,
2012
The Google Crisis Response team has assembled a Typhoon Pablo crisis map to
help track the storms progress and provide updated emergency information.
Hurricane
Sandy, Oct.
31,
2012
Hurricane Sandy hits New York and moves up the East Coast, causing
widespread damage
Philippine
floods, Aug.
1,
2012
Over 100 die in floods, affecting more than 2.4 million people in 144
municipalities.
Russia
floods, July
1,
2012
Flash floods caused by torrential rain swept the southern Russian Krasnodar
region, killing 144 people
U.S.
wildfires, July
1,
2012
at least 19 major wildfires burning across the western United States, including
one of the largest blazes in the history of New Mexico.
Indonesia
earthquake, April
1,
2012
Magnitude 6.6 earthquake centered 60 miles (100 kilometers) southwest of the
city of Medan hits Indonesia
Turkey
Earthquake, Oct.
Magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck eastern Turkey
Thailand
Floods, Oct.
Thailands worst flooding in 50 years

23,

2011

13,

2011

Philippine
floods, Oct.
1,
Hundreds killed after flooding from Tropical Storm Washi

2011

Hurricane
Irene, June
1,
Large Atlantic that hurricane hit the eastern United States

2011

Japan
Earthquake
and
Tsunami, March
11,
2011
Massive earthquake off the coast of Japan caused significant damage and
tsunami flooding

Christchurch
Earthquake, Feb.
Magnitude 6.3 earthquake in New Zealand

22,

2011

Australia
Floods, Jan.
12,
2011
The worst flooding in 35 years threatened millions of people in Queensland and
surrounding areas
Brazil
Floods
and
Landslides, Jan.
11,
Rains in the state of Rio de Janeiro caused landslides and flooding

2011

San
Bruno
Fires, Sept.
10,
2010
Raging fires in Northern California destroyed and damaged 150 structures and
caused several fatalities
Pakistan
Floods, July
26,
2010
Heavy monsoon rains caused the worst flooding in Pakistan's history, impacting
more than 21 million people
Deepwater
Horizon
Oil
Spill, July
20,
2010
Oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico caused 100,000 barrels of oil to be spilled into
the ocean
Chile
Earthquake, Feb.
27,
Magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck the coast of central Chile

2010

Haiti
Earthquake, Jan.
12,
Magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck near the capital city of Port Au Prince

2010

Lockheed Wildfire of Santa Cruz, California, Aug. 12, 2009

Several wildfires in the mountains of California burned more than 7,000 acres
LAquila
Earthquake, April
6,
Magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck in Italy and resulted in 380 deaths

2009

Red
River
Floods, March
9,
2009
Flooding from the Red River affected Fargo, the most populous city in North
Dakota, United States
Hurricane
Ike, Sept.
1,
Category 2 hurricane struck Galveston, Texas, United States

2008

Hurricane
Gustav, Aug.
25,
2008
The second most destructive storm of 2008 caused damage and casualties from
Haiti to the United States

Sichuan
Earthquake, May
12,
Magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck the Sichuan Province in China

2008

Cyclone
Nargis, May
2,
2008
The deadliest cyclone to impact Myanmar in recorded history killed over
140,000 people
California
Wildfires, Oct.
23,
2007
Devastating wildfires burned more than 375,000 acres of land and evacuated
over 350,000 homes
Hurricane
Katrina, Aug.
29,
2005
One of the deadliest hurricanes in the history of the US killed over 1,800 people
and caused the evacuation of many homes in the Gulf Regio

Traditional Supply Chains

A supply chain (SC) is also a network of facilities and distribution options that
functions to procure materials, transform these materials into intermediate and
finished products, and distribute these finished products to customers.
Supply chains exist in both service and manufacturing organisations, although
the complexity of the chain may vary greatly from industry to industry and firm
to firm. Realistic supply chains have multiple end products with shared
components, facilities and capacities. The flow of materials is not always along
an arborescent network; various modes of transportation may be considered,
and the bill of materials for the end items may be both deep and large.

Traditionally, marketing, distribution, planning, manufacturing, and the

purchasing of organisations along the supply chain operate independently. These
organisations have their own objectives and they are often conflicting.
Marketing's objectives of high customer service and maximum sales dollars
conflict with the manufacturing and distribution goals. Many manufacturing
operations are designed to maximize throughput and lower costs with little
consideration for the impact on inventory levels and distribution capabilities.
Purchasing contracts are often negotiated with very little information beyond
historical buying patterns. The result of these factors is that there is not a single,
integrated plan for the organisation. Clearly, there is a need for a mechanism
through which these different functions can be integrated together. Supply chain
management is a strategy through which such an integration can be achieved.
Supply chain management is typically viewed to lie between fully vertically
integrated firms, where the entire material flow is owned by a single firm, and
where each channel member operates independently. (Houlihan 1985) is
credited with first coining the term supply chain, but it seems that researchers
have varying interpretations of exactly what managing a supply chain means.
The common thread in any definition is that supply chain management seeks to
integrate performance measures over multiple firms or processes, rather than
taking the perspective of a single firm or process.

A supply chain is an integrated manufacturing process wherein raw materials

are converted into final products, then delivered to customers. At its highest
level, a supply chain is comprised of two basic, integrated processes: (1) the
Production Planning and Inventory Control Process, and (2) the Distribution
and Logistics Process. These processes, illustrated below in figure, provide the
basic framework for the conversion and movement of raw materials into final
products.

The Production Planning and Inventory Control Process encompasses the

manufacturing and storage sub-processes, and their interface(s). More
specifically, production planning describes the design and management of the
entire manufacturing process (including raw material scheduling and
acquisition, manufacturing process design and scheduling, and material
handling design and control). Inventory control describes the design and
management of the storage policies and procedures for raw materials, work-inprocess inventories, and usually, final products.
The Distribution and Logistics Process determines how products are retrieved
and transported from the warehouse to retailers. These products may be
transported to retailers directly, or may first be moved to distribution facilities,
which, in turn, transport products to the retailers. This process includes the
management of inventory retrieval, transportation, and final product delivery.
These processes interact with one another to produce an integrated supply chain.
The design and management of these processes determine the extent to which
the supply chain works as a unit to meet the required performance objectives.

The supply chain in figure consists of five stages. Generally, multi-stage models
for supply chain design and analysis can be divided into four categories, by the
modeling approach. In the cases included here, the modeling approach is driven
by the nature of the inputs and the objective of the study. The four categories
are: (1) deterministic analytical models, in which the variables are known and
specified, (2) stochastic analytical models, where at least one of the variables is

unknown, and is assumed to follow a particular probability distribution, (3)

economic models, and (4) simulation models.
Williams presents seven heuristic algorithms for scheduling production and
distribution operations in an assembly supply chain network (i.e., each station
has at most one immediate successor, but any number of immediate
predecessors). The objective of each heuristic is to determine a minimum-cost
production and/or product distribution schedule that satisfies the final product
demand. The total cost is a sum of the average inventory holding and fixed
(ordering, delivery, or setup) costs. Finally, the performance of each heuristic is
compared using a wide range of empirical experiments, and recommendations
are made on the bases of solution quality and network structure.
Williams develops a dynamic programming algorithm for simultaneously
determining the production and distribution batch sizes at each node within a
supply chain network. As in Williams ,it is assumed that the production process
is an assembly process. The objective of the heuristic is to minimize the average
cost per period over an infinite horizon, where the average cost is a function of
processing costs and inventory holding costs for each node in the network.
Ishii et al. develop a deterministic model for determining the base stock levels
and lead times associated with the lowest cost solution for an integrated supply
chain on a finite horizon. The stock levels and lead times are determined in such
a way as to prevent stockout, and to minimize the amount of obsolete (dead)
inventory at each stock point. Their model utilizes a pull-type ordering system
which is driven by, in this case, linear (and known) demand processes.
Cohen and Lee present a deterministic, mixed integer, non-linear mathematical
programming model, based on economic order quantity (EOQ) techniques, to
develop what the authors refer to as a global resource deployment policy.
More specifically, the objective function used in their model maximizes the total
after-tax profit for the manufacturing facilities and distribution centers (total
revenue less total before-tax costs less taxes due). This objective function is
subject to a number of constraints, including managerial constraints (resource
and production constraints) and logical consistency constraints (feasibility,
availability, demand limits, and variable non-negativity). The outputs resulting
from their model include :
Assignments for finished products and subassemblies to manufacturing plants,
vendors to distribution centers, distribution centers to market regions.

 Amounts of components, subassemblies, and final products to be shipped

among the vendors, manufacturing facilities, and distribution centers.
Amounts of components, subassemblies, and final products to be
manufactured at the manufacturing facilities.
Moreover, this model develops material requirements and assignments for all
products, while maximizing after-tax profits.

Store Locations And New Technology

There are many factors to take into consideration when opening a new
warehouse facility. From location and build to storage requirements and labor
force availability, making the right choices in regards to both warehousing and
distribution methods could make all the difference for your company. While the
below are what we consider the most important, this list is certainly not allinclusive.
Physical Location
When deciding on which warehouse to use, choosing the one with the best
physical location is important. The first question to ask yourself is, which region
are you looking to serve? Ensuring your product is stored in a region near your
customers is important for prompt deliveries. This also factors into considering
cost. Calculating landed transportation costs to facility from manufacturing, and
expected transportation costs from facility to end customer, will help decide
where you can afford to keep your product.
The locations proximity to carrier facilities should also be taken into account.
Look for an all-encompassing solution that offers both warehousing and
transportation to get the most bang for your buck, or ensure your storage facility
is as close to your carrier as possible.
Build/Lease Considerations

After you decide which warehouse best fits your needs, you must take into
consideration the locations build and lease parameters. Does the warehouse
offer rail siding or transloading? Will racked or bulk storage be offered, and
what suits your needs best?
Just the same, plan to consider what type of rental contract your warehouse
offers. If youre a seasonal product it might make the most sense to find a
location that offers seasonal warehousing. Or, if your products demand ebbs
and flows, can the location youve chosen offer more or less space depending
on the time of year? Ensure youre properly informed of immediate square
footage storage offerings in addition to the long-term options available.

Storage Requirements
From hazardous materials, flammable product and food items, many companies
manufacture products that have strict storage and firefighting requirements. Is
the location youve chosen properly suited to handle your unique needs? And
how will they handle the different requirements for products that require a
chemical/foam system versus a water based system? Always be sure to also take
any environmental concerns into consideration, are there any streams, ponds,
etc. in close proximity? Asking these questions now will help you avoid disaster
later.
Labor Force Availability
Fully understand the labor force available at your new warehouse location.
Knowing your labor needs and seeing how they stack up against the facilitys is
essential to ensure on-time delivery and future growth. Will the warehouse
facility operate 2nd and 3rd shift (24 hour operation)? Are there competing
businesses in proximity that will become a barrier to growth by limiting
available labor capacity?
By taking the time to consider the above, you can limit frustration and ensure
youve found the perfect fit for both you and the warehouse youre selecting.
GOING BEYOND PRICE

While price is a mantra chanted by most real estate brokersand price is

importantthe most critical elements for selecting a warehouse location are not
price-sensitive. Additional critical characteristics to consider include:

Layout
Flow
Size
Cubic capacity
Ability to integrate materials handling equipment
Staging
Truck access
Trailer storage
Turning lanes
Freeway access
General location

Companies deciding where to locate a warehouse must often turn to outside

experts to help them make an effective choice. Perceptions about where to
locate are often incorrect, so companies may choose to rely on a broker who
knows an individual submarket, and can guide them in the right direction.
A pertinent example is what takes place in the Los Angeles marketplace. Most
businesses that plan to operate a warehouse for goods distribution in Southern
California assume that it makes sense to locate near the ports. After all, if you
minimize drayage costs, then overall costs of processing goods should be lower.
But that is not necessarily the case.
In a market such as Los Angeles, the questions that companies should ask
themselvesbut often don'tinclude:

How much space do we need?

Where do we need the space?

How many containers per week, month, or year will we ship through this
facility?

CONSIDER SUBMARKETS

Businesses looking to locate in the Los Angeles market may find that one
submarket works better than another, assuming other location factors don't skew
the determination one way or another.
Let's use Company X as an example. It needs 200,000 square feet of warehouse
space and wants to locate in the Los Angeles Basin. The company expects to
receive 250 40-foot containers per month. Drayage rates in the port area are
approximately $132 per container; drayage 50 miles from the port area costs
$220 per container.
The company is represented by a national brokerage firm, and is working on an
exclusive basis with a lead agent in the market where it wants to locate the
warehouse. Because the leading brokerage companies are located in major
markets such as Los Angeles, this formula works well.
The lead agent has worked with Company X for years and has its utmost
confidence. But because Company X has already stated a preference for a port
location, and because major brokerage companies require agents to refer
business internally, the lead agent refers the business to a credible agent who
works the port area for the company.
The port agent gets a slightly better-than-market deal for Company Xabout
$7.20 per square foot per year. The client is pleased with the transaction because
of the excellent price, and the brokerage team is pleased because they
completed a transaction effectively and demonstrated their credibility to the
client.

COMPARE TOTAL COSTS

So what is wrong with this picture?
When deciding where to locate a warehouseoutside of labor, utilities, taxes,
economic incentives, and other factors that have a minor effect on a transaction
it is imperative for a company to compare the total real estate and drayage
costs for various areas at required velocity levels.
In the general Los Angeles market, for example, a Class-A, port-area building
leases for about $7.20 per square foot per year, although rents in Southern

California are quoted monthly. A similar building in the Ontario, Calif.,

submarket leases for $4.80 per square foot per year on the same basis.
The container velocity break-even point for a company considering a location in
the Los Angeles port area is approximately 455 containers per month at today's
pricing.
Consequently, if a company has container velocity greater than 455 containers
per month, it clearly needs to be located near the port, and will require a
substantially different building design and land area to facilitate that throughput.
Company X could have saved $216,000 a year in combined rent and drayage by
locating in the Ontario submarket. Clearly, the company left a large amount of
money on the table.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT AGENT

Because of the way many major brokerage firms are structured, lead agents
rarely suggest that clients consider another market because that means turning
the business over to another agent. For this reason, companies looking for a
warehouse location should not automatically assume that using a major
brokerage firmthough they offer a cadre of well-trained agentsis the best
solution.
Ultimately, a company must be sure the agent it selects has the right knowledge
not only of the real estate market, but also of the company's business, how its
supply chain functions, and how this impacts its warehouse location choices.
When looking for a real estate agent for a warehouse transaction, companies
should consider the three P's: performance, profitability, and partnership.
Agents should function as if they are part of the client's internal team, and act as
an actual partner in the process and outcome. The agent's approach should be
consultative in nature.
Many companies bargain hunt when choosing a warehouse location. But, given
the risk and increased exposure from a bad warehousing site decision, such as

capacity and environmental problems, if you source your DC solely based on

price, you could get lessa lot lessthan you pay for.
Here's the question to ask when choosing a warehouse location: are you in the
business of getting the cheapest square-foot cost, or moving your products to
customers most efficiently and cost-effectively?
NEW TECHNOLOGY
We share insights about the best new technologies for warehouses including
a small piece picking operation. What technology changes or enhancements are
working for other companies now.
Pick To Light
Pick To Light has great advantages and is easy to train and easy to set up.
Expense comes from the lights, installation and the software to control the
orders and pick.
Voice - is another great option but many believe Pick To Light is better in case
of flow situations. For a full case environment, Voice is considered better.
Voice technology uses speech recognition and speech synthesis to allow
workers to communicate with the Warehouse Management System (WMS).
Warehouse operatives use a wireless, wearable computer with a headset and
microphone to receive instructions by voice, and verbally confirm their actions
back to the system. The wearable computer, or voice terminal, communicates
with the Warehouse Management Software via a radio frequency (RF) local area
network
(LAN).
Waveless picking - This is a relatively recent concept that comes from some
automation providers that believe traditional wave picking often does not
optimize automation/sortation system performance. In these waveless systems,
part of Warehouse Control Systems from a few select vendors, orders are more
continually released, rather than in large waves, to more consistently feed the
sortation system than wave processing often does. That benefit, however, may
come at the price of some loss of efficiency from small batches of orders to pick
at a location.
Multi-shuttle based pick modules - Multishuttle is a flexible automated
storage and retrieval (AS/RS) staging solution. This new system is designed for
applications that require dynamic, high-rate product sequencing to support order

assembly, goods to the person picking, and pick face replenishment. The key
attributes of a Multishuttle include high rate capacity, an ability to accommodate
load sequencing requirements, and adaptability to existing building layouts.

Augmented reality picking - if workers in order picking systems are

equipped with a head-mounted display, Augmented Reality can improve the
information
visualization.
Ultrasound pick confirmation technology Snapshots of EVERY outbound
orders contents.
Mobile Motion Capture of Ergonomics Data
User Modified Packaged WMS Products
LED lighting - intelligent LED lighting allows a warehouse director to treat
light as a managed resource rather than just as an expense. The ability to control
light levels in different areas, track occupancy & traffic patterns and minimize
maintenance while saving ~90% on energy costs is now very achievable.
As you review the list, your choice has cons as well as pros.
For instance, a Kiva System has the merit to be easily expandable, allowing it to
grow with your Company, and it save human labor time by moving the goods to
your pickers, instead of having your pickers moving to your inventory. But it
also has lots of demerits, as it is expensive to start with, is making poor
utilization of building volume (it is a surface system that uses only the first 6ft
of the warehouse height, nothing above, and it is moving small racks full of
inventory that don't need to be moved except for one or two lines of products
par rack) and it creates a lot of traffic on your floor. Amazon has some
warehouses with thousands of Kiva vehicles moving all together on the floor.
Many technologies are available to suit your needs but to make a selection
based on what others use can cause a serious mis-match. Some technologies out
there pretend to be based on the philosophy of the Toyota Production System
but in fact are not. Watch for those technologies that move inventory without
adding any value to it. Those technologies are missing the point.
Many of the technologies cost millions to put in place and need a serious
assessment. Unless you define your needs in detail, or have a specialist help
you do it, any technology in the world can either kill your business (A big
investment without a good ROI) or double your profits.
Mobile Computer Carts with Power:

Another new technology with a quick ROI is mobile carts with a power pack
such as NB SERIES Mid-Size MOBILE POWERED Computer Carts.
The Patented NB Series Mobile Powered Workstation by Newcastle Systems
was developed to provide true mobility ANYWHERE in a facility.
NB Series workstations eliminate unnecessary foot travel and paperwork.
Instead of walking back and forth from a deskbound computer to printers and
other devices used in tasks such as inventory management, process control, ondemand label printing, product testing, order picking, cross-docking, weighing,
scanning, etc., all necessary equipment can be brought to where the work is
taking place. An operator can have real-time access to WMS, ERP, and
automated
data
collection.

NEW SUPPLY CHAIN

The new supply chain models are based on pull distribution which is based
on accurate customer demands and proper feedback methods. There is high
scope to receive review and feedback from customers and change the
product type/design accordingly.
Main features of New Supply Chain Models are:
Strong network across the whole supply chain leads to cost savings
and higher profitability
Long term growth and strategies are aligned with the company vision
and mission
Strong connection between the supplier and procurement manager
Constantly monitored the existing practice at regular intervals to
improve performance and efficiency.
Reduction of inventory waste through effective supply chain
management process
All the individual system are integrated with each other properly
The new supply chain is characterised by:
1) Enhanced risk management capabilities in the control tower. Minutes after a
major catastrophe or impactful but less severe event occurs, a company
should be able to draw a perimeter around an event epicenter and answer
the following questions: What suppliers are included inside the perimeter?
What components do I source from them? What products do they go in?
Which customers will be impacted? What is my revenue at risk?
2) Quick corrective actions designed to rebalance supply and demand as
profitably and quickly as is possible. These corrective actions will be based
on prebuilt playbooks, supply and demand simulation, and the use of social
network collaboration.
The technologies needed to support this include:
1.

Granular track and trace based upon a many-to-many, public cloud

architecture that is built with common network master data. Further, far
more types of sensor data will be used to provide visibility and there will be
less reliance on EDI.
2. A new generation of more powerful supply chain applications.

3.

New methods of handling Big Data, real time analytics, and better
technologies for visualizing data.

Every day, supply chains manage a flow of freight, goods and products, at each
step generating massive amounts of information. As more and more companies
embrace the Internet of Things (IoT) data sets only grow larger. Millions of
items are now issuing real-time reportsfrom their size and weight to their
location and status. The potential to extract value from existing data is huge and
has yet to be fully explored. Finding ways to harness the power of data is
redefining the supply chain helping the manufacturing sector by designing
new business models, updating operational processes and controlling costs.
Powered by Big Data and the IoT, supply chain management software is poised
to help businesses translate data-driven intelligence into a business advantage.
According to a new report from Gartner, software designed to aid companies
manage, plan and operate complex supply chains is rapidly growing. Sales
jumped nearly 11 percent in 2014 to $9.9 billion, a substantial climb from 7.5
percent growth one year earlier. Strong performances from top players led the
way, but it was specialized performers who saw massive growth.
San Francisco-based risk-management provider saw revenue increase 70
percent last year, thanks in part to software that standardizes the collection of

supplier data. Focused on retail and telecommunications clients, software

designed to aid in forecasting and inventory management helped Bostons
ToolsGroup Inc. grow more than 30 percent. Top 10 vendors including Oracle
and JDA Software Group maintained their status as Leaders, but saw sales in
the supply chain management sector either decline or remain flat. The Gartner
report notes, Niche vendors maintained dominance within individual
submarkets through new capabilities and focus on customer intimacy.
Recent research from the University of Johannesburg in South Africa highlights
the perfect storm of forces, which have given rise to the current push for a
more intelligent supply chain. Without growing supply chain data, cheaper data
storage, faster processing power, anywhere, anytime connectivity, better
analytical tools, and advanced visualization to show and present huge volumes
of data visually, the future of supply chain management would look a lot
different. Big Data requires analysis. Without it, the value of the IoT remains
untapped. According to the papers author, Hans Ittmann, analytics is essential.
Ittmann believes the supply chain is at the beginning of recognizing the value of
data and analytics, shifting away from gut-feel decision making to accurate,
data-driven insight.
Some have already begun to embrace the shift on a wider scale. Big Data and
IoT could be considered part of the fourth industrial revolution. Following
steam, electricity and assembly line production, Internet-enabled technology is
the most powerful disruptor and data its most valuable currency. Intelligent
supply chain management is at the core of its new Made in China 2025 vision
of the future. Moving away from heavy industry, the government noted the need
of the nations manufacturing industry to become increasingly integrated with
the Internet. In the United States, the Supply Chain Innovation Initiative
supports similar goals including automation, cloud computing, Big Data and
analytics.
The age of data is already here. Supply chains are quickly evolving with
innovations like Big Data, IoT and the cloud playing a much larger role.
Actionable data is at the heart of IoT. Without it, data is just information. Supply
chain management software is crucial to the expansion of the next-generation
supply chain. Supply chains are industry-specific. Software makers able to craft
tools that can address the particular needs of their clients will come out on top.

Fundamentals to Maximize the Use of Warehouse Technology:

1.

Make sure the Warehouse is Aligned to What the Business Wants: Align
the operations of your warehouse with the business goals you set in mind when
you decided to implement new processes and warehouse technology. Even if
you have pressure coming in from your customer base to speed things up, you
should still keep your business objectives in mind as well. Find a good balance
of action and strategy to ensure you meet both ends of the spectrum for
optimum results.

2.

Training: Employees must be trained on procedures, including interaction

with the warehouse technology you are implementing such WMS, ERP, or TMS
. The excellent manager spends quality time with each team member to coach
and encourage him or her. The WMS provides individual performance data to
inform the manager as to who needs what specific training. The manager needs
to then continually improve using this data.

3.

Employee Motivation: Employee motivation can begin as simply as

posting charts of comparative performance to encourage competition. After
some data have been collected from the WMS, standards should be established
for each warehouse task. Employees who exceed standards can be rewarded
informally with perks or specific prizes. Ultimately, a formal gain sharing
program can entice an appreciable increase in productivity. Productivity
increases of 30% have been reported.

4.

Physical Plant: An excellent warehouse includes adequate dock capacity,

ample staging areas, appropriate storage (pallet rack, shelving, flow rack etc.),
and suitable equipment (carts, pallet jacks, fork lifts, order picking trucks, etc.).
In general, a single level warehouse is preferable, but conveyors and other
mechanization can make a multi-level facility nearly as efficient. The excellent
warehouse manager plays a proactive role in planning physical improvements.

5.

Automation technology: This includes vertical and horizontal carousels,

conveyors, automatic stacker cranes, automatic pallet wrappers and many other
mechanization. The forward thinking warehouse manager will periodically
evaluate potential automation projects. The guiding principle here is whether
any proposed automation investment in the various warehouse technology
available, provides an acceptable financial return.