Five steps to choosing a conveyor

Choosing a new conveyor is a harder job than it looks. Any warehouse manager who has purchased new conveyor equipment in recent years knows that outfitting a facility with conveyor equipment demands a crash course in recent technology advances, a spreadsheet to balance the benefits of different options, and an accounting degree to pick the best payment plan.

Now a new infographic from Dorner Manufacturing Corp. of Hartland, Wisc., simplifies the process by presenting a graphic display describing “Five easy steps to choosing a conveyor.”

The diagram offers answers to some of the most frequently asked questions the vendor hears from its customers, including:

• environmental influences (such as wipe down and wash down)
• configuration (options for layouts and design types),
• size range (matching the conveyor equipment to the material handling needs in your DC),
• motors and accessories, and
• choosing a belt type.

Check out the infographic for a quick lesson in the components and pieces of a conveyor, the options and configuration varieties available for each part, and the ideal context and product for that specific element.

Why minority suppliers belong in your supply chain

What do you look for in a supplier? Quality products and services, favorable pricing, reliability, flexibility ... the list of possibilities is a lengthy one. Joset Wright-Lacy would like supply chain professionals to add something to that list that they often don’t consider: a supplier’s ownership.

I recently spoke with Wright-Lacy, a Georgetown-educated lawyer who formerly was vice president of procurement and property services for a major telecom company and currently is president of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). The nonprofit organization’s mission is to advance business opportunities for certified minority business enterprises, or MBEs. NMSDC certifies MBEs owned by U.S. citizens who are Asian, Black, Hispanic, or Native American, and connects them with its 1,200 corporate members, whose ranks include many of the country’s largest and most influential companies. The group also offers a wide array of educational and other services to its members.

In my most recent monthly column for DCV’s sister publication, CSCMP’s Supply Chain Quarterly, Wright-Lacy discusses the benefits of considering not just value and the best price but also minority ownership when selecting a supplier. Number one: “When supply chain decision makers look at what’s available in the marketplace, including minority suppliers … they can pick suppliers knowing that all of the talent and innovation, not just some, is available to them,” she said.

To read more of Wright-Lacy’s compelling argument in favor of the business and economic benefits of working with minority suppliers, read Why minority suppliers belong in your supply chain“Why minority suppliers belong in your supply chain” at www.supplychainquarterly.com.