The Supply Chain Management Guide
5. Material Handling
5. Material
Handling
5.1. Key Concepts
5.1.1. Material Handling (1)
Material Handling:
• moving of goods between incoming transport,
storage, processes and outgoing transport
• the set of activities that move production inputs
and other goods within plants, warehouses and
transportation terminals.
5. Material
Handling
5.1. Key Concepts
5.1.1. Material Handling (2)
Providing the right amount of material:
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in the right condition
at the right place
at the right time
in the right position
in the right sequence
for the right cost
by using the right methods.
5. Material
Handling
5.2. Principal Issues
5.2.1. Materials Handling Manager (1)
The task for the materials handling manager is to
find the methods, the routes, the layouts and the
right components to minimize handling.
5. Material
Handling
5.2. Principal Issues
5.2.1. Materials Handling Manager (2)
Six main responsibilities of the materials handling
manager:
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packaging - unitizing
internal transport
storage
retrieval
identification
communication.
5. Material
Handling
5.2. Principal Issues
5.2.2. Material Handling System Design
The design of a material handling system depends
upon the the type and the characteristics of the
materials to be handled.
5. Material
Handling
5.2. Principal Issues
5.2.3. Material Handling System
Components (1)
Material handling equipment:
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unitizing equipment
material transport equipment
storage and retrieval equipment
automatic identification and communication
equipment.
5. Material
Handling
5.2. Principal Issues
5.2.3. Material Handling System
Components (2)
Unitizing equipment:
• containers, such as cartons, boxes, and bags
• carriers or support, such as pallets, skids, and
plywood
• stretch wrap
• shrink wrap.
5. Material
Handling
5.2. Principal Issues
5.2.3. Material Handling System
Components (3)
Material transport equipment:
• conveyors (belts and rollers)
• industrial vehicles, such as pallet trucks, lift
trucks, and automated guided vehicles (AGV)
• monorails
• hoists
• cranes.
5. Material
Handling
5.2. Principal Issues
5.2.3. Material Handling System
Components (4)
Storage and retrieval equipment:
• unit load storage equipment
• unit load retrieval equipment
• small load storage and retrieval equipment.
5. Material
Handling
5.2. Principal Issues
5.2.3. Material Handling System
Components (5)
Automatic identification and communication
equipment:
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bar coding
radio frequency tag
magnetic stripe
smart cards
voice headsets
machine vision.
5. Material
Handling
5.2. Principal Issues
5.2.4. Cost-effective Means of Transport (1)
Key factors to consider in selecting means of
transport:
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physical characteristics of loads
the number of loads to be moved
the distance to be moved
the required speed of movement.
5. Material
Handling
5.2. Principal Issues
5.2.4. Cost-effective Means of
Transport (2)
Units
moved/
hour
Conveyors
Motorized trolleys
Forklift trucks
Manual trolley
Manual
Movement distance (m)
5. Material
Handling
5.2. Principal Issues
5.2.4. Cost-effective Means of Transport (3)
Other factors which influence the means of
transport:
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cost of building/dismantling loads
packaging costs
space requirements
interface with other storage, transport and
handling systems
• housekeeping issues.
5. Material
Handling
5.2. Principal Issues
5.2.5. Warehousing (1)
The warehouse must be:
• located in the right place
• the right size
• organized
to allow:
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efficient delivery and placing
cost-effective use of its space
adequate access to stored materials
security from theft and weather
flexibility to deal with the various items.
5. Material
Handling
5.2. Principal Issues
5.2.5. Warehousing (2)
The mission (or goal) of a warehouse is set by
demand. The warehouse location is a means to
achieving the mission.
Mission
Balance and buffer
Accumulate and consolidate
Rapid response
Location
Demand
Near the manufacturer
Monthly/quarterly replenishments
of stocks
Central to production locations
Weekly/monthly orders
Close to customer
Daily
5. Material
Handling
5.2. Principal Issues
5.2.5. Warehousing (3)
Within the warehouse, stock must be:
• put into known places and
• in known order
so that it can be:
• retrieved quickly and in the right quantity
• rotated properly (ex. first-in, first-out).
5. Material
Handling
5.2. Principal Issues
5.2.5. Warehousing (4)
Warehousing activities:
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receiving goods
identifying goods
sorting goods
dispatching goods to storage
holding goods
picking goods
preparing shipments
dispatching shipments.
5. Material
Handling
5.3. Suggestions
Suggestions for materials handling:
• use identification systems, such as bar coding to
handle the right material:
• give a part identification number
• give a location identification number
• handle similar materials, packaging and size of
loads at the same time
• implement improvements in material handling
systems which will increase the efficiency of the
overall system.