As the beverage industry continues to see an influx of SKUs, manufacturers and distributors must stay up-to-date with the latest software in order to keep up with demand. As warehouses look to enhance their operations, the implementation of warehouse execution systems (WES) seem to be the golden ticket to getting the job done.
Now in operation for nearly 70 years, the Hand Family Companies, Clarksville, Tenn., has grown from humble beginnings to becoming a multi-state beer and beverage distributor operating seven plants in three states, Tennessee, Kentucky and Illinois.
To better handle today’s SKU proliferation, warehouse distributors that implement warehouse management systems (WMS) and solutions like voice picking technologies, can save time, money and valuable resources to allocate to other parts of the business, experts say.
From an operations perspective, asset utilization is an ongoing operational challenge, especially in process industries like beverages, where constant product and packaging changes raise many questions related to invested assets.
The safe handling of forklifts is vital to beverage operations and experts note safety, product diversity, sustainability and automation are key factors impacting the industry.
Several significant factors actually drive the need for flexibility in beverage production line configurations so let’s take a closer look along the supply chain to discuss some of the impacts and the ever-present global concerns occurring regardless of the time or location of the market.