The Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) recently announced the launch of the new DC Measures Benchmarking Tool. This new digital resource is designed to help practitioners, 3PLs, and consultants leverage hard data to measure and improve operational performance for either themselves or clients.

Because load tests confirm the ability of the crane and hoist to safely operate as intended, they must be completed whenever overhead lifting equipment is newly installed, altered, repaired or modified before being placed into service. Existing crane and hoist systems should likewise be load tested at a minimum of once every four years.

The best way to mitigate risk when evaluating new investments is through simulation and emulation. By creating a “digital twin” of your project, your potential material handling partner can ensure your new system or systems will run smoothly and efficiently, making the most of your expenditure. A digital twin is a virtual representation that serves as the real-time digital counterpart of a physical object or process. With these virtual practice runs, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting into and what it can deliver.

For enterprises of all sizes, supply chain sustainability is rapidly taking on new urgency. Because companies know they can’t meet their sustainability other ESG objectives alone, they are requesting—and in some cases demanding—that suppliers get on board. And they’re hunting for tools that give them visibility into the ESG performance.

The rise of the digital supply chain has brought countless new opportunities and efficiencies for companies, helping them evolve to meet the modern customers’ demanding expectations for speed and service. However, the digital supply chain also has brought with it fresh and uniquely dangerous security risks for companies to monitor and manage.

Although most often associated with financial transactions, blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies also offer capabilities to support business operations—including the complex data sharing requirements of the supply chain.

The interconnected nature of digital supply chain systems also increases the attack surface for potential malicious activity. As cyber-physical systems continue to evolve, the threats associated with malicious attacks are not limited to information technology resources but they increasingly target operational technology resources with attacks that impact the physical assets of a system.

Microaggressions are the everyday, subtle comments or actions that communicate negative, derogatory, offensive or insulting attitudes toward socially or culturally marginalized groups. While microaggressions can be deliberate, most of the time they are unintentional.

The outbreak of the COVID pandemic has created chaos over the past two years. But some of the after-effects continue to linger for the economy. High inflation, high sovereign debt levels, and endemic COVID cases and variant disruptions have remained persistent parts of the economic landscape. But what comes next? Looking to the months ahead, addressing these lingering risks will be critical for the U.S. economy.