The Modex Preshow

It’s April and the off year from Promat, which means I’m in Atlanta preparing to attend the Modex show that will open tomorrow morning. I flew in early today so that I’d have a chance to visit the show while exhibitors were putting the final touches on their booths. Based on a quick walk through, here are a topics I want to explore.

Robotics: I just finished writing my third System Report in a row for Modern on robotics in the distribution center. Our industry is slow to abandon the tried and true for the new, so I don’t expect to see robotics become mainstream in distribution any time soon. But I do believe there is genuine curiosity that will be reflected at the show. Want proof: Three of the four candidates for the Best New Innovation Award are robotic solutions from Fetch Robotics, Iam Robotics and Balyo, all of whom are exhibiting this year. In addition to seeing a piece picking robot at Intelligrated’s booth – working with a shuttle – I noticed the AutoStore has a large presence at the show and, maybe it’s my imagination, but there seemed to be more AGVs and mobile robots than ever.

Shuttles galore: With the explosion of piece picking, it’s no surprise that shuttles to enable goods-to-person piece picking were on prominent display. I noted shuttles at the booths for Dematic, Intelligrated, viastore, Schaefer, OPEX and Knapp to name a few. At the same time, based on the number of pick-and-put-to-light displays I saw, picking mezzanines and putwalls appear to be alive and well.

Software is more important than ever: For proof, I note that both Dematic and Intelligrated are sponsoring separate booths just for their software offerings. I also noted that systems integrators like Vargo were touting their software chops.

Pallets and packaging: As many people know, I grew up in the pallet industry. I wear my bias on my sleeve. Still, there appear to be more pallet and alternative pallet offerings than in the past. What’s more, I counted at least two box on demand solutions. I continue to believe that transport packaging represents a real opportunity for savings across the supply chain.

I’ll can’t wait to see what I learn tomorrow, when the doors open and the show is in full swing.