Organizations

APICS - The Association for Operations Management  The organization formerly known as the "The Educational Society for Resource Management" and before that the  "American Production and Inventory Control Society".  Educational organization for purchasing, production management, inventory management, supply chain management.  A must see site for anyone involved with manufacturing and distribution.  The extensive APICS dictionary is now available online for APICS members.  A Previous InventoryOps.com  Featured Site.

Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC)  Educational organization for warehousing and distribution management. A Previous InventoryOps.com  Featured Site..

Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Formerly known as National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM).  

Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA).  

National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)

Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)  Formerly known as the Council of Logistics Management

SOLE - The International Society of Logistics  Formerly the Society of Logistics Engineers, SOLE is a " non-profit international professional society composed of individuals organized to enhance the art and science of logistics technology, education and management"

International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA) .  Third party logistics organization. Good place to start if you're looking for public or contract warehouses.

Mailing & Fulfillment Service Association (MFSA)

International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) The association  for transport packaging.

Supply-Chain Council   Organization that designed and maintains the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR)

Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR)  Voluntary guidelines for collaborative buyer/seller functions

Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Standards (VICS)  

Industrial Distribution Association

Association For Manufacturing Excellence (AME).  Knowledge of manufacturing is critical if you are managing inventory in a manufacturing environment.  This site maintains extensive links to manufacturing information pages.

Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)  

Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE).

Distribution Business Management Association

Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME).

American Society for Quality (ASQ) 

American Institute of Baking (AIB)  Certification, inspection, educational organization for the food industry.

American Sanitation Institute (ASI)  Food safety audits and education.

FPA SAFE    Supplier auditing organization for the food industry.

American Management Association (AMA)

Project Management Institute (PMI)

International Import Export Institute.

Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)

Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP)

Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG)

Universal Code Council (UCC) Establishes and promotes multi-industry standards for product identification and related electronic communication. Info on bar code symbologies, compliance labeling, EPC, XML.

Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)  If you've never been to this site or haven't visited in a couple of years I strongly suggest spending some time here.  OSHA has greatly improved the information available here including adding training materials.  Anyone involved in lift truck training, plant safety, and fire safety should set some time aside to visit this site.  A Previous InventoryOps.com  Featured Site..

Department of Transportation (DOT)  Like the OSHA site the DOT site has greatly improved over the years.  Good source of information on transportation safety regulations and hazardous materials management.

International Trade Administration  Very informative government site related to international trade (importing/exporting).

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  As with the other regulatory agency's sites, the EPA site offers extensive information on regulatory issues.  

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)  If you are responsible for a warehouse you need to be aware of fire codes.  These are the guys that write the code.

International Code Council (ICC)  The consolidation of several building code organizations (BOCA, ICBO, SBCCI).

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)  

National Safety Council (NSC) 

American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE)  

MIT OpenCourseWare Pilot. MIT has truly done something amazing by starting to add enormous amounts of courseware to their site FREE for anyone to use. Of particular interest are massive amounts of lectures available as streaming video.

 

 

Forums/Communities/Q&A  If you have a question or would like to participate in web forums dedicated to inventory management and warehouse operations I have included several links below.  Participation in these forums is still pretty scarce, in part because they are often difficult to find and usually require registering at the site.  I recommend looking at previously asked questions first as often the same question has already been addressed.  I also recommend full participation, which means if you ask a question, you should also try to answer someone else's question.  Come on ...you must know something.

Yahoo Groups Distribution Inventory Control   This site has had the best participation of any of the forums I have been involved with.  Questions asked here generally get several answers within a few days.  Requires registering.  Once registered you will receive emails of each question and answer.

More Yahoo Groups

Yahoo Groups Supply Chain Management.  

Yahoo Groups Materials Management

Yahoo Groups Continuous Improvement

Yahoo Groups Lean Manufacturing   Kanban, Poka Yoke, other JIT topics.

 

ForkliftAction.com's Forums. There are some great threads here related to lift trucks and the material handling industry. You do not need to register to view the threads, but you do to post a reply or start a new topic.

APICS Lists. This is a group of electronic discussion lists focusing on  SIGS (specific industry/interest groups) of the American Production and Inventory Control Society. I've been involved with the Small Manufacturing (SM) SIG for a while now and have been extremely impressed with the level of involvement by list members.

MSN Communities - Inventory Control  I keep this one on the list because, at one time, it was a pretty good forum. Unfortunately, it has become inundated with porn spam. Use at your own risk or pleasure.

Industry Community Forums.  Directory of forums on specific topics related to manufacturing.

National Conference on Operations & Fulfillment Discussion Forum.  

Bar Code Products Discussion Board.  Provided by System ID Warehouse. 

CIO Forums  A collection of discussion groups (requires registering) provided by CIO magazine.  Includes a group on ERP.

ERP Fan Club.  Several ERP related forums.  The General ERP forum gets pretty good participation.

Allexperts Warehousing Q&A  At Allexperts you ask questions directly to a specific volunteer expert.  On the plus side you get to see a little information about the person you are asking the question, on the minus side this is the only person that will be answering your questions.  Navigation is a little strange as well, there is a link to previously asked questions that does not seem to work correctly.  There seem to be more volunteer experts here than there have been questions asked.

Ask Me Help Desk. Easy navigation, allows searches across topics. .

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Trade Publications  Many of the trade publications web sites maintain article archives that can be searched.  They also are good resource for finding info on trade shows, seminars, and educational courses.  Most of the magazines listed offer free subscriptions with online registration..

 

DC Velocity  New publication focused on issues related to managing distribution operations. Everything from inventory management strategies to information systems, transportation issues, and material handling equipment.

Modern Materials Handling   I'd call  this is the granddaddy of material handling/warehousing magazines. MMH has been publishing articles on material handling and related topics since before many of us were born. 

Material Handling Management  Good source for material handling info.        

Material Handling Product News  All ads, all the time.  Although some ads are lightly disguised as "news" this publication is simply an extended advertisement section focusing on material handling equipment.  Good source for keeping up on the types of products available for material handling.

Supply Chain Systems  Formerly  IDSystems

Frontline Solutions  Auto ID, data collection, bar code, wireless communications.

Parcel Shipping & Distribution.  Nice little publication focusing on operational issues of interest to small-package shippers.

Operations and Fulfillment Magazine. 

Logistics Today

Distribution Business Management Journal

Progressive Distributor  Marketing/Operational topics related to industrial distribution.  Managers and Execs of distribution companies will find articles interesting.

SupplyChainDaily.com  Interesting e-newsletter and portal that filters the content to your interests.

SupplyChainDigest  On-line newsletter.

Modern Distribution Management  Newsletter for the wholesale distribution channel.

Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies

Logistics Management

SupplyChain Management Review

World Trade Magazine

IDII Software Newsletter.  Delivered via email, this free newsletter provides insights on selecting, implementing, and optimizing supply chain software.

Speech Technology Magazine

Industrial Distribution Magazine. 

Industrial Utility Vehicle & Mobile Equipment   

Plant Engineering Magazine

Manufacturing Systems Magazine.  

The Manufacturer

The Manufacturing Report 

Advanced Manufacturing

Assembly Magazine

Purchasing Magazine

Purchasing B2B  Canadian magazine dedicated to supply chain management.

Food Logistics

APICS The Performance Advantage  Put out by the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) this magazine requires APICS membership or paid subscription.  Articles are available online to the general public. 

Industrial Engineer   Put out by the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) this magazine requires IIE membership or paid subscription. 

Operations Research/Management Science Today   Requires INFORMS membership or paid subscription.

Manufacturing News.  Manufacturing and business publication.  Requires paid subscription.

Distribution Group publications. Fee-based publications related to distribution and warehouse management.

Integrated Solutions Magazine.  

New Equipment Digest Another "all ads, all the time" magazine.  Good source for information on maintenance/material handling/automation equipment and MRO supplies.

Compliance Magazine  Magazine dedicated to workplace safety and compliance issues.

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General Informational Sites

The Progress Group  Logistics and Supply Chain consulting firm. Site contains some excellent white papers on logistics and warehouse operations.

Technology & Operations Management Index (TOMI).  Extensive operations management related links.

HowBizWorks Operations Site.  HowBizWorks is a spin-off of the HowStuffWorks site.  The Operations site provides a series of tutorials on topics related to operations management.  This is a great site for anyone new to operations or just curious as to what operations management encompasses.

Business and Manufacturing Links.  Great collection of links (with descriptions) provided by APICS Region XIII

Crazy About Constraints.  Site dedicated to the Theory of Constraints.  Lots of info and links.

Activity Based Costing Portal.  Great site for info on ABC.

Max's Project Management Wisdom.  Great site on project management.  I specifically enjoyed Max's Musings , a collection of insightful articles written by Max Wideman.  Site also includes a project management glossary.

Engineering Statistics Handbook. This online book is provided free on the Information Technology Laboratory portion of the National Institute of Standards and Technology site. and covers various methods for analyzing data. There is an incredible amount of information here. You can view the books content as various web pages or you can download complete chapters. Search capabilities are available.

Decision Tree for Optimization Software. This section of the Arizona State University site has a great set of organized links to sites related to optimization, linear and non-linear programming.

Orvitz Taylor Gates. "Management resources for enterprise projects, offering how-to workbooks, project plans and planning guides, tools, templates and checklists."

Inventory Management   Also visit my articles page for more inventory management information.

Inventory Control Forum  While looking for links to Inventory Management related sites I came across this one.  The site's creator does an excellent job of maintaining links to Inventory Management related sites on his site,  as a result this is the only site I am listing under Inventory Management.  I strongly recommend this site and suggest you forward any additional related links to this site. Make sure you visit his sites page.  A Previous InventoryOps.com  Featured Site.

Information Technology  Also see Software Sites Listing

CIO.com   You don't have to be an IT exec. to appreciate this site.  Well organized structure makes it easy to find info on just about any IT related topic.  Site includes an extensive collection of content-rich articles from CIO magazine and other sources.  Make sure you visit the ERP and Supply Chain Management Research Centers.  A Previous InventoryOps.com  Featured Site.

Industrial Data and Information Inc.  I'll quote their site "IDII is an Independent Research Consulting Company focused on software selection, evaluation, & implementation for Warehousing, Manufacturers, Wholesalers, & Retailers.  I really like this site, lots of info. Software evaluation resources, educational resources, software newsletter, and over 100 white papers.

TechRepublic Enterprise Apps.  Source for ERP info.

IT Toolbox Supply Chain.  Very well organized site focused on supply chain information technology.  Site allows visitors to post online reviews of software packages and consultants (I didn't see any reviews posted).

KnowledgeStorm.  Directory of Information Technology solutions.  This site has the largest and most detailed online database of business software (ERP, MRP, WMS, TMS, Financials) that I've seen.  Requires registering to view detailed fact sheets.

SourceForge.net  Interested in Open Source software (a.k.a. Free)?  SourceForge.net is "the world's largest Open Source development website".

Accounting Software 411.  Definitely more than just accounting software here.  The site maintains a comprehensive database of software packages.  You can select several package and compare features.  Also maintains a message board for each software package (currently not a lot of messages on most packages but still a great idea).  

Small Business Computing.com  Good source for tech info for small business. 

TechnologyEvaluation.com  Products for evaluating ERP and SCM software products

ISIT.com  Information on integrating information technology.

Achieving Supply Chain Excellence through Technology (ASCET).  Site provides extensive information on supply chain management and technology.

TechWeb  Great general technology site.

About.com's Database Page.  Managing inventory requires managing the data that is used to manage inventory.  This site has info on the various databases available and related tools.

High Tech Services.  This company provides extensive information on Automation Technologies.  I found this site while looking for information on PLC s (Programmable Logic Controllers) and was extremely impressed with the amount of information offered here.  If you have any interest in industrial automation, I highly recommend this site.  Don't miss the Tutorials.

ERP Software News.  Collection of ERP related articles and news releases.

SupplyChainIT.com  A collection of news related to supply chain information technology

Manufacturing

Essentials of Lean Manufacturing by Strategos Excellent site on lean manufacturing.

About.com's Industry Page.  Good jumping off point for news, info, and links to various industry related topics.

SearchManufacturing.com  Organized links to manufacturing related sites.

The Manufacturing Report.  On-line source for news and information in the manufacturing industries.

SuperFactory.com Virtual Plant Tours  This is a great collection of links to online manufacturing plant tours provided by SuperFactory.com.  Also visit SuperFactory home page for extensive links to manufacturing operations related resources.

Download-com.com A collection of free downloads related to industrial applications. Downloads include PDFs, Powerpoint presentations, E-books, and some software.

Business Industrial Network. This site does stray a little from the scope of "inventory operations", however, I decided to include it due to its extensive content. The primary focus of the site is related to PLCs. So for those responsible for plant automation and maintenance, this is a great site.

Auto ID/Barcode/Voice/RFID/Data Collection  Also see RF/Bar Code/Data Collection Manufacturers Links,  Bar Code Books ,  Article on ADC, and Article on RFID.

BarCode1.  A very good site for bar code information.  Make sure you check the What's New page.

The Auto ID Book  On line text version of the Auto ID Book provided by System ID Warehouse

AIM Global Network.  Automatic data collection and data capture information.

Intelligent Data Acquisition Technologies (IDAT)   Good source of info on auto id technologies.

RFID Journal  If you have a serious interest in RFID, I suggest checking out the RFID Journal. The site has a great FAQ page, RFID glossary, and detailed vendor listing. Some of the content (articles, case studies) requires paid subscription.  

VoicePicking.com  Site focusing on using voice technology in order picking.

MobileInfo.com  Information on wireless technologies.

Sample Compliance Labels. From Zebra Technologies website.

HowStuffWorks How UPC Bar Codes Work  Nice tutorial on UPC bar code

HowStuffWorks How RFID Smart Labels Will Work  Great tutorial on RFID and Smart Labels

Accuracybook.com's  Bar code, Speech, RFID, technology Links

Warehousing/Material Handling  Also see Articles Page

Material Handling Picture Bank  Great site for viewing images of material handling equipment and activities..A Previous InventoryOps.com  Featured Site.

Material Handling Info.com.   Sponsored by Eskay, this is a combination of an educational site and a commercial site.  Good information on automated material handling systems.

Forklift Troubleshooting, Operation, Repairs, and Service   This is an excellent site which includes detailed information and great graphics relating to lift truck operation, maintenance, safety, storage.  The home page is a little slow to load and you have to jump around a lot but it's well worth it.  A Previous InventoryOps.com  Featured Site.

Interactive Warehouse.  Interactive site which lets you set up a warehouse, create an order and let the system design the best picking route. Also gives info on the various methods for picking the best route and the effect warehouse design has on routing software.

The Distribution Group.  Provides publications related to warehousing and distribution.

The Progress Group  Logistics and Supply Chain consulting firm. Site contains some excellent white papers on logistics and warehouse operations.

Gross & Associates  Material Handling and Logistics consulting firm.  Site contains white papers and other resources including an online equipment cost calculator.

Material Handling Equipment Taxonomy.  From the North Carolina State University Site, these pages contain illustrations and brief descriptions of material handling and storage equipment. Good educational tool.

elogistics101 Site has several short articles on fulfillment topics.  Focus on piece pick operations.

Internet-based Data Envelopment Analysis (IDEA).  Provided by Georgia Tech, this site offers an interactive program that provides a self-assessment of warehouse operations.  Users must register and then answer a series of questions about their warehousing operations.  The program will then compare input data to similar operations in its database and provide the user with comparative information.  I believe that it also maintains your input data as part of its database for use in benchmarking and other studies.  

ForkliftAction.com  If you're in the lift truck industry or just have an interest in lift trucks, this is a great site. Site includes discussion forums, industry news, directories, used equipment marketplace, and a whole lot more.

StorageCapacity.net   New Online trade exchange for storage space.  Site allows companies to post their excess storage capacity.  Site is still new and I didn't see much listed, however I like the idea and given time it could prove to be a valuable source for finding or selling storage space.

HowtoBuyaForklift.com.  For those of you who think that the industry has matured beyond using half naked women to sell products, think again!!!  This site thumbs its nose - and its cleavage - at the political correctness that has consumed corporate America and also sells a book called How to Buy a Forklift and as well as a  price guide.

Transportation and Logistics  

About.com's Logistics/Supply Chain Site.  Lots of info and links here.

Logistics Network.  Great site for finding info on transportation.  Check out the Practical Guide for on-line excerpts from the book which can be purchased through this site.

The Logistics Institute  TLI is an organization within the Georgia Institute of Technology.  Site provides a variety of logistics info including educational resources, research, links, and a glossary.

Logistic Services Buyers Guide  Find transportation services, public warehouses, etc

Leonard's Guide  Online and print directories for Trucking Companies, Air Cargo, Third-Party Logistics, and Public Warehouses.

Container Handbook  Excellent online guide for everything related to ocean containers. The containers, the ships, the history, how to secure loads, etc. Also see Transport-Informations -Service for additional container info. I believe both these sites are provided by the German Insurance Association.

Retail

About.com's Retail Industry Page. I don't maintain much retail related info on my site (not my area of expertise) so if you're looking for retail info I suggest starting with About.com's retail page.

RetailSystems.com  "IT resource for retail, supply chain, and e-commerce professionals"

Quality

FreeQuality. Quality related info.  Free downloads including quality software and training materials.

John Grout's Mistake-Proofing Center.  Very good independent site focusing on mistake-proofing/Poka-Yoke.  Site includes examples and glossary of terms.

Business: General

Krislyn's Strictly Business.  Categorized links to business related sites.

About.com' Management Page. Good general business info.

Entrepreneur and Small Business Resource Web Site.  Info and categorized links to business related sites.

ARC Advisory Group  These are the guys you see regularly quoted in the trades on issues related to market research, best practices, technology application, etc.  They provide many services including subscription based information services and also provide some free reports and white papers online.

Great Systems.  Good independent site on organizational improvement and leadership.

RJD Associates, Inc.  Small business management consultant's site.  This site has made the entire contents of two books  available free online.  The books:  The Laws of Management Physics: A Handbook for Hands-On Managers, and Will the Real Inventory Please Stand Up & Be Counted are written by Richard J. Dadamo (the RJD in RJD Associates) and take a no-nonsense approach to managing an organization. 

AuditNet. Good info on auditing.

Trade Shows

TechWeb's Searchable Calendar. I've found this to be the best searchable database for tradeshows and conferences. Allows you to search by city, state, country, industry, name, and month.

Tradeshow Week's Tradeshow Directory.  Another excellent searchable database of tradeshows.

 

Reference  Also see Inventoryops Dictionary/Glossary

TopReference.com Directory of categorized reference sites.

FindArticles.com.  Though this site does not produce it's own original content it's a great place to search for articles.  

Martindale's Reference Desk: Calculators On-Line Center.  Although not directly inventory related I found this site interesting enough to include.  This is a collection of online programs for making very specific calculations.  

tsnn.com Trade show search site.

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Safety/Compliance  Also see my articles on Lift Truck Safety, Loading Dock Safety, and Ergonomics. Buy the book

OSHA

National Safety Council Safety posters, publications, software, and training materials.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)  

International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO)  Source for information on building codes/fire codes.

WorkSafe Victoria  Australian safety site with a variety of free publications.

Occupational Health and Safety Directory. Directory of sites related to safety and compliance.

Free-Training.com   On-line safety training and you can't beat the price.

SafetySmart.com  Safety educational materials.  

1SafetySource  Safety Products and info.  Extensive collection of safety related links.

1st OSHA Safety Training  Training and compliance products.

Government Institutes.  Safety publications and educational materials.

JJ Keller and Associates, Inc.  Training kits, compliance manuals, video, cd-rom, books

Forklift Training Pro  Provides an interesting forklift training kit that is designed to be facility and equipment specific.

Forklift Safety Training Services, Inc

LiftTruck.com  Forklift safety products

ErgoWeb  Ergonomics news, info, products.

ErgoNext  

UserNomics  This site has an excellent collections on links related to ergonomics and other topics related to the interface between people and equipment.

Online MSDS  Online managing and tracking  of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).

ChemReport Inc.    Hazmat, MSDS, Compliance services.  ChemReport has recently upgraded its web site and is starting to offer free online training programs.

Mastery Technology Safety Training Products

Safety Advantage

Digital-2000  Safety Training Products

TrainNow.com 

Hazard Communication Safety Videos.   Hazmat and chemical safety training products.

Safety Video

ERI Safety Videos

BRight Training & Safety Wear. Workplace Safety Trainers & Consultants..

Storage Equipment Safety Service LTD  Provide rack safety inspections and training. Their site is definitely worth a visit for the videos you can view on rack collapses.

The Training Network  Safety videos, presentations, manuals, kits.

SafetyTest.com  Online Lift Truck Safety Testing.

Victor House Publications  Various safety program materials.

SafetyVideoDirect.com  Safety Videos

CoCoSafe.com  Safety Videos, DVDs, kits.

SafetyVideosnow.com  Safety Videos.

 

Equipment Sites:

Equipment (Lift Trucks)  Also see Lift Truck Pics and my article on Lift Truck Basics for information on types of vehicles.

Raymond Corporation  Full line of lift trucks including specialty trucks

Crown Equipment Corp  Full line of lift trucks including specialty trucks

Yale Materials Handling Corporation  Full line of lift trucks including specialty trucks

Caterpillar Lift Trucks  Full line of lift trucks including specialty trucks

Toyota Forklifts  Full line of lift trucks

Nissan  download the free Nissan Forklift Screensaver from the Nissan Europe Site

Hyster  Full line of lift trucks including specialty trucks

Kalmar AC

Clark Material Handling Company

Daewoo

Mitsubishi Forklifts

BT Industries 

Linde

TCM

Drexel Industries  Specialty VNA (very narrow aisle) trucks (Swingmast) and Explosion Proof Trucks.

Landoll Corporation.  Specialty VNA (very narrow aisle) trucks (Bendi and PivotMast)

Narrow Aisle Inc. Specialty VNA truck (Flexi)

Atlet  Narrow aisle and vary narrow aisle trucks.  Very cool animated graphics let you see how these specialty trucks operate.

Jungheinrich Full line of lift trucks including VNA.

Schaeff, Inc.  Stand-up counterbalanced lift trucks and turret truck.

Ellwell-Parker  Large capacity lift trucks.  If you're into the history of lift trucks and material handling, you'll want to download the video of a 1938 lift truck with a paper roll attachment from their company profile page.  It's 22 MB so I strongly suggest downloading it to view later and not just clicking on it.

Sichelschmidt  Explosion Proof Lift Trucks

Blue Giant

Dimex  Stylish forklifts made in Bulgaria (I think I saw custom wheel covers)

Aisle-Master Specialty LPG VNA (very narrow aisle) truck similar to the electric Bendi.

Airtrax Inc.  Manufactures an omni-directional forklift.  Basically this forklift can move in any direction, you really need to see it for yourself.

Multiton   Hand pallet trucks, electric walkies, walkie stackers, walkie reach stackers.

Cushman   Industrial vehicles

Cascade Corporation.  Lift Truck attachments, forks, accessories.  Lots of info, specs, graphics.

Bolzoni  Lift Truck attachments.

Superior Engineering, Inc.  Lift truck attachments

Liftomatic  Lift Truck attachments for drum handling.

Meijer Special Equipment Lift truck attachments including telescopic forks, height shift systems, and weighing forks. I had never heard of telescopic forks or height shift systems until I got an email from these guys. I can certainly see some uses for this type of equipment.

Anver Corporation.  Vacuum Lifting Equipment including vacuum attachments for lift trucks.

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Equipment (Storage Systems-Racking) Also see Racking Pics

Steel King Industries, Inc.  Very good site, lots of info and specs.

Interlake Material Handling

Lyon Workspace Products

SpaceRak

Paltier

Unarco

Speedrack

Ridg-U-Rak

Mecalux

Keneco, Inc.  Carton flow rack

Tier-Rack  Portable pallet stacking frames.

Unex Manufacturing.  Manufacturers of Span-Trak.  Converts pallet rack to carton flow rack

Penco Products.  Shelving, racking, lockers.

J&L Wire Products.  Wire decking for pallet rack

Nashville Wire Products  Wire decking and containers

Equipment (Material Handling Systems, Conveyor, ASRS, AGV, Carousels)  Also check my Conveyor Pics and Automated Equipment Pics pages, ASRS/AGVS User's Association and MaterialHandlingInfo.com.

Rapistan  Conveyor systems, Sortation systems, and more

Hytrol Conveyor Company, Inc.

Roll-A-Way Conveyors.  

Automotion Conveyor Systems.

Buschman Conveyors.

Roach Conveyors  

Best Conveyors

Rapid Industries  Overhead conveyors

Southern Systems Inc.  Heavy duty conveyors including overhead and towline 

Portec Flomaster  Specialty conveyors

Ryson International, Inc. Specialty conveyors

HK Systems, Inc.   ASRS, AGV, and automated conveyor systems

Eskay  Automated material handling systems

Amerden Automated Guided Vehicles If you wondered how much those automated guided vehicles cost, these guys actually list price ranges.  Good idea!

AGV Products   Automated Guided Vehicles.

Jervis B. Webb Company  Conveyor systems, ASRS, AGVs

Corecon  Automated Guided Vehicles

Egemin Automation Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), Towline Conveyors

Seegrid Corporation   AGVs

Loading Automation, Inc.  Automated trailer loading/unloading equipment.

Maxx Material Handling.  Trailer loading equipment including automated loading systems, telescopic and boom conveyors.

White Systems Carousels

Remstar Carousels

Diamond Phoenix  Carousels

Hanel Storage Systems  Vertical Carousels and Lift Modules

Langley.  Lifts, Dumbers, and custom material handling equipment

Real Time Solutions  Pick-to-light products

Sandvik Sorting Systems 

SI Systems Automated A-Frame Order Picking Machines and Pick-to-light systems.

Knapp Logistics & Automation  Automated material handling equipment including Automated Picking Machines, Robotic Material Handling Equipment,Conveyor Systems, and Sortation Systems.

LTW Systems ASRS Stacker Cranes

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Equipment (Misc.) Also see my Dock Equipment Pics Page

Blue Giant  Loading Dock Equipment  Good site, lots of information including safety info.

Rite-Hite Loading Dock Equipment

McGuire Loading Dock Equipment

Serco Loading Dock Equipment

Nova Technology Loading Dock Equipment

Pioneer Manufacturing, Inc.  Loading Dock Equipment

Nordock Loading Dock Equipment

Chase Equipment  Dock Equipment and Scissor Lifts.

Fen-Bay Services  Loading bay equipment.

DL Manufacturing  Company produces some clever, inexpensive, dock safety devices including the Smart Chock, Safety Signal, Versa Light, and Pallet Bumper.

GMR Safety  Provides and interesting wheel chock variation.

Loading Automation  Automated trailer loading and other loading systems.

Keith Walking Floor  Automated trailer loading system.

Shockwatch  Impact alarms.

I.D. Systems  Vehicle monitoring systems

Mettler Toledo  Scales, counting scales, floor scales etc.

Weigh-Tronix  Scales, counting scales, floor scales etc.

Express Cube  Dimensioning and weighing equipment.

Cubiscan  Dimensioning equipment.

SkidWeigh  Scale attachments for lift trucks.

Wildeck, Inc.   Manufacturer of mezzanines, vertical lift equipment, rack guards, equipment guards, and other protective equipment.

Cogan  Mezzanines, vertical lift equipment, partitions.

VertiSpace Mezzanines and related equipment

Rehrig Pacific.  Plastic crates, containers, pallets.

Stratis Plastic Pallets.

Steelpac Pallets  Steel Pallets

Southworth Products  Lift tables, tilt tables, lift carts.

Autoquip Corporation.  Lift tables, tilt tables, turntables, freight lifts.

ECOA Industrial Products  Lift tables, tilt tables, turn tables, loading docks.

Anver Corporation.  Vacuum Lifting Equipment.

AeroGo  Move your product on a cushion of air.

Perlin Casters.  Casters, wheels and related equipment.

GNB Technologies.    Manufacturers of Champion maintenance free batteries and GNB chargers.  I've used these maintenance free batteries on lift trucks and was very impressed.

BHS Battery Handling Systems.

Minuteman International, Inc.  Manufacturer of industrial cleaning equipment (sweepers, scrubbers)

Tennant Floor cleaning equipment

Mouse Cart  Stock cart/scooter. Looks like fun.

Segway  Manufacturers of the HT (Human Transporter) formerly known as "it" or "ginger".  While I don't think this device will change the world in any meaningful way I can see its potential applications in warehouses and industrial settings.

AutoCrib. Marketed as "point of use dispensing systems", these are essentially vending machines designed for controlling tools and consumables in industrial environments.

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Equipment (Bar Code, RF, Data Collection, )  For more info Auto Id Informatin links,  InventoryOps Bookshelf, and

Intermec Technologies Corporation  Portable Terminals, RF Data Collection

LXE  RF Hardware

Symbol Technologies  

Worth Data  Hardware and Software

Welch Allyn/Hand Held Products

PSC, Inc.   Data collection hardware and software.

Compsee      

Psion Teklogix

Metrologic

Videx  Small portable data collection devices

Skandata.  Data collection hardware and software.  Low-cost Microsoft Access based data collection kits.

Sunmax  Data collection hardware. 

Diagnostics Instruments  Rugged mobile computers including models for HAZMAT environments.

Intelligent Instrumentation  Portable and fixed mount data collection terminals.

Zebra Technologies  Primarily Printers, some hardware and software

Sato Bar Code Printers

Tharo Bar code printers and software

Vocollect  Voice technology solutions for inspection, quality assurance, order picking, putaway.  At Frontline Solutions Expo 2001, Vocollect was the only vendor I saw that had a wearable computer designed specifically for voice systems (nice compact system).  Other vendors offered a standard handheld computer modified for use for voice (basically a large handheld terminal in a fanny pack) and called it a "wearable system".  Shame on them.

Voxware  Integrates voice recognition software/hardware into logistics, manufacturing, distribution.

Tagsys  RFID products.  Site includes an RFID evaluation kit that can be purchased online.  Kit includes RFID hardware and software that allows you to experiment/play with RFID technology.

 

More automated data collection links available at Accuracybook.com's AIDC links pages.

Bar Code Scanner Links.

Bar Code Printing Links

Portable Computer Links

Voice Technology Links

RFID Links

Light Directed Links

 

Other Sources of Product Information Various directories of equipment manufacturers

ThomasNet  (Formerly Thomas Register)

Manufacturing Marketplace

MacRae's Blue Book

Material Handling Headquarters

NewEquipment.com

SupplierMarket.com 

Industrial Quick Search

Warehousing.com

DMOZ open directory: Material Handling

Logistic Services Buyers Guide  Find transportation services, public warehouses, etc.

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Software Sites: 

Note:  Since it's not always easy to classify software packages I suggest you look through all of the categories.  You may find some of the listings under ERP are just manufacturing or accounting packages and there may be some listings under manufacturing that have ERP capabilities.  There are also various miscellaneous software packages scattered through these listings. I can't possibly maintain a comprehensive listing of business software so I instead choose to list some of the big players as well as an assortment of smaller, less expensive packages, and some just because they're interesting. Also be aware the software industry is constantly changing and I don't particularly have the time or interest in keeping up with all the consolidation, renaming, etc.

Software (ERP systems)   For more links and information I suggest CIO magazine's ERP research center,  TechRepublic's ERP Supersite,  ERPfans.com,  IT Toolbox Supply Chain  ERP Software News

Compiere  Free (sort of) open source ERP/CRM solution.  Targeting small to mid-sized distribution and service organizations, Compiere is an open source ERP and CRM solution.  If you're disgusted with ERP licensing fees, have some internal I.S. expertise, and an adventurous spirit, you may be a candidate for an open source solution. Compiere does offer fee-based support but there is no obligation to use it.  If you are interested in other open source projects check out SourceForge.net. One catch here is that it appears that Compiere is is built on a commercial database (not free), therefore you would end up with some licensing fees.

webERP Another open source ERP system, and this one looks like it really is Free. webERP is browser-based ERP system built on PHP and MySQL.

JD Edwards Enterprise Software

SAP  SAP R/3 and mySAP 

System Software Associates BPCS software

American Software

Oracle. ERP and everything else.

PeopleSoft. 

Baan

Mapics

Syspro 

QAD MFG/PRO software

Lilly Software Associates

Harris Data   Enterprise software for mid-sized manufacturers and distributors.

ProfitKey.  ERP 

Great Plains Software  Offering enterprise solutions for midmarket business.  The recent acquisition of Great Plains by Microsoft has the potential of creating a high end business management solution with broad availability  to small and mid-sized business.  This will be one to keep an eye on.

Enterprise Logix  ERP for small to mid-sized manufacturers. Includes pricing!!! 

Seradex  ERP for make-to-order, engineer-to-order, and project-based businesses.

Catalpa Systems  Core2 ERP software 

Expandable Software.  Windows NT based ERP system developed for manufacturing (MRPII)

Deacom ERP for manufacturing.

Prelude Systems Inc.  Software focusing on Distribution Industry.

Prophet21  Software focusing on durable goods distribution.

Freeboarders, Inc.  Supply Chain software for the global retail industry.

The LAN Group. Packaged and custom business software products (WMS/ERP).

NetSuite. Hosted internet-based ERP products for various sized companies.

Ezijobz Software. ERP for small to mid-sized manufacturers. Includes pricing!!! 

Manufacturing Action Group Inc.  ERP/MRP software for small to mid sized businesses.  Includes pricing!!! 

Best Software  Formerly Sage Software, Best Software offers several ERP systems for small to mid-sized business including MAS 90, MAS 2000, Platinum, and Best Enterprise.

Mosaic Data Solutions. ERP for small to mid-sized businesses

WinMan  Windows based ERP for small to mid sized manufacturers

2020software.com.  "The Accounting and Business Software Resource."  I generally don't include distributors on my sites page however the collection of low to mid priced accounting and inventory software at this site makes it unique.  Includes pricing!!! 

Tuppas Software  Manufacturing-focused ERP.

Xdata Solutions.  ERP focusing on make-to-order

 

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Software (Inventory Management/Warehouse Management Systems)  Also read my article Warehouse Management Systems and visit Industrial Data and Information Inc for more info on WMS systems.