Material handling equipment is all equipment that relates to the movement, storage, control and protection of materials, goods and products throughout the process of manufacturing, distribution, consumption and disposal. Material handling equipment is the mechanical equipment involved in the complete system. Material handling equipment is generally separated into four main categories: storage and handling equipment, engineered systems, industrial trucks, and bulk material handling.
Material handling equipment is used to increase throughput, control costs, and maximize productivity. There are several ways to determine if the material handling equipment is achieving peak efficiency. These include capturing all relevant data related to the warehouse’s operation (such as SKUs), measuring how many times an item is “touched” from the time it is ordered until it leaves the building, making sure you are using the proper picking technology, and keeping system downtime to a minimum.
