Attending a technology show like Modex for the first time can be extremely intimidating. Garrett Smith, senior account executive with DLN, tells how companies to can get their arms around automation, and get out of reaction mode.

When encountering a huge material-handling show like Modex, where does one begin, in deciding how to adopt automation for one’s own operation?

Smith acknowledges that attendance at a show on the scale of Modex can be intimidating. Making things even more difficult, however, is the tendency of some decision-makers to attend the show without having a clear idea of what kind of automated systems they need, and how to apply them.

Given the hectic pace of logistics and e-commerce today, it’s understandable that providers find themselves “putting out fires every day, just in running their operations,” Smith says. Such a dilemma might entail trying to work with antiquated or obsolete equipment, to the point where facility managers don’t have time to sit down and figure out exactly how and when to replace it.

The goal is to get out of “reaction mode,” Smith says. And to do that, logistics providers need to take a step back and do an audit of what kinds of systems and equipment they have in place right now. Only then can they determine just what needs replacing, and what can wait for upgrading. “At least it gets you to a stable point where you can stop focusing on just being reactionary to emergencies,” he says. “Then you can start looking ahead, and figure out where to apply these technologies.”

Often facility managers will realize that they don’t need to construct an entirely new structure, or install a massive automation system, when they can address specific pressure points and realize a much faster return on investment, Smith says. In the process, they gain the luxury of being able to devise a long-term plan for facility automation.