Nearly two-thirds of businesses (61 percent) surveyed in North America and Europe recognize that the post-holiday period represents the most challenging time of the year due to the high numbers of returns, according to an Intermec study. Yet despite this, more than half (52 percent) of distribution center managers admit they don't have the appropriate processes and tools in place to determine if returned goods should be discarded, returned to vendor or moved quickly back into inventory.

Tudespensa.com (Your Pantry), a Spanish online supermarket, delivers food, household cleaning supplies, toiletries and other products to customers throughout Spain, from its central warehouse located in Madrid. To ensure that the high volume of goods are delivered quickly, and at the scheduled time and place, its warehouse employs radio frequency identification to help it load ordered goods into the proper delivery vehicle and in the correct sequence, according to Jose Vicente Caballero, the logistics manager of DLR, a provider of controlled temperature-storage and order-picking services.

Dematic, a maker of logistics systems for factories, warehouses and distribution centers, has devised a new technology to allow customers to manage operations remotely.

Dave Noble, director of sales and marketing with Seegrid Corp., offers a glimpse into the use of vision-guided robotic industrial trucks in manufacturing and distribution facilities. He also shares his view of the technology's future.

What is "Goods-to-Person," and how can it be of value in boosting the efficiency of fulfillment operations within warehouses and distribution centers? A briefing by Mark Dickinson, executive sales manager with SSI Schaefer.

Cognex Corp. has released new "field-of-view" expansion technology for its DataMan 300 series of image-based barcode readers.

Recent Intermec research reveals that in the last six months alone, 79 percent of warehouse managers have been tasked with finding an average 19-percent cost saving from existing operations. Despite this mounting pressure to cut costs and the need to find efficiency gains in every process, managers admit to losing time and money through known inefficient workflows.

DAP Technologies has introduced the MT1010 rugged tablet, running the Windows operating system.

Any time merchants can cut costs, they're in a better position. They can either lower their prices, allowing them to be more competitive, or they can pocket the savings and earn higher margins.

Motorola Solutions has introduced a new rugged mobile computer with long-range radio frequency identification (RFID) and barcode-reading capability.