March 2009 Newsletter

Download this month's newsletter here.

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Our March Program

Our next facility tour will be on Tuesday, March 24th at the Volkswagen/Audi Distribution Center in Cranbury, New Jersey.

More details of this program will be posted on this website in the coming days.

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend.

Mark Your Calendars for the MHSNJ Classic

Our annual scholarship fundraiser event "The MHSNJ Classic" is scheduled for Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009. Please mark you calendars and plan to join us for our annual day of fun and competition for a good cause. More information will be available as we get closer to the event date.

The Material Handling Society awards scholarships annually to college students pursuing studies in material handling related fields. Our annual MHSNJ Classic Golf Outing each June raises over $5,000 annually to be awarded to students from both Rutgers University and New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).



Click here to view the companies and individuals who support our scholarship.


Please contact Don Cronin if you wish to particpate in this event, or become a sponsor.

Photos from the newegg.com Tour and Dinner Program

We would like to thank newegg.com for opening their doors to our group for an excellent tour. We would also like to thank Geoff Sisko for his interesting and informative presentation on current warehousing operations. Finally, we would like to thank Bob Poth and Dematic for sponsoring this month's program.

Fred Gerstler presents a certificate of appreciation to our newegg.com tour host Steve Bautz.


Dave Lodwig with Geoff Sisko of Transystems who spoke at our dinner.



Allison Clancy welcomes new society members.

We are finalizing our next program in March. Please check this website for the latest information.

Tour of Newegg.com Distribution Center

On Wednesday January 21st, the MHSNJ is touring the newegg.com distribution center in Edison New Jersey.

TOUR DETAILS

newegg.com Distribution Center
45 Patrick Avenue
Edison, New Jersey
732-321-0624

Tour highlights include:

• Facility is 380,000 SF
• 8 miles of conveyor
• 20,000 SKU locations
• Processes 17,000 sales orders per day
• State-of-the-art pick to light system
• Intelligent bar code management
• 7 shipping lanes
• 30 packing lanes

Newegg is an online e-commerce company offering more than 25,000 computer hardware and software, consumer electronics and communications products in stock at competitive prices and ready to ship at lightning speed. They serve do-it-yourselfers, hardcore gamers, students, stay-at-home parents, small to medium size businesses, IT professionals, resellers, and anyone desiring a comprehensive digital lifestyle.

The company opened for business in 2001 and achieved $1.5 billion in annual sales in its first 6 years of operation. Inc. Magazine recently distinguished Newegg in its list of America’s 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies. It is one of four in the list’s 25 year history to qualify on growth merits while also recording over $1 billion in annual sales.

Newegg emphasizes superior customer experience through a user-friendly website that continually improves serving their customers’ needs. Stressing superior logistics, 99% of their orders ship same day. More than 9 million registered shoppers have applauded their efforts by rating them among the highest-rated online retailers in the world. Their headquarters is located in City of Industry, California.

DINNER PROGRAM

TOPIC: 2008 Warehouse/DC Operations Survey Results



SPEAKER: Geoff Sisko - Transystems/Gross & Associates

Logistic Magazine’s 3rd Annual Warehouse/DC Operations survey revealed that today’s DC managers are “battening down” their operations as they ride out 2008’s economic storm. Although some managers have tried keeping warehouses and DCs “leaner and greener,” most are proceeding with caution, sticking with the equipment and plans they already have in place, and making very few plans for expansion. In short, managers are holding tight.

Geoff Sisko of TranSystems /Gross & Associates will dig into all of the details of this highly anticipated annual survey and offer the annual state of warehouse and DC operations in North America at the dinner meeting following the tour of newegg.com.

Geoff spent twenty-four years in operations and two years in consulting prior to joining Gross & Associates seventeen years ago. Gross & Associates was acquired by TranSystems Corporation in May of 2008. Geoff is an Assistant Vice President at TranSystems. His career has included experience in manufacturing, distribution, production and inventory control, construction management and general management.

PROGRAM SPONSOR

MHSNJ would like to thank our program sponsor for their support of this month's program, as well as supporting our society.

SCHEDULE

3:30 - Registration at the Tour Site

4:00 - Tour Begins

5:15 - Reception at Restaurant

5:45 - Dinner Program Begins

6:30 - Dinner

DINNER PROGRAM LOCATION

Sheraton Edison Hotel - Raritan Center
125 Raritan Center Parkway
Edison, NJ
732-225-8300

DIRECTIONS

Directions to Tour: Exit 1B on I-287 (US 1 South to Trenton), approx 0.8 mile on Rte.1, turn right onto Prince Street, go approx. 0.1 mile to left turn onto Patrick to newegg.com facility.

Click Here for a Map to the Tour Location

To the Dinner Program/Restaurant: Leaving newegg, turn right onto Prince St, stay to the right at light; turn left onto Rte. 1, and take first exit on right to 531 (South Bonhamtown) merges into Main Street. Continue straight to light at Woodbridge Ave (Rte 514 East). Turn left on Woodbridge Ave. to exit for Raritan Center on right. Stay right at bottom of ramp, go straight thru light to Hotel parking lot.

Click Here for a Map to the Dinner Program Location

REGISTRATION

Registration prior to tours is strongly recommended to guarantee admittance. Tours often fill to capacity prior to program date which prevents same-day on-site registrations.

Please pre-register to allow us to adequately plan our programs and dinners. Walk-in registrations (when available) are subject to an additional charge.

MEMBER PRE-REGISTRATION RATE - $50.00

Please Enter Name:
Please Enter Company:

NON-MEMBER PRE-REGISTRATION RATE - $60.00

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Please Enter Company:

Message from the President

Dear Members and Friends:

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and would like to wish all of you a Happy New Year. MHSNJ is celebrating of our 60th anniversary in 2009. Since 1949 we have served the supply chain and distribution community of New Jersey. We are the oldest and largest local material handling organization in the country. We are the oldest because of the efforts of the founding members, but we are the largest because of the efforts of our current members. You should be proud of the fact that you make us the best organization of our type by far.

It looks like this will be a “special “ year for all of us with regard to our businesses. As the sales and profit numbers begin to roll in for the 2008 holiday season and fiscal year, they seem to bring only disappointing news. This means companies will have to react accordingly. I am a firm believer that a down economy is a great opportunity to strengthen yourself and your company.

MHSNJ provides you with an opportunity to help strengthen your knowledge by coming out and seeing other operations like we will see this month with newegg. You will see some great applications of automation to help make newegg compete in a very tough electronics market. I think we have to resist the natural urge to hunker down and not waste time away from our day to day business activities. We have to realize that the several hours we take to learn about how others achieve their goals will actually save us time and maybe make us better at what we do.

We are just finalizing the remaining tours and programs for the rest of the year. I think you will really like what we have to offer, and hope you will agree that it will be time well spent. Since we have taken the newsletter to an electronic format we will be in touch with you more often during each month with more helpful information. We started this month with an article about the legal rights of distributors with their relationship with manufacturers. We hope you will find this informative.I look forward to seeing you at the newegg tour.

We especially look forward to Geoff Sisko’s presentation on the 2008 Warehouse Survey at the dinner meeting following the tour.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dave Lodwig

MHSNJ President

January 2009 Newsletter

Download this month's newsletter here.

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Pay Your 2010 Program Year Dues Today

Use the form below to pay your annual dues. New members may pay their initial dues and existing members can maintain their membership.

Thank you for your continued support of MHSNJ.

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Happy Holidays from MHSNJ

All of us at the Material Handling Society of New Jersey wish you a happy and safe holiday season.

We hope to see you in the New Year at one of our upcoming programs.

Membership Renewals

Dear Fellow Material Handling Professionals,

By now you should have received your membership dues invoice in the mail. If you have not, then perhaps we do not have a correct address for you. Please contact the Material Handling Society at 732-477-5112 to update your current contact information.

Given the current economic issues that we have experienced over the past year, it is important to continue to network and stay connected with those individuals and corporations within our profession. With that said, the Society will be updating and distributing a revised Membership Directory in the first quarter of 2009. Only those paid members will be eligible to receive the updated directory.

I encourage everyone to stay current with your membership dues, so that we may continue to work (and stay) together as an industry.

In addition, if you or a colleague knows of anyone in our industry interested in joining The Material Handling Society, please encourage them to visit our website at www.mhsnj.com and sign up for membership. It will be a rewarding experience.

Best wishes for a happy and safe holiday and a New Year filled with peace and prosperity.

Allison Clancy

Membership Chair