Positioning and Thinking of Material Handling

Enterprise materialsHandlingMaterial handling is a relatively complex issue. Due to the unbalanced economic development between the eastern and western regions of our country, the diversity of enterprise material handling systems is determined. There are unmanned material handling systems that reflect the advanced technological level of material handling in today's world, composed of unmanned automatic handling carts, automated warehouses, automated conveyors, etc., as well as more primitive material handling lines that are still at the mid-20th century level. However, regardless of the level, one thing is common: thesematerial handling systemsare all matched with the economic conditions of the enterprise, product quality requirements, labor force levels, product market competitiveness, and other conditions. In other words, there is no best material handling system, only the most economical and suitable material handling system. Since conveyor handling systems continuously transport large quantities of materials between points A and B, with low handling costs and relatively accurate handling times, they are widely used in assembly lines and production lines for mass production. Practice has proven that conveyor handling systems are the most suitable handling systems for mass production methods. Therefore, conveyor handling systems have actually become synonymous with mass production. This type of handling system is actually positioned by external demand environments, requiring a single type of material, large quantities, and monotonous varieties. When the social living standard is still at the level of basic needs, this handling system aligns with society. As society enters a moderately prosperous stage, demand becomes diversified, personalized, and humanized. The identical products produced by mass production lines can obviously not meet market demands. This external demand feedback requires adjustments and changes in the original production lines in terms of function, appearance, color, size, etc., making traditional mass production line handling systems seem inadequate.

Such a handling system is inappropriate for the positioning of enterprises. The fundamental reason for this inappropriateness stems from the change in the economic environment from high-speed growth to stable growth, from the change in people's consumption concepts from monotonous sameness to diversification, and from the change in the general living standards from basic needs to the development of a moderately prosperous society. Its characteristics are small batch, multi-variety production that adapts to the ever-changing consumer market. This production method requires the replacement of a large number of tools, handling a large number of different raw materials and components, and the production line may simultaneously assemble several different products or frequently switch to assembling different products. These characteristics require the logistics system of the enterprise to have a certain degree of adaptability, that is, the flexibility of the logistics system. A logistics system with a certain degree of flexibility is suitable for enterprises that need to adapt to market changes at any time. Industries with strong personalization in mass demand, such as home appliances, light industry, electronics, automobile manufacturing, and tobacco industry, should position their logistics systems as flexible logistics systems with considerable technological content.

Formining,cement,coaland other raw material industrial enterprises, the external market has little demand for changes in product shape, function, color, etc., while the demand for their products continues to increase, determining that these enterprises' logistics systems do not need flexibility but rather need to continuously adapt to the increasing social demand. Therefore, conveyor handling systems that can continuously transport large quantities of materials, with low handling costs and easy automation and unmanned operation, naturally become the first choice for these enterprises.

The traditional positioning thought of enterprise logistics systems is to first consider costs. Today's enterprises' positioning thought for logistics systems is primarily to adapt to market changes, and only then to consider how to reduce logistics costs.

EnterprisematerialsThe ultimate goal of the material handling system is to reduce handling costs while ensuring the normal production of the enterprise, ensuring that the enterprise's products have sufficient competitiveness in the market. In modern enterprises, material handling costs generally account for about 20% to 30% of the total product cost, and in the machinery industry, material handling costs can be as high as 35% to 40%. Therefore, reducing the operating costs of the material handling system is a way to increase enterprise profits.