Material Handling is the movement, protection, storage, and control of materials and products throughout manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, consumption, and disposal. As you can probably imagine, it’s critical in modern supply chains.

Material handling equipment (MHE) includes everything from basic pallet jacks to sophisticated automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS). The right equipment directly impacts labor costs, throughput rates, and storage density.

In warehousing operations, effective material handling typically accounts for 20-25% of your operational costs, and it can make or break your productivity targets. Some facilities improve their throughput by 40% just by optimising their material handling systems and equipment selection.

The key components include:

• Storage and handling systems: Your racking systems, shelving, and containers that determine storage density and accessibility. A well-designed system maximizes cubic space utilization – I’ve seen facilities increase their storage capacity by 30-40% through vertical storage solutions.
• Transport equipment: Your forklifts, conveyors, AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) that move materials through your facility. The right mix depends on your throughput requirements and facility layout.
• Picking systems: From basic manual picking to voice-directed or pick-to-light systems that improve accuracy and speed. Modern picking systems can reduce error rates to less than 1 per thousand picks.
• Loading/unloading equipment: Dock levelers, pallet inverters, and truck restraints that ensure safe and efficient transfer of materials.

Material handling directly impacts your operational costs and efficiency. When you consider that labour costs can make up the majority of your warehouse operating budget, it’s important to take material handling into account. Getting it right affects:

• Order fulfillment speed and accuracy
• Labor productivity and safety
• Space utilization
• Inventory control and damage reduction
• Operating costs

The biggest mistake that some companies make is treating material handling as an afterthought rather than a core strategic function. Poor material handling choices lead to bottlenecks, increased labor costs, and missed customer commitments.