Innovation in Materials Handling

“I agree, there is an abundance of information out there and not all of it useful. Occasionally it’s really hard to distinguish between what is just a concept, and what is an actual current deliverable,” says Jon Buckley, Commercial Director at Toyota Material Handling.

“Here at Toyota Material Handling we’re focussed on making it as easy as possible for anyone to find insightful information and resources” adds Buckley. “We offer a range of materials to help people learn about Toyota’s material handling equipment, our technology and the incredible range of services we offer”. “There’s traditional printed material and an increasing volume of digital content and videos to make it easy to learn about 1) what’s possible and 2) how to really benefit from it”. Buckley explains that Toyota is also heavily invested in providing excellent customer service support and advice. “With one of the largest teams of field technicians and our highly trained sales team dedicated to providing quality advice and support to our customers, we believe going to the source to understand individual organisations needs and only then proffering solutions” says Buckley. 

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“Although Toyota is a global company and the World’s largest maker of forklifts, we pride ourselves on supporting our local customers and the industry in the UK”. “Take the forthcoming IMHX* show in September of this year, it’s the UK’s biggest dedicated material handling exhibition and we will have the largest presence; we know it’s important to bring together all of our best and newest equipment, ideas and resources” explains Buckley. “Some companies come and go, but Toyota has consistently been a leading contributor at IMHX because we believe passionately in taking the opportunity to meet many of our customers and help them learn about all of the new innovations from Toyota in one place” says Buckley. 

What areas are experiencing the most change from innovation in materials handling? Buckley explains that the pace and nature of the change in materials handling is being driven by innovation in other areas, not just in the material handling equipment. “You won’t be surprised to hear me say that it mostly comes down to digitalisation” states Buckley. “Digitalisation has changed buyer behaviour globally affecting entire supply chains, as a result of blossoming eCommerce demand, rising convenience and return expectations and ultimately the earthquake we are experiencing on the High Street.”

“In addition to that if one considers current high levels of employment, reducing availability of labour and our need to improve industrial productivity to be competitive internationally it’s no surprise that there is an increasing desire for materials handling companies like Toyota to innovate and help companies to answer this challenge” he adds. 

“If I had to name the four key topics customers have flagged as vital in materials handling planning right now, I would say they are efficiency, automation, connectivity and energy” he explains.

Whilst it might not be at the top of everyone’s list, efficiency is a key area that is often overlooked explains Buckley. “It’s often mistakenly assumed that innovation starts with equipment but that isn’t the case. The worst thing a company can do is automate an inefficient process”. Most material handling operations can always be improved (see the Toyota value of Kaizen – continuous improvement). It’s particularly important to check that processes are optimised before introducing automation otherwise wasteful processes end up being fixed. “As you would expect from the organisation that is the home of Lean practice and developed the world famous Toyota Production System (TPS), visitors to our stand at IMHX will be able to meet lean experts and gain helpful insight into how Lean practices can help them” says Buckley.

Automation continues to be of huge interest to materials handling users both large and small. Whether through pressure on labour availability or the need for increased efficiency, the topic of automation raises many questions. “I think the number one question for anyone considering introducing automation is, is automation right for me?” says Buckley. “At Toyota we’ve got plenty of experience in answering this question and we’ve helped lots of organisations decided how to tackle this”. Buckley says that starting small and simple is the answer “automation doesn’t have to be all or nothing, starting by automating non-value added activities one at a time is a very sensible approach” he says.

“The power of connectivity is also often overlooked” says Buckley, “when people talk about the Internet of Things they often mention Siri or a fridges that automatically order food, but just think about the implications of connected or ‘Smart’ forklift trucks on supply chain efficiency”. Toyota’s I_Site is a leading connectivity solution that continues to grow in power and sophistication “it doesn’t matter whether you’ve got one truck, or hundreds I_Site can immediately help visualise issues, control access and eliminate wasted time and money. Visitors to our IMHX stand will be able to see the very latest innovations in this area” says Buckley.

“Our theme at IMHX is THINK: LIKE:TOYOTA which means that by using Toyota’s lean and detailed approach it is possible to become truly efficient and to make the very best use of digitalisation and data. It’s our thoughtful approach to technology and information that so many people find invaluable” says Buckley. “I’m certain a visit to Toyota at IMHX will be invaluable to our visitors, allowing access to advice and solutions to many of the questions they face, as well as seeing the fantastic direction we are heading in as well” he adds.

Visit Toyota Material Handling at IMHX stand 20D90. To register for a free entrance pass with Toyota visit www.toyota-forklifts.co.uk/imhx-2019 (The IMHX show runs from 24^th to 27^th September 2019 at the NEC).