Material Handling Has Endless Possibilities: RIVUS®Creating Value

Q: How can Mexican companies optimize their operations through logistics without compromising cost and quality?

A: To optimize logistics, it is necessary to understand that the term is more complex than simply moving a product from point A to point B. There are several processes and activities to optimize if we frame the opportunity through a better understanding of the business and by selecting the desire Row to Market. Logistics is not an isolated activity or just part of the business; it directly impacts the entire operation and the bottom profit. To begin with the evolution of your Supply Chain,  it is necessary to invest in your first key trigger: Digitalization.

Q: How do you promote the implementation of innovative technologies among clients in Latin America?

A: Technology should not be associated with a cost of millions of dollars, to a “nice-to-have” term, or to a “time-consuming project” typically outside of our yearly budget. Innovation, improvement, and optimization can come at zero cost. My first recommendation for users is to frame their current “modus operandi” in direct cooperation with their current and potential suppliers. I mean, a 360° ops-vision integrated by external and internal “know-how”. Innovation and technology will be a result nourished by the relationships with our in-house collaborators and value-added suppliers once both parties understand what is vital in the short and long term.

Q: How have you promoted autonomous technologies among industries built around just-in-time and just-in-sequence operations?

A: We are careful not to try to innovate just because the board of directors asks for it. We perform a conceptual analysis to identify the aspects that are most important to our customer’s operations and their existing opportunities. This requires strong collaboration between suppliers and customers on a product, application, and operational point of view. Logistics and Material Handling are extremely broad. We cannot just approach a company with a single solution. The approach depends on what the analysis tells us about what the company wants and needs.

Q: How has e-commerce revolutionized these concepts and how do you think it will impact future technology developments?

A: E-commerce has helped companies understand that the most important part of their strategy is the customer. This often takes companies years to understand. The retail world is very different from the e-commerce world. In retail, it is necessary to stack items into wooden pallets and wrap them for shipment and delivery. This allows companies to optimize immediate costs, but this method is resistant to innovation. On the other hand, e-commerce relies on innovation. E-commerce companies eschew pallets; they prefer reusable cages and one-touch technologies, which optimize distribution and make the whole process more efficient.

Flexibility has also become extremely important for e-commerce companies, and they need to look at logistics through a different lens. For example, workstations in warehouses should not be in a fixed point away from operations. Workstations should be able to move through the warehouse to allow workers to move to where the products and operations are.

Q: What trends and strategies does Rivus recommend to customers so that they can accomplish this successfully?

A: Companies need to understand that those responsible for Logistics & Supply Chain are not just operators; they are much more than that. It is a matter of mindset. For example, in 2018, no one understood Material Handling, which is (by definition) the industry that makes the supply chain work. This has changed and now there is a material handling concept that means something powerful to our customers. We see infinite opportunities in material handling.

Rivus is making customers aware of the value within the supply chain of material handling and logistics. There are so many new technologies, equipment, and robots giving way to new possibilities.

Q: How can you help to make these technologies more accessible and affordable to SMEs?

A: There are already many players in the material handling industry, technology-wise mainly in the EU and the US. These companies have experienced the problems that we have faced or that we may face in the future. We can learn from them.

Technology does not move alone; it requires support and services throughout its entire life span. Rivus helps to keep technology in top condition. We also help customers choose the best products for their company. Businesses must build stronger, deeper relationships beyond that of suppliers and customers.

Q: What is in the future for Rivus and what does the company want to accomplish?

A: We want the industry to understand material handling. Rivus has thousands of solutions in its portfolio and we want to continue growing. I know we will soon become the Marketplace of Material Handling Solutions.