Intelligrated Exec Anticipates Good 2011

Jan. 28, 2011
Recent retail sales gains in the fourth quarter for the 2010 Christmas season are encouraging, according to Intelligrated CEO Chris Cole

Recent retail sales gains in the fourth quarter for the 2010 Christmas season are encouraging, according to Intelligrated CEO Chris Cole. In the first of a series of quarterly Executive InSight blog posts on his site, Cole provides his outlook for the upcoming year.

“We see that a lot of customers are looking to improve their capacity and also to upgrade some of their older equipment,” he adds. “We think this will be a slowly building year in terms of new business, but that overall it will be an up year compared to last year...with steady, solid improvement.”

In his video message, Cole reviews current trends driving the demand for automation, including:

Impact outside the four walls: Companies are beginning to look beyond the DC at ways that distribution processes can reduce the cost of operating stores.

Getting more: Companies will continue to look for ways to increase productivity with their existing infrastructures.

Smart controls and software make it possible: Sophisticated controls and software will drive productivity gains and maximize ROI.

New legislation: The extension of the bonus depreciation deduction under code section 168(k), 100% depreciation deduction for capital investments, and the passage of S.510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, will push more investment into facility upgrades and automation.