Some things are just plain fun to watch. We were more than a little excited to check out the recent New Jersey LogistXGames. Never heard of it? We're not surprised -- this was the first year the event was held in our state.
The Story of the Games
Everybody knows that competition drives both industry and innovation, and here at Dayton Toyota in South Brunswick, NJ, we practice that on a daily basis to ensure that our customers get the best value for their new and used vehicles. However, there are many industries that rarely have the chance to compete directly, much less in a way that includes prizes and news coverage.
The LogistXGames were a rare opportunity for warehouse workers to come together and showcase the techniques they've acquired for packing and shipping the items that people across the country order every day. From packing speed and obstacle courses to tossing and assembly, there was nothing that these teams couldn't handle.
The event itself took place in part of the South Brunswick, NJ complex owned by Forsgate Industrial Partners, a co-sponsor for the event alongside the Material Handling Society of New Jersey and local real estate group CBRE New Jersey.
A Spectacle Like No Other
Until we saw the activities of the LogistXGames, we never realized just how impressive many of the people in the packing and shipping industry really are. Still, it probably shouldn't have surprised us. Just think about how many products are ordered and shipped online each day in our country. For major holidays it's not unusual for some retailers to see hundreds of orders per second, and that's not counting the collective orders for smaller suppliers.
That means that the entire shipping industry has to be ready to handle incredible volumes -- and while daily orders are usually less than that, even a relaxed ten orders a second translates to an average of over half a million packages during the day alone. That's a lot of cardboard, and it's often people that are putting these things together.
Shipping and packaging may be a labor industry, but it's far from unskilled, and the winning teams deserve the recognition they got for their accomplishments.
Bringing Them Back
The LogistXGames of South Brunswick, NJ were occasionally referred to as the first such games, giving rise to the hope that this will be an ongoing event for an industry that rarely gets as much time in the spotlight as it deserves. Personally, we're hoping that they'll be coming back for as long as the shipping industry continues to thrive in our area -- and that the rest of you will have the chance to see them in person.
Despite the competition involved, the games were effectively a party for everyone involved. In fact, many of the companies whose workers were represented weren't even competing with each other. The shipping industry is a field that supports just about every other sort of business, making it integral to the economic strength of state and nation alike.
While it was New Jersey’s first time hosting the games, they've also been held in some of the other major logistics centers of the nation, bringing together the best teams from the best warehouses in a grand party that both supports their industry and lets everyone have a little fun. Here's hoping for many more years. At Dayton Toyota we love the community in which e live, and we're glad to give these games the recognition they deserve.
