1.29.2016

3 Leading Logistics Warehouses in California

Unlike common storage warehouses, distribution and logistics warehouses provide a greater level of services for clients. With California an epicenter for shipping, distribution, and logistic, pinpointing a reputable warehousing solution is not always an easy endeavor.
Logistics Warehouses in California

When you do learn and understand the information about some of the leading logistics warehouses in California, you can make the right decisions for your company. To help you get started, here is a review of three leading logistics warehouses in California.

United Facilities, Inc.

United Facilities, Inc. is a supply chain management and third-party logistics company that has continued to provide people with the best services in the United States, with many offices throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America as well as North America. They offer end-to-end and global supply chain services that includes transportation management, international freight forwarding, truckload brokerage, customs brokerage, project logistics, global trade compliance, and global TMS technology. United Facilities also offer a couple different logistics warehouses in California.

With their tailor made engineering solutions and integrated logistics to these plastics, pulp and paper, chemical, consumer goods as well as automotive industry, you will be satisfied with their best services. They provide warehousing as well as value-added services like packaging, pick and pack, bulk material handling, kitting as well as sequencing combined with modern transportation solutions. The warehouses of United Facilities features are rail, hazmat, advanced WMS and temperature controls.

Inland Star Distribution Centers, Inc.

Inland Star offer a nationwide logistics solutions for the packaged goods manufacturers. The company has specialized in transportation, warehousing, and auxiliary fulfillment services in delivering efficient distribution of these merchandise. The company has a cutting edge technology as well as safety features when facilitating storage and food grade handling as well as hazardous chemical materials. They have been rated as among those companies that will make sure that you do enjoy the kind of services you would need when you hire them.
Warehouses California

Inland Star is a provider of full line of distribution, transportation and warehousing services with a 1.2 million square feet in terms of storage in Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, Illinois, Ohio & Chicago. Equipment includes slip sheet, extension forks, clamps-roll, and barrel. You will definitely be certain that you would enjoy the kind of products that you enjoy from them including food, alcohol, chemicals, paper, retail items, building & industrial, steel, ladders, lumber and general merchandise

LeSaint Logistics

LeSaint Logistics is a nationally recognized third-party logistics provider, which has a well-know and flexible services in terms of performance levels when you need power your supply through delivering intelligent solutions to streamline efficiencies as well as boost your bottom line. The company has an amazing line that has made them stay out as one company whenever you need these services.

LeSaint Logistics offers a wide range of services that has made prefer them to others especially when picking and packing their distribution. The company also provide a wide range of modern logistics services when handling their customer’s products right from the manufacturing plant to an end user. You will appreciate the kind of services that you would enjoy whenever you are acquiring the services.

In conclusion, the above is a review of the top three Leading Logistics Warehouses in California to help you make an informed decisions.

1.26.2016

An Inside Look at the Turnkey Automation Systems from CASI

Cornerstone Automation Systems (CASI) is the foremost automation solutions provider in the entire industry. It is known to offer, intelligent and innovative automation for the purpose of order fulfillment operations. Below is the list of top products from CASI.
CASI Automation Systems

CASI Conveyors

CASI Transmaster conveyor is a from a modular line of basic 24 volt direct current roller type conveyer systems that can be customized and adjusted for a wide variety of functions, such as the belt over roller, the zero pressure accumulation as well as belted curves and the low profile.


Each part of the conveyor is a plug and simply play method and can enable casters to install it in a very easy way. Moreover, the machine has a system of built in logic, and power rollers, to completely eliminate, the requirement for there to be separate cabinets, for the purpose of electrical controls.

CASI IBOD Case Opener

The fully operational, automatic case opening machine comes with a programmable feature which is ideal for warehousing activities and processes. The mechanism is available in two options, The Single IBOD intelligent and smart box opening design and it is capable of removing up to 500 case tops per hour.


The specially designed IBOD Duo is capable of removing up to a 1000 cartons within one hour which is truly impressive. However, the actual speeds of case cutting will be dependent on the size of the boxes and the different variables, which will create alterations on the cut time.

CASI Picking Systems 
 CASI Picking Systems

The picking products are all differentiated from each other. The decision regarding the method of picking order depends on a number of methods. These are the various features of the products actually being handled, such as the total pickups per order, the quantities per pick, the number of picks per SKU, the total number of SKU’s, private labeling.

Also, if you are working with full pallet load picks, piece picks and case picks, CASI picking systems are some of the best in the industry. In many scenarios, a combination of many picking methods is required to adapt to different product characteristics.

CASI Dimensioners

CASI produces a cubing and package dimensioning system for many applications. These cubers and dimensioners are an integral part in the process involved in warehousing. In essence, Solidcube is sold along with the best CASI in motion scaling device in order to completely and perfectly record and calculate package weights and dimensions. It is a great and useful device for the quality control and the rate shopping.


CASI Sortation Systems

CASI manufactures a wide range of case and carton sortation systems as a part of its impressive, intelligent automation systems. These advanced sortation systems are used for the purpose of order fulfillment processes.


CASI offers systems for the large cartons, parcels, mailers, as well as item level sortation. The most typical applications involve reject systems, zone routing, sort to order and many more. As with any type of sorter machine, the rate of parts per minute totally depends on the lengths of the items, the conveyor speed as well as the perfect gapping between all the products.

To source CASI automation systems and product solutions, check out WalzEQ.com one of the leading suppliers of automation solutions for many types of businesses.

1.22.2016

How to Outsource Medical Billing Services to the Right Company

It is important for medical clinics and health centers to maximize their reimbursements to ensure they do not lose money and at the same time remain compliant. Medical billing and coding normally entails reading notes and medical files of medical practitioners and translating the prescriptions, diagnosis, and services provided into the appropriate codes for purposes of insurance claims.
Outsourcing medical billing and coding


A medical billing service provider submits the claims to the insurers and follows up on any denied claims. Medical billing mainly involves talking to insurers on phone to follow up on late payments or denied claims.

Outsourcing medical billing and coding eliminates stress and headache involved when performing these functions. It is highly advisable to leave such tasks to the experts. Here are tips for choosing the right billing services for a health center or clinic.

Sympathy & Diligence

All health providers should get paid for services rendered based on clinical guidelines, medical necessity, patient eligibility and benefits and reimbursement policy. The billing and coding company must be willing to fight so that claims are paid appropriately and reimbursements are done in a timely manner.

Good, Verifiable References

References are crucial to vouch for the billing company’s credibility. Whatever claims they make about themselves and what they intend to do in order assist the clinic or health center with billing and coding must be backed by verifiable and credible references.

Give Value & Offer Extra Benefits

A good billing service should do more than just entering charges, collecting money and getting paid by percentage. They should also be able to go for the extra mile to take care of the health center or clinic. For example they should check if the claims are properly coded and billed or whether all services and number of units are billed.

The company should have the knowledge and experience to put extra values in their work. They should be able to recommend a better method of billing and coding and educate the clinic or health center based on their knowledge from school and real hands-on experience. It is often a good idea to ensure the billing service provider has coding certifications. They should therefore be willing and in a position to offer free consultancy and support at no additional cost.

A Specialty-Focused Approach 
medical billing consultant

Select a billing company with years of experience in the health center's or clinic's area of specialization. This will ensure reimbursements are maximized and are also in line with the proper guidelines.

For instance if it is a cardiology clinic, the right billing service is one that has an existing cardiologist client or has vast experience providing an effective cardiology billing service. The billing company must have the ability and experience to read and properly process medical documentations relevant to the health center or clinic, for instance lab results and various progress and diagnostics reports.

This guarantees that money is not lost and yet compliance is maintained. The billing company should also provide comprehensive monthly reports for example productivity reports and patient and insurance balances aging analysis

Keenly Look at the Numbers

The medical billing company must be conversant with insurance EOBs (explanations of benefits). The company should know how to recover all underpayments and appeal for claims that have been denied erroneously. They must know about the health center's or clinic's contract rates and make a judgment on when is the right time to renegotiate the fees. They can offer guidance on how to negotiate for fees or even do the negotiations at no additional cost.

Access to the Clinic's or Health Center's Account

The billing service should allow the clinic or health center to get full and secured access to their account anytime. They should also give full access rights where one can, for example, look up all patient accounts and print reports. In addition, a billing company of good repute will prepare and send frequent patient statements, for example every fortnight.

Reputation of Quality Customer Service

The billing company must have excellent customer service. It should be accessible on phone or have a turn-around time of less than 2 hours when responding to an email or phone call. Preferably, it should provide one team leader or contact person to handle the health center's or clinic's account.

1.21.2016

Hope in Business

Hope by definition is an optimistic attitude of mind based on an expectation of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large.


How Long Does One Stay Hopeful in Business?

Before I answer this very individual and personal question, let me just say this: I cannot predict the future. No one can. And if someone says differently…then they’re trying to sell you something!

In any business, uncertainty and hopelessness is the elephant in the room. Hopelessness and despair are a daily battle for every one of us. I include myself, because I am also a small business owner trying to make it here in L.A.
There are so many opportunities here that your life can change tomorrow. Tomorrow! And I have seen it.

My next-door neighbor who I have known for 15 years, is in his 50’s and he just landed a regular role on a TV show last month. And his advice is… don’t stop. Don’t give up hope. Keep going and it will work out.

But he is the exception, not the rule. But the one thing that I have noticed is that he was always hopeful about his future. He was always working at his craft. And this dedication constantly brought jobs, in both TV and Commercials. Now he has a family and a house to keep up…so this was always his reality check.

This was the one thing that gave him hope and drive to continue in the face of overwhelming odds.

There are many psychologists that have many theories regarding hope. I am going to go into a few of them here, in an effort to learn more about what is at the heart of hope and how to develop it like a huge set of biceps.

Dr. Barbara L. Fredrickson, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill argues that hope comes into its own when crisis looms, opening us to new creative possibilities. Dr. Frederickson argues that with great need comes an unusually wide range of ideas, as well as such positive emotions as happiness and joy, courage, and empowerment, drawn from four different areas of one’s self: from a cognitive, psychological, social, or physical perspective.

Hopeful people are "like the little engine that could, [because] they keep telling themselves "I think I can, I think I can". Such positive thinking bears fruit when based on a realistic sense of optimism, not on a naive "false hope".

For instance, we can be encouraged when we get a new contract or we get someone who is interested in having us work on a project for them. This is a great sign that you are getting better at selling your services, your products or your ideas. Hope is an indicator that “things might get better”.

The psychologist C.R. Snyder, Wright Distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Kansas, linked hope to the existence of a goal, combined with a determined plan for reaching that goal: Alfred Adler had similarly argued for the centrality of goal-seeking in human psychology, as too had philosophical anthropologists like Ernst Bloch.

Snyder also stressed the link between hope and mental willpower, as well as the need for realistic perception of goals, arguing that the difference between hope and optimism was that the former included practical pathways to an improved future.

Positive psychologist Charles Richard Snyder’s (1944-2006) area of work was on hope and forgiveness and the impact that hope can have on aspects of life such as health, work, education, and personal meaning.
Snyder postulates that there are three main things that make up hopeful thinking:
  • Goals – Approaching life in a goal-oriented way.
  • Pathways – Finding different ways to achieve your goals.
  • Agency – Believing that you can instigate change and achieve these goals.
In other words hope was defined as the perceived capability to derive pathways to desired goals, and motivate oneself via agency thinking to use those pathways. Snyder argues that individuals who are able to realize these 3 components and develop a belief in their ability are hopeful people who can establish clear goals, imagine multiple workable pathways toward those goals, and persevere, even when obstacles get in their way.

For instance, we can very easily accomplish the second point: Finding different ways to achieve your goals. With the Internet and with selling on the web, you can find an audience for your services in the blink of an eye. Using Google Adwords or Facebook Advertising, you can pinpoint your to audience down to a certain country, a certain age group, gender, age and what they are interested in. To look for new clients using these approaches can be an amazing experience.


Professor Fred Luthans, a management professor specializing in Organizational Behavior has an approach that he calls (POB) Positive Organizational Behavior. The goal of POB, which can work very well with actors/actresses is to:
  1. Shift the emphasis away from what is wrong with people to what is right with people. In a corporate context, use employee appreciation and thank you gifts to express your gratitude. 
  2. Focus on one’s strengths, as opposed to beating yourself up due to perceived weaknesses or screw-ups.
  3. Be interested and increase your resilience, as opposed to ones vulnerabilities.
  4. Concern yourself with enhancing and growing one’s wellness, prosperity and the good life, as opposed to going into the dark side.
Making the leap to POB can have a remarkable impact on how we do business. It pulls the intense focus away from under-performing, and it puts the attention instead on high performance… asking “how can we create more of this?”

Luthans and his colleagues have identified four qualities as the critical component in Positive Organizational Behavior.
  • Self efficacy:  having confidence to take on and put in the necessary effort to succeed at challenging tasks
  • Optimism: making a positive attribution and expectation about succeeding now and in the future
  • Hope: persevering toward goals and, when necessary, redirecting paths to goals in order to succeed
  • Resilience: when beset by problems and adversity, sustaining and bouncing back and even beyond to attain success
Psychologists associate these four qualities with higher performance, commitment, and satisfaction. I think one of the most interesting and exciting things about these four qualities is that they are what’s called “state-like”.  That means that all four of these critical qualities are malleable and open to improvement when incorporated into ones life on a day-to-day basis.

How would this apply to business? Well, I think that for most of us, we were never taught these basic qualities, as when we went to college, we were more interested in other activities or classes. Most of us never set out to be a small business owner. But for me, the good news here is that if these qualities are “open to improvement” as Professor Luthans suggests, then we can learn these and get better at them with practice.

Shaping people’s beliefs and expectations to be more hopeful and optimistic is an essential component of positive psychology. In general, people who possess hope and think optimistically have a greater sense of well being in addition to improved health.

Of the countless models that examine the importance of hope in an individual’s life, there are two major theories that have gained a significant amount of recognition in the field of Psychology.
One of these theories, developed by Charles R. Snyder, argues that hope should be viewed as a cognitive skill that demonstrates an individual’s ability to maintain drive in the pursuit of a particular goal. This model reasons that an individual’s ability to be hopeful depends on two types of thinking: agency thinking and pathway thinking.

Agency thinking refers to an individual’s determination to achieve their goals despite possible obstacles, while pathway thinking refers to the ways in which an individual believes they can achieve these personal goals.

Establishing realistic and attainable goals in this situation is more difficult, as the individual most likely does not have direct control over the future of their career.
Instead, Herth suggests that the goals should be concerned with how the individual is going to personally deal with the rejections that business-people are barraged with on a daily basis.

Instead of drinking to ease the pain of my rejection or unemployment… I am going to surround myself with friends and family. Or I am going to branch out into another product or service. Or learn a new service that you can offer. Or learn a new skill that will help you with your business.

There is an important distinction to be made here: It is the division between hope and wishing.

Those that are hopeful are actively trying to find the best path of action to take while delving into the daily obstacles. However, research has shown that many of those who have “hope” are in reality only wishfully thinking and passively going through the motions, as if they are in denial about their actual circumstances.
So, back to the original question I posed at the front of this article. “How Long Does One Stay Hopeful in Business?

The only way to know if you’re on course is to perform a reality check every five years. That way, you can see if you’re making any real progress. And by progress, I mean genuine evidence you’re moving forward. That evidence can be in the form of:
  • Continually getting new clients
  • Growth in your company
  • Interested clients asking you for your expertise
  • Rave reviews from current clients
In other words, there has to be irrefutable proof that you have the skill and ability to achieve a long-term career as a businessman or businesswoman. If none of those elements are present, you can try waiting another five years for the next reality check, but it would be a mistake to go further than that.

There are several key points listed above that can help you to develop a better sense of resilience, a better sense of hope. Try them out…see if they work for you.

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.” – Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)



John MontanaAbout The Author:
John Montana is an actor living with his wife in L.A. and has begun to make short films. His most recent film, “Hungry” has been accepted into 24 film festivals all over the world. Check out his short films at NoTitle Production Films.


An Inside Look at Bly Family Chiropractic of Bloomington, IL

Bly Family Chiropractic of Bloomington, ILChiropractic care has been proven to be a safe and effective way to restore spinal mobility and realize lasting postural correction. Bly Family Chiropractic has for over 25 years been offering specialized and professional chiropractic services in Bloomington and the greater central Illinois area.

Bly Family Chiropractic of Bloomington, IL combines the use of advanced technology and equipment with the latest chiropractic techniques to better ensure patients realize full spinal mobility and improve postures. The wide variety of services offered at Bly family chiropractic center include:

Cold Laser Therapy 
chiropractic cold laser therapy

It is also known as low laser therapy. It can be applied to relieve:
  • Inflammatory conditions like epicondylitis, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, bursitis and Planter Fasciitis. Is produces excellent results.
  • Pain for the cervical neck pain, thoracic pain, fibromyalgia myofascial pain and pain in the lower back.
  • Disorders in the connective tissues such as tendonitis, sprains and tendon ruptures.
  • Disorders and injuries in the joints such as dislocations, TMJ disorders, osteoarthritis and ligament injuries.
  • Injuries and disorders in the muscles such as contusions, muscle bruises, muscle shortening and ruptures.
  • Neurological injuries and disorders like prolapsed disc, herniated discs, neuritis, crush injuries and headaches.
Low laser therapy has shown significant biological acceleration and enhancement of natural defense and ability to repair the body when injured. Low laser works by relieving pain and reducing damage and loss of body function. It also facilitates stronger healed tissues after injury.

Spinal Decompression

Spinal decompression treatment is very effective at relieving bulging discs, pinched nerves, herniated discs, radiating arm pain, sciatica, facet syndrome and headache.
Spinal Decompression

Lower back pains are handled by the patient lying on the back with padded straps placed round the waist and lower chest. Neck pain is handled by the rubber pads being put behind the neck. A computerized system is used to slowly and gently pull on the body to relax the muscles around the spine. It designed in such a way that it pulls and stops for a computerized period of time to allow relaxing of muscles.

The pulling action works by gently separating the vertebrae to create space between the compressing discs. The created space (vacuum) sucks the disks off the nerves and produce a drastic relieve results. The pulling also initiates pumping of nutrients into disc from the outside to facilitate healing of the degrading and torn discs.

Active Release Technique

Every session includes examination and adjustment. During examination, hands are used to feel the texture, movement and tightness of muscles, tendons and ligaments. A scar that usually prevents proper movement of soft tissues can be detected with ease. It causes reduced motion range and if there is tingling, numbness or pain, then a nerve tissue is probably trapped. Adjustment is done by applying precision pressure while the patient makes certain specific movements.

Pulstar 
Pulstar Spinal Adjustment

Palpating a spine is checking joint fluidity, rigidity or/and motion. The pulstar can be used to detect if the vertebrae is moving too fluid or too rigid. The pulstar is a special tool because it measures the level of motion to precision. It uses precise oscillating force with steady motion to “unstick” the joints. This is the most advanced chiropractic tool in existence

Dr. Timothy Bly is a graduate of palmer college of chiropractic recognized for largest student practices in the institute. Bly is a certified acupuncture, which he studied in china. His clinic was amongst the first to incorporate the pulstar in Illinois.

Bly Family Chiropractic
2501 E College Ave. Ste. C
Bloomington, IL 61704
Phone: (309) 661-1155
BlyChiropractic.com

1.19.2016

New SOLAS Shipping Container Weight Verification Regulations Take Effect July 1st

The Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) has been approved by International Maritime Organization to make sure that containers being shipped via ships must have a defined and validated weight. The responsibility of verified shipping container weight is assigned solely to the organization whose shipping the item. This new rule will become active starting July 1, 2016. Therefore, once the regulated package requirement is in effect, a violation would be assigned to the ship controller and marine terminal operator if the weight of the containers onboard have not been confirmed.
SOLAS Shipping Container Weight Verification Requirements


The SOLAS container weight verification requirements state that there are two avenues shippers can take in order to define the container’s weight once the packaging phase has occurred. If you live on the Earth, this rule applies to you. All people involved with the shipping process will need to create guidelines and policies to enforce these guidelines: guidelines teaching how to verify the weight of a container. There are questions concerning the fine print details of these new SOLAS container weight verification requirements; the World Shipping Council has given an outlined rundown of the new policies.

SOLAS Container Weight Verification Procedures

First the container that will be placed on the ship for shipment must have a proven weight through a simple weighing process on a shipping truck scale or appropriate weighing system. People in control of these containers will technically be reprobating against SOLAS if they do not have a clarified weight of their containers. This rule is cemented and there are no exceptions.
SOLAS Maritime Container Weight Verification

There are two ways to weigh a container according to the new SOLAS amendments. The first method is weighing the container, fully loaded with whatever contents are inside. The second method is weighing the contents of the container and the container separately, then adding the two weighs. The weight of only the empty container will be posted on the door of he container.

Weights must be definite, and it is not allowed for someone to give an estimation of the weight. The organization in control of the package must actually weigh the container, in order to have the exact weight. The scale or piece of equipment being used to weigh out the container must pass the national certification and calibration requirements. The organization whose packing the container cannot used a weight given from some other party.

SOLAS Container Weight Verification Procedures

The organization whose carrying the container can use the weight verification of the shipper in order to ensure accuracy. The third-party logistics carrier is not required to verify again the shipper’s weight verification. SOLAS container weight verification policies do not require the carrier to prove that a shipper has followed the proper container weight verification procedures, according to the authority of the packing and sealing process of the container. The carrier must sign the container or papers related to the container in order to represent the shipper and the accuracy of the weight calculations the shipper used, on behalf of the shipper.
Weighing Shipping Container Weight

If there is no signing to prove the defined weight the shipper recorded, then the full container can be weighted at the shipping port. If the shipping port terminal has no weighing equipment then an alternative must be used in order to determine the weight of the container; if the weight cannot be provided, the container will not be put onto the ship.

It is up to the jurisdiction of the shipping terminals to decide what the process will be if a container arrives that does not have signed proof of the container’s weight from the shipper. The terminal will determine the process to weigh the containers and the weight addition onto the ships stowing plan. When the container is weighed at the shipping port loading area, the weight will be used for vessel stow planning.

Shipping stow plans are also required to have weights that are verified for every container onboard the ship. All commercial parties will be held responsible for the confirmed gross mass of the containers and the proportional distribution of costs involved.

If there is a difference between the weight of the container prior to the verification process, and post verification process, then it will be solved by using the post verified weight. The weight of a container as weighed at the port terminal will be used if there is a difference between weight of the container found at the terminal and the alleged weight of the container prior to its delivery to the terminal.

For more information on the new SOLAS shipping container weight verification requirements, visit WorldShipping.org.