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Importance of Warehouse Automation for Achieving Critical Green Benefits

Warehouse is a commercial building for storage of finished goods, raw materials or semi-finished goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, distributors, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. Today many companies recognize that implementing environmentally friendly or “Go Green” policies and practices can result in cost savings that directly impact their business.

Importance of Warehousing in Supply Chain

Whether an organisation is a manufacturer or distributor or retailer, it is well aware about the importance of warehouse and warehousing. This is especially so, when it impacts every aspects of the supply chain and thus affects the business profitability. In every case such as the shipment of finished goods to distributor or retailer, orders to customers or replenishment of production line or replenishment of cycle stock, the effectiveness of a warehouse should not be understated.

Since ages, organisations have been using warehouses/storage in one form or other, and it is expected that the warehouse will still be required in future. With time role, the importance, shape, related technologies, as well as IT systems have changed and evolved for the warehouse. If one is to look at the range of different industry vertical, it is inevitable to find that warehouses serve different type of industries and at different levels of automations.

Automatic Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS)
The diagram above shows an automated warehouse using the Automatic Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS).

The Role of IoT (Internet of Things) in Warehouse Management

In warehousing, the IoT is sometimes called the IoE, or Internet of Everything. It involves adding sensors and robotics to the modern warehouse. The machines take numerous measurements and collect many different data points around the warehouse. The analytics tools are able to process all of this data to find the most efficient, productive, effective, safe, and convenient ways of running the warehouse. Here are some of the roles the IoT is playing in modern warehouse management.

The Need for Lean Operations to driving competitive edge

The technology and tools are available today to clearly make the shift to combining a lean and automated strategy to significantly simplify daily operations and apply the right mix of automation to control the improved processes and business functions. This can be accomplished by identifying the strategies and tactics to “lean-up” the DC operation. It is especially important to design the means to use less labour touches and select the blend of automation that returns the fasted Return on Investment to gain competitive advantage.

Warehouse automation can deliver huge returns by eliminating redundant manual processes and increasing employee productivity. Technology such as conveyor systems, automatic print-and-apply labelling, robotic pick carts, voice picking, automated guided vehicles and storage technologies can drive high accuracy and rapid paybacks and when applied to the right application.

But automation alone will not solve the problem. Supply chain operations are made up of a complex interplay between people, process and product workflows. It takes a deep understanding of how these elements work together to truly drive the highest benefits of automation.

Key Benefits of a Warehouse Automation System

Reduced Land Usage
A warehouse with an AS/RS uses up to 40 percent less space than a conventional warehouse to store the same number of products. Automated warehouses have smaller footprints, so less land is used when building new facilities and results in less environmental impact to an area.


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References:

Amit Ranjan (2016) “Changing role of the warehouse in modern supply chain”. Accessed from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/changing-role-warehouse-modern-supply-chain-amit-ranjan

Craig Badrick (2016) “The Role of IoT in Warehouse Management”. Accessed from http://www.turn-keytechnologies.com/blog/guardian/the-role-of-iot-in-warehouse-management

Laura Worker (2010) “Greening the Supply Chain through Warehouse Automation”. Accessed from http://www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/greening-the-supply-chain-through-warehouse-automation

The Numina Group (2017) “How the Right DC Roadmap Can Lead to Free Warehouse Automation”. Accessed from http://www.numinagroup.com

Tim Hollins (2012) “7 Green Benefits of Warehouse Automation”. Accessed from http://warehousenews.co.uk/2012/02/7-green-benefits-of-warehouse-automation

Tan Chow Siong
Tan Chow Siong
Tan Chow Siong has substantive years of experience in the warehouse and logistics sector. He has acquired experiences in bonded warehouse operations and has extensive knowledge in Inventory Control Management. Chow Siong is a member of the Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management (SIPMM) and is completing a course at SIPMM Institute on Diploma in Logistics Management (DLM).
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