𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒔𝒕, 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑭𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 π‘»π’†π’„π’‰π’π’π’π’π’ˆπ’š π’Šπ’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆

π‘»π’†π’„π’‰π’π’π’π’π’ˆπ’šβ€™π’” π‘«π’Šπ’“π’†π’„π’• π‘°π’Žπ’‘π’‚π’„π’• 𝒐𝒏 π‘»π’π’…π’‚π’šβ€™π’” 𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒔 – Now we’re back from 1990, let’s take a look around today’s warehouse. Instead we’ll visit a DC that you’re not familiar with, to get a broad view of how technology is currently impacting warehouse operations.

First let’s visit this distribution center run by a medium-sized enterprise. Aside from an absence of people with paper, let’s see what evidence we can find of technological impact.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 π‘·π’‚π’“π’•π’Šπ’‚π’π’π’š π‘¨π’–π’•π’π’Žπ’‚π’•π’†π’… 𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆

This warehouse is fairly advanced in terms of technology, but clearly not at the cutting edge. How do we know that?… Well, for one thing the lights are on, so although we can see some signs of automation, this is clearly a warehouse in which people still play a substantial role.

But look, here comes a forkliftβ€”without a driver?

Yes, warehouse operations are currently being disrupted by the development of advanced robotic systems, the most basic of which use digital add-on systems to transform forklifts and other types of MHE asset into robots.

Example brewing company Carlsberg uses these automated forklifts to move up to 500 pallets per hour around one of its Swedish distribution centers.

What we’re seeing here is a prime example of how even more people are being displaced from the warehouse by technology. Over there you can see a number of pallets on turntables, spinning fast as they are cocooned in shrink-wrap ready for dispatch.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 π‘­π’–π’π’π’š π‘¨π’–π’•π’π’Žπ’‚π’•π’†π’… 𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆

Now let’s teleport to a large new distribution center operated by a consumer goods brand.

This is a fully automated high bay warehouse, housing an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS). Linked to the center’s WMS, cranes on rails fly up and down aisles of racks that extend from the floor to giddying heights above.

Automated warehouses certainly seem to be the ultimate in modern distribution centers, needing very few people to operate, offering high levels of productivity (because as well as being fast, they can operate 24/7/365), and offsetting some of the power they use by operating in an unheated or un-cooled environment, with little if any need for artificial lighting.

That being said, full automation is still a big ticket item in terms of capital costs, often requiring customized warehouse construction to house high-bay storage and specialized infrastructure. That’s why it’s rare to see such advanced levels of technology in use by smaller supply chain organizations.

Tomorrow we shall discuss the benefits of all these and continue this journey, however anytime you feel a need of aΒ #warehouse_ConsultantΒ do reach out toΒ Synergeze Consultants Private LimitedΒ and we shall be glad to assist you in end to end warehouse management