It’s hard to imagine a world without Prime shipping, but it did exist—and not too long ago. With technological advances, automation has unlocked many benefits for goods-to-person fulfillment, from speed to accuracy to efficiency. To understand the advantages automation provides, it’s important to look back at what it was. Then, we’ll dive into what some of the market leaders are doing within the space and explore how mid-sized businesses can keep up without big budgets.
How Business was Done Back in the Day
Before we get into the bounty of benefits that warehouse automation offers, let’s talk about the nightmare that existed before this technology was introduced. Operators managed inventory manually. Workers counted stock and updated inventory by hand, usually in a ledger book or early computer spreadsheets. With so much room for human error, inventory audits were frequently required to reconcile mistakes. Everything from shipping documents to pick lists was handled through physical paperwork, which could be easily lost or misplaced. Deciphering sloppy handwriting also didn’t help with accuracy.
Continuing with the “manual” theme, picking and packing were also done by hand, with items checked, packed, and labeled that way. Workers did heavy lifting using forklifts or conveyor belts. Palletizing was done using simple signage; in some cases, facilities relied on the workers’ memories—not exactly a foolproof method. Because operators didn’t know how much inventory they had at any given time, space was utilized quite inefficiently.
Supply chain coordination was basically a telephone game, with faxes and a little snail mail thrown in. Orders and confirmations between suppliers, distributors, and retailers could take weeks to process. With so many opportunities for miscommunication along the chain, this only added to frequent delays. As you can imagine, this manual coordination required huge numbers of workers to move, sort, and track the products. Training these workers took time, yet employee fatigue and high turnover made operations inconsistent.
So, what did this messy manual hodgepodge mean for customers? A whole lot of waiting—that’s what. Trucking routes and deliveries were planned manually using paper maps, and forget finding anything close to real-time tracking. People had to call drivers to check their delivery statuses! It sounds like a fever dream, but this was reality for a long time. Thankfully, as technology progressed, we could ditch the do-it-yourself approach and work toward integrating automation into the supply chain workflow.
What Changed with Automation?
The short answer is: everything. It didn’t happen overnight. But as innovation after innovation hit the market, manual processes eventually became a thing of the past. Barcode and RFID scanning replaced manual data entry. Warehouse management systems (WMS) digitized tracking. Automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) optimized space. Robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) reduced labor costs and human error. Real-time tracking improved efficiency and customer satisfaction. Technology improved the links in the supply chain, keeping the flow of goods and services moving at a much more rapid pace.
So much about warehouse logistics has changed, but this automation boom’s most significant impact is productivity. What once was slow, labor-intensive, and filled with errors now operates much more streamlined. Let’s dive a little deeper into a few of the key developments that have pushed the logistics industry into the new frontier.
Goods-to-Person Picking Systems
Remember the days of yore when workers had to take a hike around the factory floor to accomplish just about anything? With the introduction of goods-to-person picking, goods are delivered to the worker at a picking station instead of requiring them to go on a jaunt. It increases efficiency by reducing travel time and improving accuracy. The process looks something like this:
- Robots, shuttles, carousels, or cranes retrieve the requested items from storage bins, totes, or shelves managed by an automated system.
- The system transports the items to a human worker at a designated picking station.
- The worker picks the required items and places them in order containers.
- Once picked, unused stock is returned to storage automatically.
Goods-to-person picking systems include everything from shuttle and carousel systems to vertical lift modules (VLMs) and automated guided vehicles (AGVs). They’re typically used in ecommerce, pharmaceuticals, retail fulfillment, and manufacturing since those industries experience high order volume. One logistics leader’s piece picking robot boasts rates of 500 order lines per workstation per hour.
Warehouse Management Software
While this might seem like an odd metaphor, great warehouse management software should serve as the orchestral conductor for your facility. Think about it. A conductor brings together woodwinds, strings, brass, and percussion—four incredibly different sections with distinct sounds—and unites them in harmony. WMS does the same thing but with the varied parts of your warehouse. It’s a centralized system orchestrating processes to ensure efficient, precise, and scalable results.
Deliver to Customers Faster with Automation
eCommerce logistics are under pressure and in the spotlight, and we have Amazon to thank for that, as they’ve set high consumer expectations for same-day delivery. The reality is that ecommerce has grown beyond convenience and now requires speed. According to experts, fast and reliable delivery drives repeat purchases and bolsters your bottom line. As a result, the ecommerce giants are investing billions to improve picking, packing, and last-mile delivery. Take a look at these statistics:
- Amazon’s acquisition of Kiva Systems was a $75M investment that led to a 20% reduction in operating expenses.
- Net-a-Porter’s robotic system saw a 500% increase in efficiency, with robots selecting and packing orders at 48 km/h.
- DHL’s advanced regional center in Singapore put multi-customer robotic logistics in the spotlight for a cool $18.8M.
How Mid-Size Businesses Can Compete Without the Big Bucks
What’s a mid-size retailer to do when budgets are limited? Partnering with a third-party logistics provider is always an option if building your own in-house fulfillment isn’t financially feasible. Instead of hiring full-time delivery staff, you can outsource the jobs to gig-based or local courier services to offer same-day or next-day shipping. Following in Nordstrom and Best Buy’s footsteps, you can allow customers to order online and pick up at a nearby store to compete with Amazon’s fast shipping. Lululemon takes a different approach by under-promising and over-delivering—setting conservative delivery estimates and surprising customers by arriving earlier than expected. Net-a-Porter creates an entirely new revenue stream by offering same-day delivery in New York City for $25.
Automation truly is the leading solution for speeding up your fulfillment process to meet the demands of today’s shoppers. Even if you can’t invest millions, small updates to your warehouse could make a big difference:
- Small-scale conveyors can cut walking time in half.
- Automated label printers and shipping stations reduce manual errors and speed up packing.
- AI-powered inventory management software prevents over-ordering and under-stocking.
- Voice-picking systems improve speed by up to 35%.
- Mobile order-picking carts with pick-to-light capabilities reduce mispicks by 90%.
- AI-powered delivery planning cuts transportation costs by up to 20%.
- Offer monthly subscription boxes or auto-renewal options so you can better forecast demand.
- A cloud-based warehouse management system gives you real-time stock visibility, helping to reduce fulfillment errors.
Consider your options and your budget—then take on what you can. Unlocking productivity with warehouse automation logistics is yours to explore. What possibilities will you uncover?
