FEATURE Materials Handling
Transforming the warehouse through
automation
Mike Hawkins, Director of Logistics Solutions at Linde Material Handling, writes that the majority of warehouses will consist of a mix of human labour and automated vehicles. Despite this, in the next three years there might be a retailer that has a warehouse run solely by automated technology. Keep your eyes peeled!
I
t’s a pivotal time for the logistics industry. With more consumers spending their money online and making the most of deliveries straight to their front door, businesses have been rushing to keep up with shifting customer expectations about delivery times. As a result, businesses are increasingly looking to partner with warehousing and distribution partners with the capabilities to meet those demands. For many warehouses, this means two things. They need to store far more goods and have the processes in place to get them dispatched quicker than ever. The need to fi nd more cost- eff ective and faster ways of working has meant automated technology is widely recognised as the key to future success – with functions such as vision systems leading the charge.
Logistics industry’s landscape We’ve seen a massive drive towards automated products – something which is already shaping the warehouse of the future. As a result, many businesses are no longer transporting in bulk to bricks and mortar stores, but instead sending goods right to our front doors. This requires a lot of manpower, with new, large e-commerce warehouses absorbing a huge amount of traditional warehousing staff . Meanwhile, Brexit is reducing the UK labour pool and Covid has impacted the reliability of human labour. For many warehouses, these tight labour markets are complicating things even further.
34 February 2022 | Automation
The last couple of years have been tough for the logistics sector – with a widespread fall in investment in new technologies. Still, in 2021 the market started to pick up substantially. Amidst this, we’ve seen that businesses are now incredibly interested in investing in new automation products that can help bolster the effi ciency of their supply chain.
Automate, automate, automate As more and more businesses have discovered, wherever there are repetitive tasks and a person doesn’t add signifi cant value, automation can make life so much easier.
In the warehouse, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) can streamline operations at the press of a button, without the need for sophisticated software. As businesses demand more goods to person picking for their operations, we’ll see the warehouses of the future fi lled with autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). Instead of someone going around the warehouse to pick the goods, these units will travel around the warehouse where they will take it to the person to collect it at a picking station. AGVs can also aid staff development and boost job satisfaction by removing workers from low-value and repetitive jobs, giving them more time to focus on higher-level tasks. And they help to narrow the margin of human error. But like everything, automation comes with its share of challenges. A change in mindset is necessary to get the most out of it. Businesses need to be passionate about
adopting the technology, and disciplined in its application so it works properly. Automation isn’t a one-off purchase, it’s a continuous journey and a solution that businesses will depend on. Employees must buy into it too and see it for what it is – a handy tool to free them up from trivial tasks and not a threat their jobs.
Looking ahead
Whilst major players like Amazon are shaking up the logistics sector, markets with less focus on doorstep deliveries like supermarkets or business to business are less likely to be aff ected by automation. For those businesses operating within consumer retail goods on the large scale, the changing face of the warehouse will certainly see more automated trucks.
CONTACT:
Linde Material Handling
www.linde-mh.co.uk
automationmagazine.co.uk
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