FHS-JUN24-PG10+11_Layout 1 08/06/2024 10:41 Page 11
WAREHOUSING, HANDLING & STORAGE
NEED FOR SKU- SPECIFIC PROTOCOLS In short, there are no SKU-specific protocols – rules that mandate the supplier that ‘this is how this SKU should be delivered, in these temperature conditions, and in this form of pack. These are items it can legitimately be co-shipped with; putting it in with those items is a no-no’. And so on. Creating and enforcing such protocols across
tens of thousands of SKUs is a major, we would say strategic, task, but it has to be done if automation is to yield its much-needed benefits. Across the range of SKUs questions need to
be asked. What am I receiving? When is it arriving? When does it need to go out again? Where will it be stored (if at all), in what conditions and for how long? Which are the items I want to see arrive together – based not just on the nature of the goods but on what is going to happen to them on their journey through the warehouse, which effectively is asking what elements of automation are going to touch these items?
DRIVING COLLABORATION This cannot be done in isolation. The supplier, after all, is not presenting a chaotic mix of items just to be awkward – they will have their own constraints, for example on batch sizes and times, or on their own storage capacities. So, this needs to be a joint venture – which in some cases will be the job of a 3PL or 4PL –
working with suppliers almost in the role of consultants, to understand supplier challenges and making sure the supplier understands the challenges in the DC, so that goods can consistently be delivered in a way that can feed the automation with minimal intervention. Naturally this requires top class, intelligent
WMS/WCS not just for operations within the warehouse or DC, but to interact with outbound transport logic. There is a lot of data-driven software involved, but the benefits will be significant. If the product is sorted logically before it hits
the automation, the system works faster, more consistently, with smoother flows, better use of storage and so on. Further investment, in say scanners and vision systems, or AI applications, then becomes justified because the payback is visible and predictable.
At the moment ‘the
product is sorted logically’, more or less, by scarce and expensive manual labour – how much better it would be if it was already in order when it leaves the supplier.
Invar Group
www.invargroup.com
FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS | JUNE 2024 11
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