Logistics facilities that use warehouse automation technology are more effective, efficient, and secure. By implementing automated solutions and warehouse management software, a facility can operate more efficiently and with little chance of making a mistake. Commitment to cutting-edge technologies like 5G connection, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), augmented reality, and big data define logistics 4.0.
Although it makes up a small fraction of overall warehouse automation spending at the moment, robotic warehouse automation is expanding quickly. According to consulting company Interact Analysis, the global market for mobile robotics might reach $18 billion in 2025. Additionally, it is anticipated that by 2025, there will be 53,000 mobile robot-equipped warehousing facilities. Additionally, Interact Analysis predicts that by the end of 2025, there will be a total of 2.1 million robots in use, with 860,000 of them having been shipped in just that one year.
Some of the Warehouse automation technologies that are revolutionizing the supply chains include:
Motorized Shuttles & Conveyors
Using motorized shuttles is one of the technologies that McKinsey suggests. The automated Pallet Shuttle, a robotized storage system that increases the movement of pallets per hour in a facility by using stacker cranes and an electric shuttle, is an illustration of this approach. The Shuttle System, a version for boxes, uses transfer cars to continuously supply the pick stations, hastening the order fulfillment process.
Conveyors are a different technology that McKinsey predicts will perform better in the future warehouses. This internal transport solution enables the movement, accumulation, and distribution of items to the precise places required by the processes in the facilities in both the pallet and box variants. Other technologies, such as 3D printing, automated guided vehicles, picking with smart glasses, pick and place robots, and others, are also included in warehouse automation. These other technologies have the potential to have a substantial impact on logistics throughput in the upcoming years.
Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS)
Mobile robots are a part of the larger warehouse automation business, which Interact Analysis projects will expand from $49.6 billion in 2020 to $69 billion in 2025. For the foreseeable future, fixed automation systems including conveyor belts, sorters, and automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) will dominate other types of automation.
The AS/RS method of facility space and efficiency optimization requires additional cash. Some AS/RS examples involve mobile robots that move along designated rails to fetch items from totes that are kept on different floors. Although expensive to set up, this might be more effective. Instead, a more straightforward robot may be employed to carry out specified, strictly regulated tasks. Goods-to-person order picking is made possible by automated storage and retrieval (AS/R) and transport systems, such as conveyors and stacker cranes for boxes. In this process, the products are delivered to the pick stations automatically. Because it guarantees a steady stream of goods to the picking area, this system encourages more nimble order picking.
Smart warehouses
Building smart warehouses that leverage digital and automated solutions to increase productivity in logistics processes including commodities reception, product slotting, and order picking, among others, is made feasible by warehouse automation. Robotized storage, internal transportation, and control systems that can move goods across a facility without human assistance are examples of automation technologies used in warehousing. The implementation of a sophisticated software program, i.e., a warehouse management system (WMS), allows for the coordination of these automated solutions.
The last point made by McKinsey is the importance of warehouse management systems in the new logistics paradigm. WMSs coordinate all of the automated equipment and personnel working in the facility in addition to controlling inventory in real time. These cutting-edge management programmes keep track of warehouse output. In order for logistics managers to make decisions based on the actual performance of the warehouse, a WMS like Easy WMS from Mecalux provides functions for segmenting and organizing all data produced in the facility.
Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs)
The autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that either accompany a person as they collect products or transport commodities from one site to another are experiencing the greatest adoption, according to Florian Pestoni, CEO of the cloud-based robot management platform InOrbit.
Robots are getting better at moving and manipulating products, two essential tasks in a warehouse, according to Gabriel Aguiar Noury, robotics product manager at Canonical. Some of the more basic robots are just wheels on pallets. These items can be mechanically moved within and between baskets in situations with greater automation.
In terms of mass-scale product manipulation, robots are also improving. People get exhausted at the conclusion of a long shift and are only permitted to move a maximum of 50 pounds according to health and safety requirements.
For the supply chain, according to Pestoni, automating the manual movement of goods—especially when little critical thinking is required—is the main advantage of warehouse robotics. He anticipates that retailers and warehouses will begin looking into ways to automate other parts of the supply chain, such as long-distance autonomous transport. Businesses are also looking at automating the supply chain's delivery component. For instance, the immediate logistics company Zipline is creating drones to deliver medical supplies to outlying hospitals. Additionally, the journey from a fulfilment centre to a customer's home is beginning to be automated thanks to small AMRs and autonomous vehicles.
By automating inventory procedures, warehouse automation robotics may help increase supply chain visibility. Inventory robots combine computer vision, deep learning, and standardised product identification to overcome the difficulty of navigating most warehouses historically.
AI-powered warehouse orchestration engines
Even now, some businesses are figuring out how to train their products to move themselves. For instance, Seoul Robotics collaborated with a European automaker on the infrastructure needed to drive finished vehicles into parking spaces. Vehicles that might not have cutting-edge sensors or self-driving capabilities can nonetheless be controlled by the system using Lidar sensors and centralized AI navigation systems installed in the factory.
With the use of this technology, teams were able to rebuild the plant to be more productive. "Navigating vehicles around a manufacturing facility is costly, challenging and prone to human error," said Jerone Floor, vice president of products and solutions at Seoul Robotics.
AI-powered warehouse orchestration engines can also enhance human and robot collaboration. This, according to experts like Cherewka of Vecna Robotics, has grown more crucial as a result of new supply chain difficulties on a worldwide scale and rising customer demands.
The development and administration of autonomous retail systems, such as automatic replenishment and checkout-free experiences, will eventually be improved by advancements in warehouse automation robotics.
