Automation of warehouse logistics

If you need to package 20,000 items and sort them for shipment into individual orders, you’ll have to employ dozens of employees who will spend days doing routine work and making mistakes. And if at the same time you have to track new receipts and generate reports for each container, you have every chance of drowning in paperwork.

There is a choice here. Continue to work in this “wear and tear” mode from year to year, or go the other way – automate the warehouse using modern technologies.

Automation in this area is often a bit intimidating, with a variety of robots and other high-tech tools immediately coming to mind. In fact, this is not always the case. Much more often, special software is used for this purpose – warehouse management systems (WMS). Its implementation requires much less investment and helps optimize most processes.

In this article we will tell you how to automate warehouse logistics from scratch, and what this brings to business in practice.

As you know, logistics begins in warehouses, which means modernization of supply chains should begin at this level. Let’s consider point by point what benefits this will bring to the company.

Refusal of manual work

The introduction of technology makes it possible to minimize the number of employees and transfer routine tasks to the digital plane. As a result, the business frees up resources that were previously needed for labor costs and gets rid of headaches such as labor shortages, seasonal employment and sick leave.

Optimizing space in warehouses

The analytical capabilities of WMS, especially in combination with the use of special equipment, allow you to use every meter of the warehouse as efficiently as possible. Thus, the software will help to carry out high-quality space planning, and loaders, stackers and robots will make the train more vertical, which will significantly increase the density of storage of goods. It is important that WMS systematizes products taking into account the time and frequency of rotation, eliminating traffic jams and docking problems.

Increasing the efficiency of receiving and checking goods

Upon receipt of the goods at the warehouse, they are subject to a thorough check: for compliance with documents and packaging, absence of damage, etc. Employees spend quite a lot of time and effort on these tasks. Plus, the manual approach does not exclude the possibility of human error.

WMS allows you to fully automate and speed up the verification of receipts at the warehouse, while minimizing the number of errors.

To do this, the system uses automatic weighing systems, computer vision and artificial intelligence capabilities. In this case, the person will be involved in the process only if necessary.

Increased turnover of goods

Automation using WMS allows you to comprehensively plan warehouse operations, speed up internal processes, promptly reduce the balance of unmarketable products and increase inventory when demand increases. Taken together, this has direct positive consequences for business:

• Improving the quality of service.
• Improving customer experience.
• Stable availability of in-demand products.
• Improving working conditions in the warehouse.

As a result, the turnover of goods and business profitability increase.

Implementing a WMS system to automate warehouse logistics is a complex task that requires some assessment and preparation. The complexity and cost of such a solution will directly depend on the size of the business, its tasks and goals for further growth.

In other words, you will need a clear action plan, which we have briefly described below:

• Warehouse analysis. It should be clarified that dry numbers about the number of square meters and capacity will not be enough to form a complete picture. The operation of a warehouse depends on dozens of different factors. Among other things, it is influenced by the experience of managers, the specifics of working with contractors, the number of workers, etc. Therefore, a more in-depth audit will be required.
• Definition of goals and objectives. Having a complete understanding of the warehouse operation, you can determine the main goals and objectives of automation. That is, exactly what problems WMS will solve. For example, this could be getting rid of bureaucracy, speeding up processes, increasing the efficiency of using warehouse space, etc. There are many options here.

• WMS development and warehouse arrangement. If we talk about digitalizing a warehouse from scratch, then most likely you will have to not only create a WMS platform, but also take care of the physical arrangement of the warehouse with the necessary tools – from barcode scanners and additional CCTV cameras, to conveyors and autonomous forklift robots. As we have already said, it all depends on the goals and priorities of the business.
• Personnel training. You most likely will not be able to transfer all your work to a WMS in one day and begin to effectively use the corresponding physical tools. Therefore, it is worth starting the adaptation of personnel in advance – already at the integration stage.
• Launch of the platform. WMS has been created and deployed, equipment has been installed and employees have been trained. From this moment on, the business will begin to operate in a new way. But this is not the end. Then the stage of product support and development begins, with the parallel elimination of the latest bugs and inaccuracies in its operation. Thanks to this, the platform will grow and develop in parallel with your business, and the relevance of its functionality will not be lost over time.

AVADA MEDIA has been developing comprehensive solutions for logistics business automation for more than 10 years. By contacting us, you will be able to benefit from the experience and practical skills of the strongest teams in the industry.

We will help you select unique technical solutions for your company and provide qualified support at all stages of WMS implementation – from warehouse analysis to technical implementation of the platform and its further support.