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Are Robots About to Take Over E-commerce Warehouses?

December 6, 2016 No Comments

Featured article by Diana Smith, Independent Technology Author

Depending on your perspective, automation can be an exciting or a very scary concept. Some think it will revolutionize almost every industry, other dread the idea of humans becoming obsolete. But, while the debate was on – the technology has already done its part and robots have found their way into a lot of jobs.

E-commerce industry has already seen some changes when it comes to the ordering process and automated remarketing campaigns. Are the warehouses next on the list?

What are robots, really?

When people think about robots – humanoid metal creatures from science fiction come to mind. The reality is a little less flashy, but equally exciting. Sometimes the warehouse itself is automated with scanners keeping track of every product on the shelf. The shelf may be equipped with sorting technology which automatically assigns the number and space for each product, making the packing and keeping track of supplies much easier. And then there are actual robots, not that different from the ones everyone imagines. Some of them are actually human-shaped others look like carts gliding around trough the huge warehouses without needing to take a break.

Benefits of automation

Most businesses decide to automate their warehouses to cut costs. Robots will cut labor and equipment costs significantly (obviously this effect becomes noticeable in the long run because robots themselves can be pretty costly). Maintenance is also much less expensive once the warehouse is automated, given that it doesn’t require almost any human work. There are also significant energy savings, especially for refrigerated and frozen goods. These reductions are more visible if you decide to transform an already existing warehouse. Building an automated one from scratch is a bit more costly, but on the other hand, it can provide more flexibility.

Reports show that productivity also rises as soon as the automation process is completed. These systems are faster and more accurate than manual labor could ever be. Properly used storage shelving system ensures that nothing is ever lost or damaged. It also lets you know when you’re running out of certain items.

At this point shipping errors are what troubles business the most. That’s because those errors are costly in more ways than one. First of all it’s expensive to waste and replace an order and second (and probably even more important), this damages your reputation. Many customers will stop using your services if they find you unreliable. These are always a result of a human error and automated warehouses practically eliminate them.

The environment

Making your business green has other benefits other than obvious one (like saving the Earth). It’s also great for PR, it allows you to incorporate the environmental message into your corporate identity and connect with other green businesses. Automated warehouses will help with this cause greatly. They minimize the carbon footprint, by making fork trucks and other arcane methods of moving stuff around obsolete.

The future of automation

As it’s often the case, the future is hard to predict and those who try are usually biased in one way or another. At this point, it seems like complete automation is not attainable, but it is the goal. That means at some point, the entire process, from manufacturing and packing to storing and delivering can be done by robots. It’s not easy to estimate how this is going to affect the economy as a whole – but it might make employees migrate to more advanced jobs.

Before you start buying robots for your business, consider the cost and long-term benefits, but also make sure to find out what your competitors are up to. It’s important to stay on top on innovations.

 

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