“Selecting the right partner isn’t just about technology — it’s about finding guidance you can trust to align automation with your business goals today and in the future.”
Andy Lockhart
Director of Strategic Engagement, Warehouse Solutions
Some of this automation investment growth is expected to come from facilities that rely extensively on manual labor to perform inventory handling and order fulfillment activities. While these conventional operations may utilize conveyor and forklifts to move items, they lack automation. Yet ongoing workforce shortages have made it exceptionally challenging for these people-powered facilities to scale up headcount in response to shifting demand, inventory proliferation, supply chain disruptions, and rising service level expectations.
Conventional facilities’ managers recognize that implementing automation will reduce labor dependence, increase existing workforce efficiency, cut costs, accommodate peaks, and enhance operational resilience. But many still hesitate to pursue automation.
According to a McKinsey & Company survey, that reluctance is driven by concerns about costs and a lack of experience with automated solutions. Often, companies operating these facilities aren’t sure what degree of automation to deploy.
Should they take an incremental adoption approach, implementing intermediate automation (also called “semi-automated”) solutions that support and enhance associates’ efficiency and accuracy? Or should they make a larger investment in an end-to-end automated facility that leverages fully integrated technology to handle all processes — from receiving through shipping — with minimal human intervention.
If that’s the situation your operation is in, consider engaging an experienced partner to help guide your warehouse automation journey.
How a Partner Guides Automation Exploration
The ideal partner understands the industry and market your facility serves. They can assess your current operation against your unique challenges and requirements. Further, they will possess a comprehensive understanding of the automated solution options and help identify the optimal choice for your operation.
Supervisors in manual operations usually have a sense of which workflows are best suited for an automated alternative. Typically, these are the most essential, highest volume processes that also involve a substantial number of labor-intensive activities to complete. In the majority of conventional facilities, that would be order picking and packing, or inventory receiving and put-away. Such activities require extensive picker travel, transport of goods, building pallet loads for inbound storage and outbound shipments, and packaging individual orders.
An experienced partner can verify management’s hunch about which tasks are ideal for automation by performing a systematic analysis of individual processes. A broad range of inputs are examined, including inventory data, order frequency, item velocity, labor models, throughput, and more.
Based on the findings, the automation partner will define different automation concepts — including different degrees of intermediate automation and end-to-end solutions. Using computer simulation and emulation, the concepts that appear to be the best fit will be further validated.
Partnering to Identify Your Optimal Automation Strategy
The ideal automation partner will also help your organization consider potential solutions in terms of total cost of ownership (TCO). The capital investment for both intermediate and end-to-end automation deployments is significant. Although end-to-end automation requires more time to achieve full return on investment (ROI), it may still make sense for a smaller organization based on increased TCO labor savings. An experienced partner will help your organization determine the solution that best matches the company’s strategic goals.
Further, an experienced partner will develop a deployment roadmap that details your operation’s initial step into automation. This plan covers installation, commissioning, training, service, spare parts, and support. It also outlines future automation deployments across different processes to meet changing needs.
Lastly, engage an automation partner with the resources and financial backing that enable it to support your operation moving forward. Choose a partner that is best positioned to continue to bring value as your business grows and changes.
Vanderlande: Your Partner for Scalable Automation Deployments Now is the ideal time to start on your manual operation’s automation journey. To learn more about intermediate automation and the benefits it can deliver to your organization, download Vanderlande’s free white paper, “Incremental Automation Deployments: Plotting a Path for Automating Labor-Intensive Warehousing and Distribution Operations.”