How Impactful is Warehouse Automation across various industries?

“Automation saves money in many ways within your business.“, this simply indicates how cost reductions in warehousing have a knock-on impact on generating long-term savings in every section of the company while also promoting stability and financial growth.
Moreover, with the growth of AI, ML, and IoT that help in intelligent decision-making and predicting analytics, there is no going back for automating warehouses, which will only upscale hereafter.
From retail behemoths like Amazon, Alibaba, and Ikea to FMCG giants like Coco-Cola, warehouse automation has made it easier for industries across.

Take the Automotive Industry, for example. With considerable employment and revenue output, the automotive industry is a big contributor to the worldwide economy. To increase productivity and cut costs, companies like Tesla use robotics and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to handle materials and components in their warehouses. Automobile manufacturers like BMW, Ford, and Volkswagen have streamlined their material handling processes and enhanced inventory management by implementing automated storage systems, robotics, and AGVs.

E-commerce companies such as Alibaba have warehouse systems that make use of automation and cutting-edge technology, including the employment of robots and other automated systems for operations like picking and packing goods. Order fulfillment is now more accurate and efficient as a result.
Another such company would be Amazon. Along with hundreds of thousands of human employees, Amazon’s warehouse network is home to more than 200,000 mobile robots. With the help of this robot army, the company has been able to uphold its assurances especially to Amazon Prime customers about speedy deliveries.

In the Apparel Industry, companies like Nike have deployed more than 1,000 robots to help process orders within their distribution centers.
Today’s consumers are savvy and informed about the supply chain. They enjoy tracking their orders from the moment of purchase until delivery, understanding exactly where delays might occur. An Automated Warehouse plays a crucial role in this scenario, enabling companies to share precise, real-time data with customers. This not only minimizes delays but also reduces the chances of returns due to incorrect shipments. It’s a win-win for both the company and the consumer, ensuring a smoother, more transparent buying journey.
The sportswear giant’s factory personnel are helped by automated workers known as “cobots” (short for collaborative robots), which help sort and pack products. The ability of Nike to cater for digital orders in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa has tripled thanks to robots.

Nestle, a leading FMCG company has been equipping warehouses having high-density racks with the automatic Pallet Shuttle system for two reasons:
For one, the racks make the most of the allocated room in the warehouse and offer the greatest amount of storage capacity; also, this solution substantially streamlines warehousing operations.
The advanced on-site storage provided by Coca-Cola’s fully automated warehouse for the EMEA region eliminates the costly double-handling task that slows down logistics when stock is transported off-site to nearby warehouses.

Healthcare institutions like AIIMS, one of India’s top medical establishments, have adopted automated warehousing techniques for effective medicine storage and administration. The hospital makes use of sophisticated pharmacy automation technologies, which include barcode scanning for drug verification, robotic dispensing technology, and automated medicine storage and retrieval systems. These tools aid AIIMS in streamlining drug dispensing procedures while lowering errors, enhancing patient safety, and better-controlling inventory.

BUT WHY DO INDUSTRIES CHOOSE TO AUTOMATE WAREHOUSES?

Here are five major reasons why industries select warehouse automation:

Enhanced Efficiency
Automated warehouse solutions, like robotic picking and sorting systems, optimize the movement of parts and components while lowering manual handling and simplifying processes. As a result, inventory management is accelerated and made more precise, reducing production line downtime, and increasing throughput rates.

Maximum Space Utilization
Optimizing warehouse storage space can be made possible with the help of smart warehouse technologies. One of the main ways automated warehouses achieve this is by narrowing the aisles. Automated warehouses don’t need wider aisles to meet safety requirements because robots don’t need as much room as people do to work there, additionally the number of aisles can also be reduced. This helps in increasing the efficiency of the available storage space available while also maximizing its density.

Error reduction
As we all know, manual entry in inventory management leaves the door for human errors. An automated system has the capacity to carry out routine tasks with minimum human involvement, leading to more precise information tracking. Automation helps in providing a better overall customer experience by reducing human error and eventually increasing customer service.

Future-Proof Sustainability
Nearly every industry, including retail and logistics, is focused on sustainability. In reality, while the economic benefits are quite evident, warehouse automation’s long-term sustainability is also a huge positive as a solution to many persistent issues, such as effectiveness, operational expenses, and enhanced service.

Improved Quality Control
Warehouse inventory sorting and consolidation takes time and is frequently challenging. Automating warehousing solutions such as automated sortation and AS/RS systems help identify and handle small or delicate goods independently which helps in improving inventory accuracy and quality control.

At Blue Star E&E, we have years of experience in optimizing operational effectiveness and refining warehouse processes, which leads to increased productivity. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our experts to learn more about our state-of-the-art warehouse automation systems.