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voice picking

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Automated Picking Tools
Automated Guided Vehicles
Automated inventory control platforms
IoT Implementation

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Technology in all sectors of the economy is progressing at a rapid pace. To keep up, warehouses need to be equipped with the technologies that allow them to keep up with manufacture, production, and consumer demand. A smart warehouse is automated for improved productivity, efficiency, and accuracy, and the solutions that are implemented give flexibility and capability to the employees and their processes.

Take a look at the technologies you should be using in your smart warehouse, with discussion on how to keep them flexible, functional, and effective.

Why should you automate your warehouse?

In addition to a reduction in human error, lower risk of injury, and the optimisation of throughput, your automation reduces your overheads, adds flexibility to your hours of operation, and allows you to be more accurate in assessing your workforce requirement.

There are a number of popular tools and products available, and you should be using the most prominent of these in your day-to-day operations, integrated for improved performance.

Supply Chain Junction's Top 5 Must-Have Smart Warehouse Technologies

In no specific order, these are the five technologies you need access to in your warehouse today:

1. A Warehouse Management System

A WMS should comprehensively consolidate all of your critical warehouse data into one easily accessible platform, to give select members of your supply chain a full view of your workings, lightning-fast reporting, real-time statistics, and accurate planning capabilities.

The use of your warehouse management system should perfectly complement your other autonomous processes, and provide the following benefits:

Real-time access to quality data giving you increased visibility throughout your supply chain

Accurate demand forecasting

Reduced labour costs due to efficient labour allocation

Streamlined warehouse processes

Optimised warehouse layout

Improved inventory accuracy

Improved pick accuracy

Decreased time between picks

Improved warehouse flexibility and responsiveness

Improved warehouse safety and security

Improved supplier relationships

Improved customer service levels

The ability to implement an ongoing optimisation strategy

2. Automated Picking Tools

We've worked with several companies who progressed through the stages of pick technology evolution - from paper to RF - and seen huge productivity and accuracy improvements.

In high-volume, high-labour cost distribution centres, picking is either performed or aided by using material handling equipment like put-to-light, automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), and goods-to-man.

Your warehouse can benefit from near-perfect picking rates with the inclusion of automated picking elements into your warehouse. There are a variety of different tools within this grouping, (like voice automated picking and pick-to-light) but remember: your WMS is designed to streamline your warehouse operations.

It improves picking by making it faster, improving labour allocation and reducing human error.

Instead of manually having to calculate the best locations, storage media, and pick paths for stock, your WMS does all the heavy lifting for you.

3. Automated Guided Vehicles

AGVs are an efficient mechanism of ramping up your storage and retrieval process, in putaway, loading, and stocktake. AGVs are self-guided and can include forklifts and pallet carts, which follow digital paths through the facility to load and unload pallets, boxes, and other containers.

These vehicles can be implemented in your warehouse without a complete revisiting of your layout and systems, with the ability to add and expand your AGV complement as required, in line with the growth of your business.

4. Automated inventory control platforms

What do you rely on for inventory logging, cycle counting, and stock take? If you are still using pen and paper for these processes, you are not alone: Motorola reported in 2018 that 41% of warehouse facilities still relied on this manual cycle-counting process.

This method, while tried and tested, is notoriously prone to errors in data, transcription, and consistency, and can cause immense disruption in your operations.

When you implement an inventory control platform with the requisite use of asset and inventory tags, these platforms allow you to automate stock counting, with data synthesised quickly for real-time, accurate reporting that can be accessed remotely.

5. IoT Implementation

The Internet of Things is the overarching concept (not an individual item) that informs how you control all the moving parts of your warehouse.

The IoT can help your warehouse to reduce risk and avoid mistakes or accidents that can create losses in the supply chain by early detection.

Sensors in the warehouse can monitor temperature, moisture, and other conditions.

Data coming from shipping conveyances, vehicles, and the products themselves can be combined to reduce theft, counterfeiting, diversion, and spoilage.

Whether automated or manual, the IoT system synchronises all of your data in an easy-to-access network, helping to optimise your inventory control (with double the impact if integrated with an automated inventory control platform), labour planning, and customer experience (through streamlined processes and improved turnaround time).

A step further with autonomous warehouse systems: Collaborative Robots

"Cobots" are fully autonomous and robotic technologies which require a sizable investment and infrastructure overhaul but are a VERY nice-to-have addition to a busy warehouse. Cobots are built to work with your existing associates, not without them.

Warehouses using these technologies can often keep most of their existing processes and infrastructure designs while benefiting from the optimised workflow that is achieved with this robotics.

Your integrated, automated warehouse processes could be also be supplemented with a number of robotic technologies, integrated with Materials Handling Units - like Automated Storage and Retrieval systems, which, in the past, have been clunky and ineffective, but are now becoming sleeker and more efficient.

Where to begin the warehouse optimisation process?

Now that your wish-list is full, and your long-term plans are coming into view, it's best to start off with the simpler processes which help to streamline your operations:

This practical guidebook contains tips from our supply chain experts to help you implement processes that support your business goals and help you to develop a world-class warehouse.

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The top 5 smart warehouse technologies you should be using today

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Technology in all sectors of the economy is progressing at a rapid pace. To keep up, warehouses need to be equipped with the technologies that allow them to keep up with manufacture, production, and consumer demand. A smart warehouse is automated for improved productivity, efficiency, and accuracy, and the solutions that are implemented give flexibility and capability to the employees and their processes.

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high in cost in some warehouse layouts or high design cost.
health and safety issues.
due to lack of space factor restrcting some activities such as  strorage systems.
new skill requirements and high in cost in them.

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1. receiving materials or products with right quantity and perfect condition
2. moving the goods from receiving dock to storage location
3. collect the products to fulfil for customer orders
4. consolidate the picked items and prepare them for shipment
5.delivery the items to customers.

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Inadequate Goods Inward Space

No Thought Given To Picking Paths

Warehouse Workers Not Consulted

Inadequate Future Planning

Forgetting Some Operational Requirements

Inefficient Racking Placement

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Flaws in warehouse design and layout cost money over the life of the facility. While not every eventuality can be foreseen and prevented, there are some common design mistakes that recur time after time in warehouses all over the world.

1) Inadequate Goods Inward Space

Ideally, the receiving bays should be in a different physical location from the dispatch bays. Otherwise conflicts can occur. If one or more deliveries coincide with attempts to load and dispatch a number of vehicles, then people and goods vie for space, scheduling demands may stretch available personnel, crowding can cause confusion and even represent an H&S risk. A good design allows sufficient space for a receiving area and keeps it separated from the unloading bays.

2) No Thought Given To Picking Paths

Logical picking paths make the job of pickers easier and more efficient. The basic logic is that the picking path should end up very close to the packing and dispatch area, and not at the other end of the warehouse and follow the shortest route possible. Naturally, product mix will change over time but more popular products should be planned to be stored in the same area, as many orders will include them. Allow sufficient space and access for multiple pickers to avoid congestion.

3) Warehouse Workers Not Consulted

The people who know the operation best and what is required are the people who operate the warehouse day in, day out. Not taking their views into account and tapping into their store of knowledge can be a major blunder that happens amazingly frequently. As well as the obvious and preventable resentment generated, the result in many cases is that inefficient processes must be devised to overcome deficiencies in design and layout. In other words, this failure will cost the organisation money every day for the life of the facility.

4) Inadequate Future Planning

It's impossible to totally future proof a new warehouse but some basic assumptions should be incorporated into the initial designs. Allowing for example, an extra 3m / 10 feet for internal height, even if it's not justified immediately, could reap dividends if increased capacity is required and higher bays can be installed to cope. Similarly, load bearing elements, such as floors or mezzanine floors should be designed to take account of height available for storage not necessarily that used initially.

5) Forgetting Some Operational Requirements

As well as normal aspects, such as dunnage, packaging materials storage and waste storage areas, a good design will plan for temporary overflow space. Every operation has unexpected events from time to time that require additional storage or assembly space on-site.

6) Inefficient Racking Placement

The most efficient layout for racking bays is normally when they are oriented towards the receiving area. That way, forklift operators have a straight run to take incoming materials to their storage area. Conversely, where the racking is at a 90 degree angle to the run, this can result in slower movement and bottlenecks. It is usual to avoid "dead ending" although compromises are oftern made between efficient movement and storage capacity

7) Wrong WiFi Positioning Or Configuration

When it works smoothly, WiFi is not even noticed and is taken for granted. When glitches occur, the fall-off in productivity can be extremely costly and highly disruptive. As always, IT on the moveis only as good as the signal available. For this reason, it is advisable to engage specialists who have experience of fitting out warehouses and WMS systems in general. Simple aspects, such as installing the correct type of antenna and aligning them the right way, adjusting the power levels to avoid conflicts and so on, all go towards smoothly operating WiFi.

This is a relatively short list of common design failings that can be most easily overcome at the very start. Like many aspects of physical production and supply chain management, taking the time to think things through at the outset pays dividends in terms of performance and productivity rates as time goes by.

Download the free Warehouse Productivity Guide, containing practical advice about warehouse layout strategy, supply chain management, WMS software and more. Click here to access your copy today.

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7 Common Warehouse Design Issues & How To Avoid Them!

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Flaws in warehouse design and layout cost money over the life of the facility. While not every eventuality can be foreseen and prevented, there are some common design mistakes that recur time after time in warehouses all over the world. Ideally, the receiving bays should be in a different physical location from the dispatch bays.

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Customer experiance resulting from using technologies.

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Customer experiance resulting from using technologies.

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usage of faster deliver systems such as drone deliveries.
faster customer feed back or response to the product.
ability to place orders quicker and get them delivered with many options and product varieties.
low price product with high quality.
after sale services been improved also customer returns.

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picking or packing improvement in warehousing.
less in complexity and less error rates.
cutting down in lead time.
maximum use of existing resources and storage space.
easy and faster process.

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Receiving of goods

Cross-docking of goods

Organizing and storing inventory

Attaching asset tracking solutions (like barcodes) to assets and inventory

Integrating and maintaining a tracking software, like a warehouse management system

Overseeing the integration of new technology

Selecting picking routes

Establishing sorting and packing practices

Maintaining the warehouse facility

Developing racking designs and warehouse infrastructure

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We are officially living in the golden age of speedy fulfillment, which means that the world's warehouses have their work cut out for them. According to data gathered by Statista, the number of warehouses operating in the United States has been on a steady incline in the past decade, peaking at nearly 18,000 facilities in 2017. As competition increases and consumer expectations run into uncharted territories, it's becoming more and more important for retailers, suppliers, and distribution managers to learn the ins and outs of the ever-evolving field of high-tech modern warehousing.

But, just because recent automated technologies have changed the landscape of the overarching customer experience doesn't mean that those new to the field can skip out on learning the fundamentals. Developing a keen awareness of warehouse operations should be the first step for any enterprise entering today's fulfillment race. Let's take a quick dive into the meaning, challenges, and best practices associated with warehouse operations.

A Definition of Warehouse Operations

Rick Stinchcomb of the University of Oklahoma Press defines warehouse operations as such: "The goal of warehouse operations is to satisfy customers' needs and requirements while utilizing space, equipment, and labor effectively. The goods must be accessible and protected. Meeting this goal requires constant planning and ongoing change."

Breaking it down, warehouse operations covers a number of important areas, from the receiving, organization, fulfillment, and distribution processes. These areas include:

Receiving of goods

Cross-docking of goods

Organizing and storing inventory

Attaching asset tracking solutions (like barcodes) to assets and inventory

Integrating and maintaining a tracking software, like a warehouse management system

Overseeing the integration of new technology

Selecting picking routes

Establishing sorting and packing practices

Maintaining the warehouse facility

Developing racking designs and warehouse infrastructure

Of course, the aforementioned points represent just a fraction of what many modern warehouse operations managers face. That said, they constitute the fundamentals of warehousing, elements that serve as the building blocks for all warehouses, big and small.

How Warehouse Operations Work

While many factors come into play when considering warehouse operations, ostensibly, today's key factor concerns customer experience. Since the rise of Amazon and its nearly autonomous fulfillment centers, consumers have grown accustomed to two-day, one-day, or sometimes even hourly shipping times.

These expectations force warehouse operations to keep customers' needs at the forefront. Operations can achieve this by investing in a software system, like a WMS, WES, or CRM that give all members of the supply chain, including customers, a picture of the retailer's inventory levels. The operations manager, along with planners and other management, can use the purchase data to organize the warehouse floor in such a way that the most popular or quick-moving SKUs are strategically placed.

Once the inventory and infrastructure plans have been inked, management must also consider factors like new technology integration, picking routes, safety, personnel management, and more. Attention must also be paid to the organization's fleet, whether it be internal or otherwise. It is the job of the warehouse operations personnel to ensure that all inventory is picked, packed, and ready to be loaded for shipment in the most efficient way possible.

Warehouse Operations Best Practices

Maintaining a reliable, safe, and modern warehouse can be possible for operations of all sizes and budgets, provided that the basic best practices are followed. These include:

Safety - According to OSHA, the fatal injury rate for warehousing is "higher than the national average for all industries." Because of this fact, agencies, like OSHA, pay extra close attention to common warehouse operations pitfalls, including improper licensing/training procedures, faulty infrastructure, poor recordkeeping, facility maintenance issues, and more. Following the established safety rules ensures that the health of the associates and the business remain secured.

Organization - Supply Chain 247 preaches the importance of storing all materials in standardized bins, and in locations that are strategic and well-labeled. The publication also recommends that all operations who can, should implement cross-docking procedures in order to reduce "cycle time and material handling costs."

Communication with the planning team - Too often, organizations experience communication breakdowns between the personnel working on the floor and those working in the corporate office. While a planning team might be aware that factors like globalization could affect inventory cycle times, the warehouse might not learn of this until the 11th hour, when it can only survive, not strategize. This common scenario can be remedied by more frequent meetings and daily communication within a cloud-based software system.

As you can see, modern warehouse operations have evolved into a rather involved field, but that doesn't mean that the basics have changed. Always put the customer first, focus on fulfillment times, and keep a regimented study on facility safety and organization. By following these steps, you, too, will have the tools you need to run an efficient enterprise.

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We are officially living in the golden age of speedy fulfillment, which means that the world's warehouses have their work cut out for them. According to data gathered by Statista, the number of warehouses operating in the United States has been on a steady incline in the past decade, peaking at nearly 18,000 facilities in 2017.

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Customer Experience resulting from using new Technologies 

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Customer Experience resulting from using new Technologies 