Your warehouse is an essential part of the supply chain of your company. Whether it is shipping out new products or storing old ones, your warehouse is there to do the job. However, as your business grows, the volume that needs to be handled grows. This is where warehouse automation comes in.
Warehouse automation can cover everything from asset management to RMA management, which pertains to the management of product returns. With the right automation infrastructure, your business can enjoy the many benefits. Whether it is just software to make your inventory management easier or actual robotic solutions to retrieve and store products, automation is the wave of the future.
Here are just a few reasons you should invest in it:
1. Increased Efficiency
Efficiency is important if you want to stay competitive. Being able to do more with the same resources can do wonders for your company, and that’s exactly what automation does for your warehouse. According to studies, there is a 25 percent gain in productivity by just moving from a paper system to warehouse management software.
In addition, better efficiency is facilitated by reducing human error. The software can help reduce or eliminate that error. There’s no need to depend on an employee’s memory or having to page through reams of stock lists. Just log in to the system and check what you need to know, whether it is the current stock, what is being returned, or what is waiting for deployment or repair.
2. Lower Costs
Along with better efficiency, automation can reduce overall operational costs. The most obvious cost reduction is in the number of manual laborers in the warehouse. Robot drones can retrieve and store boxes just as effectively. Additionally, even the logistics of your warehouse can face a few cuts, with warehouse management software turning a job for five to a single-person duty. Automation also allows for continued operations, night and day, without extra costs.
3. Faster Operations
One of the most important benefits that warehouse automation can offer your business is increased speed. For example, without automation, answering questions about the stock can be more difficult. You will need to consult your inventory, check if it is actually there, and create an order slip to move the product out. Automation makes it so easy that you can open your computer and immediately know what you have, where it is, and what action you should take.
4. Maximized Space
Automation also allows for maximized usage of space. Warehouses have limited space. When properly automated, a warehouse uses robots and drones to store and retrieve stock. These require less space to move around. This means you can have more storage space in your facility. Additionally, vertical space is more useful and accessible with these robots. Accordingly, you can get 40 percent more space out of your current location.
Introducing warehouse automation does not need to be difficult. Starting with software and then moving on to the hardware would be a good idea. Several firms that can help with that, so you can start your journey towards a fully automated business operation.
