Industrials

<p style="text-align: justify;">How does warehouse automation help E-Commerce grow?</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It is a well-known fact that e-commerce is growing rapidly around the globe, and parallelly there is a slow change in the trend of the purchasing of goods by the customers, and the way they are distributed from Distribution centers to the customers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">They are creating an unsustainable scenario for warehouse users with a high volume of orders to process and very little fulfillment turnaround time. Hence, it poses a big challenge for warehouses, as the movement of goods to and from warehouses becomes more rapid.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Real-time tracking, processing, and delivery of packages &mdash; coupled with steadily rising delivery costs&ndash; To cater to this, there is greater stress on automation to pick, pack, and ship the products, which helps in meeting the demand of online retailers.&nbsp;</p><h2 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Warehouse Automation</span></h2><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Why is automation the answer? How can it help?&nbsp;</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The application of automation in warehousing and distribution can tackle the high logistics demands of e-commerce without high maintenance costs as such systems are compatible to be integrated into the logistics process without much customization.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A significant part of efficient warehousing is to have an effective combination of the WCS (Warehouse Control System) with the WMS (Warehouse Management System) / ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) System. This integration sends orders to the automated system, and the picking and distribution process starts.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Since a considerable part of e-commerce success lies with the speed and accuracy of items being picked, which eventually affects fulfillment lead time &ndash; from when the order is first placed to when the consumer receives the item.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Modular and scalable investments to speed up the movement of goods in the warehouse like the application of goods-to-man picking, supported by shuttles or the implementation of automated guided vehicles (AGV), systems that help in reducing the picker&rsquo;s travel time to a significant extent and helps in increasing the overall warehouse efficiency.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>This article was contributed by our expert <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankkit-ruustagi-07381953/">Ankkit Ruustagi</a>&nbsp;</em></span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Frequently Asked Questions Answered by Ankkit Ruustagi&nbsp;</span></h3><h2><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1. What impact will automation have on warehouse workers?</span></h2><p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Automation can ease physical demands and the new systems will improve accuracy of the tasks carried out.</span></p><h2><span style="font-size: 12pt;">2. Will warehouses be fully automated?</span></h2><p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It is expected to be fully automated but will take some time for it to happen.<br /></span></p><p>&nbsp;</p>