Welcome to the Warehouse Supplement. Supply chain operations here and elsewhere face growing pressure to do more, faster, with fewer resources. The increasing diversity of goods being shipped and the desire for ever faster delivery have brought in a new “normal.” Services once considered a bonus, like free two-day shipping, are now expected every time. In this environment there’s zero tolerance for downtime: even minor interruptions can have a severe impact. But the good news is, technology is transforming how warehouses work.
Let’s start with a look at ecommerce. 40 per cent of shoppers cite poorly fitting clothes bought on line as the reason for sending them back, but in other categories human error in the warehouse is the commonest cause of returns. It’s too easy for pick operators to make mistakes, as the work’s repetitive nature makes it easy to zone out and lose count.
In today’s tight market ecommerce businesses face tough challenges when it comes to planning for growth and maintaining performance levels. With fewer people available for manual picking, many retail organisations are turning to intelligent automation to boost their labour force’s productivity and free people for tasks that require the human touch or where sight and judgement are essential, such as packing and inspecting returns.
And then there’s the safety aspect. In today’s busy warehouses, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) is a must, say parcel packaging solution experts Pregis. Like the picking errors we mentioned earlier, warehouse accidents happen through human frailty – people lose concentration, or don’t follow procedure. Also, warehouses often have a high turnover of seasonal staff, so health and safety training gets rushed or forgotten.
Speaking of parcels, Dematic’s PackMyRide automation system is the world’s first fully automated solution for parcel loading. Currently being tested in a pilot project at one of DPD’s distribution centres, the system picks up packages from the existing intralogistics system and moves them to mobile racks via a rack feeder, where Dematic´s AGVs automatically transport them into the delivery vehicle, reducing the delivery drivers’ physical work and the time required for loading vehicles.
Warehouse trucks are getting smarter too. STILL’s EXD-SF doubledeck high-lift truck features Dynamic Drive Control, automatically adapting to the current load weight and lift height. When the lift height goes above 1800 mm, the truck changes to slowspeed mode. STILL’s new machines also have a built-in Curve Speed Control system that automatically adjusts the speed to the current steering angle.
As we know, increasing numbers of warehouses now use driverless forklifts. Yale’s robotic materials handling equipment is among those that operates without any added infrastructure, unrestricted by fixed routes, offering great strides in flexibility, ease of use and productivity, working 24/7, only stopping for battery charging. On the battery front EnerSys’ intelligent battery charging system involves smart high frequency modular chargers, assuring automatic battery identification and increased efficiency. The bottom line is, a battery that typically costs €50 to charge using a ‘50Hz’ charger costs approximately €37 using the modular charger.
Last but not least, warehouse lighting has got smarter too. DANLERS has partnered with Wirepas to develop a range of lighting controls featuring Mesh Based Wireless Connectivity, which minimise and optimise energy usage, while Luxonic’s warehouse lighting products have reduced Associated British Ports’ Port of Hull’s energy costs by 96% and saved £2.9m per year for Pets at Home.
Enjoy reading the Warehouse supplement and look out for our next one.
BILL REDMOND
Features Editor
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