The UK economy is experiencing the highest inflation in decades. When prices rise, supply chains carry the main burden with the main impact on labour, transport and energy costs. Labour costs can be reduced through the more widespread use of automation in the warehouse, bringing greater efficiency to the sortation process. Companies who have reduced human transit time, either through better physical layout or through part-automation have managed to reduce their need for more employees. In the longer term, more automation and technology solutions will deliver cost savings that will mitigate the impact of rising inflation, according to SCCG.
This article was first published in the August 15th 2022 issue of Warehouse & Logistics News, subscribe to the magazine by clicking here.
SICK has developed a versatile and easy to install Roller Sensor Bar to tackle common conveyor downtime headaches for operators in wide-ranging materials handling, parcel sorting or logistics hubs. The SICK Roller Sensor Bar has been perfected to deliver high sensing performance when detecting the leading edges of varied, flat or irregular shaped packages on conveyors. Whether mounted during conveyor manufacture or fitted to an existing production line, the time taken to install and set up a Roller Sensor Bar is minimal.
Interroll significantly increased sales to £266.8 million (+14.3% year on year, +18.5% in local currency). Order intake fell significantly to £261.1 million (-27.8% year on year, -24.8% in local currency) due to the absence of major projects, but Interroll still has an exceptionally high order backlog from the previous year. The Conveyors & Sorters product group generated sales of CHF £82.9 million in the first half of 2022, 9.9% higher than in the same period of the previous year.
In 2016, Vanderlande’s automated case picking solution (ACP) was installed at Asda’s 28,600 square metre ambient distribution centre (ADC) in Warrington, UK. At the same time, the supermarket chain entered into a five-year agreement with Vanderlande to deliver life-cycle services, a contract which has now been extended until 2026. Nowadays, the Warrington ADC is Asda’s most efficient automated hub in its network of stores and has the highest picking accuracy.
LAC has successfully developed next–generation conveyor belts for the post and parcel industry. Originally designed as a fast, wide and short gapping unit, the firm’s newest FRB conveyor has found application in several projects so far. Its current line offers lengths ranging from 800 mm to 2000 mm and widths ranging from 800 mm to 1200 mm.
As costs rise for the supply chain, automation and technology are likely to bring substantial savings to the sortation process.
George Simpson
Features Editor
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