As we head into Autumn, the countdown is on to the inevitable, dramatic upsurge in order fulfilment to manage customer demand across Black Friday, Cyber Monday and of course, Christmas. Coupled with the demand for same-day and next-day delivery now accepted as standard across most e-commerce operations, this puts additional stress on the entire operational process, as every stage from goods-in to storage, order picking, packing and onward shipment, must happen with speed and accuracy to meet these demands.
Traditionally, order picking has been a highly labour-intensive task, often leading to errors and inefficiencies as well as putting a strain on the workforce due to its physical nature. However, with the advent of robotic picking systems, warehouses can achieve exceptional levels of order-picking efficiency as well as enhanced productivity.
L-A-C Logistics Automation is at the forefront of designing and implementing innovative Robotics solutions tailored to modern warehousing needs, with a focus on modular, scalable solutions that offer the agility required to cope with seasonal shifts in order volumes. From robotic palletisers to autonomous mobile robots, L-A-C has a portfolio of robust and highly efficient robotic solutions capable of handling peak season order-picking requirements with ease.
With high costs and limited availability of labour typically used to manage the peak season increase in order fulfilment, the integration of robotics in warehouses and distribution centres plays a pivotal role in lowering operational costs, and achieving the accuracy and speed required particularly at this time of year.
There are many robotics solutions available today that are highly effective in automating order-picking processes and can be seamlessly integrated into existing operations to support both short-term needs and long-term growth objectives.
Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS) can handle high volumes of goods with minimal human intervention, reducing errors and increasing throughput. They offer exceptional levels of speed and accuracy of order-picking tasks, as well as space optimisation using high-density storage within a compact footprint.
Increasingly utilised in e-commerce, 3PL and retail operations, Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR) are highly adaptable and are ideal for dynamic environments particularly those with significant peaks in order fulfilment or frequent stock rotation. They also offer a safe working environment using sensors and cameras to avoid obstacles, infrastructure, and people as they navigate through the warehouse on pre-planned routes.
The Exotec Skypod® system AMRs offer a highly efficient solution for goods-to-person order fulfilment and replenishment tasks. The robots navigate within the dedicated storage structure to collect the totes required for order fulfilment, bringing them to manually operated pick stations where the items are scanned, ready for packing and onward shipment. The Exotec Skypod AMRs are equally adept at replenishing totes with additional SKUs when required providing a complete and highly efficient order-picking solution capable of transforming e-commerce operations.
Taking it to the next level, robotics can be integrated to combine picking and packing operations that further enhance efficiency and productivity. Specialist palletising robot systems are capable of numerous tasks such as checking, weighing and automatically printing and applying labels to offer a complete robot palletising solution. They also integrate seamlessly with other automation technologies such as conveyors, AMRs and ASRS solutions. By adding a de-palletising robot to the overall process, businesses can fully automate the task of unloading products from pallets to further streamline and enhance operations.
Robotics come in many different forms and finding the right solution is vital to ensure operational efficiency and agility, and to safeguard future growth. With nearly 30 years as a leading systems integrator, businesses trust L-A-C to design and deliver a robotics and automation solution tailored to specific needs, that will offer a cost-effective, efficient, and long-term answer to managing peak season and beyond.
L-A-C Logistics Automation
t: 0115 975 3300
Comments are closed.