With the constant strengthening and rapid globalization of e-commerce, it is imperative for retailers and manufacturers to improve their supply chains and logistics to better meet global demand. There are several ways to streamline warehousing and get closer to your customers, but SmartWare housing is one of the most sustainable and intelligent ways to do that.
This article described the concept of smart warehousing, its benefits, and how to make your warehouse smart, that is, how to get the most out of your warehouse operations with minimal manual effort.
What is an intelligent warehouse?
Intelligent warehousing basically means streamlining various warehousing operations to achieve maximum efficiency. This can be done by automating, outsourcing operations to third parties, or using software to handle onsite operations and track deliveries. Smart warehouses increase business productivity and minimize labor and error.
It is more competitive than other e-commerce sellers by streamlining the supply chain and warehousing operations. Unlike what is generally believed, smart warehouses are not fully automated warehouses. This means an “intelligent” collaboration between humans and automated machines. A typical smart warehouse may have computerized systems that handle inventory, sales, and logistics functions, and people running them at maximum capacity.
How is it different from a manual warehouse?
As the name implies, manual warehouses rely on workers to implement and perform operations such as picking products, loading carts, and delivering to shipping docks. These features are automated in the
Smart Warehouse-The order is automatically received and WMS checks if the product is in stock. In that case, the pickup list is moved to the robot cart, which bins the item and delivers it to the worker for the next step. If not, the warehouse management system will prompt you to purchase the appropriate inventory.
Benefits of Smart Warehousing
Having a smart warehouse comes with a lot of perks. And, as opposed to what one might think, it is not that heavy on your pocket.
The initial setup might cost a little, but the return on investment makes up for it and stays with your business in the long run. Here are some of the major benefits of owning a smart warehouse.
Reduced Costs: A smart warehouse is less dependent on human labor. This can reduce two major costs.
Personnel costs: On average, two-thirds of warehouse operating costs are labor costs. By automating the operation, these costs can be significantly reduced.
Operating costs: Automation improves performance and productivity, further reducing operating costs.
How does it help?
Reducing inventory transportation costs ultimately benefits end customers as companies can offer products with flexible pricing schemes. In such a highly competitive world, this certainly helps to increase customer loyalty.
By automating the pick-and-pack inventory system into a more integrated form of order processing, the warehouse increases overall productivity by an average of 25%, uses inventory 530% more efficiently, and uses warehouse space. It can be improved by 1020%.
As of , the cost of automation for labor costs can be daunting and, of course, financial implications. Calculating ROI in different scenarios will help you make decisions. Also, it doesn’t need to be fully automated to make the warehouse intelligent. You can select operations that can be automated to improve efficiency.
Fast Shipping Warehouse staff no longer have to manually select products to process orders, significantly reducing order processing time in smart warehouses.
In addition, the Smartware housing eliminates picking errors. For example, in Amazon’s warehouse, machines perform most of the simple and monotonous tasks such as picking and packing, allowing online giants to process orders in the shortest possible time.
