Technology keeps evolving, challenging business rules and impacts on how Companies are running. This disruptive technological new paradigm puts at stake entire Industries, whether they will have to adapt themselves or do not survive.
In particular, many logistics carriers are developing cyber-physical systems – adding Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Vehicles, Blockchain, Drones, Internet of Things, etc. – which changes competitiveness landscape.
According to many experts, robots, robotic systems, and artificial intelligence will become the main driver of the economy’s digital transformation. Consequently, it is key for logistics companies to catch up with these emerging and new trends to remain being competitive.
How are robots changing the logistics sector?
Although robots and autonomous machines era has arrived undisputable, they still need important upgrades to fulfil logistics sector’ requirements as currently more than 80% of distribution centers (DCs) operate with manual workforce, which is becoming a shrinking labor pool to choose from.
To maximize operational efficiency, DCs will need to consider incorporating robotic warehousing solutions to make up for labor shortages and increase productivity. Especially, since e-commerce massive expansion, the importance of loading and unloading vehicles at hide speed and errors free have become a prevailing need. Here is where arms, cranes, classifiers and robotic separators become key players.
This kind of machines maximize efficiency as they can execute repetitive tasks with a higher rate speed for long periods than a person can carry out. They are also able to deal with all kinds of loads, whether they are very heavy, extravagant or delicate, just to mention some of its advantages. Later, we show a detailed list of them.
The role of AI as the future in the logistics sector
Also, another concepts closely linked to robotization, is implementing artificial intelligence (AI) in the supply chain. In this sense, the idea is to avoid having many robots performing jobs if all of they have to be individually controlled by workers.
In warehousing processes, artificial intelligence technologies have landed mainly for task such as compile storage code, perform automatic picking with automated guided vehicle and warehouse robot to improve work efficiency. Thus, virtual intelligences solutions for automation now a day cover a wide spectrum; among them, we can mention:
- Coordinate jobs
- Plan the best route
- Plan tasks
- Optimise logistics links
- predict / prevent future scenarios
- Determine needs (replenishment orders)
- Allocate resources
What does all this mean? Machines themselves predict future demand, organize distributions, determine protocols and handles everything until final deliveries all by themselves. This is how bright results are achieved, with such little margin of error and saving a huge amount of resources (whether in the form of time, effort, human or monetary).
To sum up, logistics carriers during the following years will start adding robots and artificial intelligence to automate, control and coordinate its operation.
The advantages provided by new technologies
The best way to understand the true magnitude of incorporating technology in logistics is to analyze in detail and thoroughly what are the main advantages that will bring to the sector.
Among them, we would like to highlight the followings:
- Automation through AI is the most important advantage for supply chain productivity. Through intelligent robots, companies can manage their warehouses and inventories flawlessly, performing tasks such as locating, inventorying, and picking the product; fewer people are involved and business continues smoothly. Well implemented, IA takes Companies into a completely new productivity scale.
- Money Savings because of automation. Automated warehousing operation reduces lead times, errors as well as human incidents in the workplace decreasing costs significantly.
- Savings in head count. Since technology will be in charge of the effort and work of several dozens of human beings, employees can be assigned into functions that are more productive.
- Reduction of distribution and management times. Intelligence devices will perform calculations, forecasting and orders’ management.
- Increase in success rates as a result of minimizing human errors.
- Increased labor security. Accidents rates will decrease, as less human beings are involved in risky and dangerous logistics task.
- Better usage of warehouse square meter, System have best practices and rules which allow them to suggest alternatives for more efficiently and safely products’ storage taking into account its dimension, rotation, costs, product output frequency, output packaging among others. In particular, it allows you to reduce number of containers used or consolidate shipments to fulfill orders reducing costs.
In conclusion, we reviewed what it is expect for the logistic sector in the upcoming years. In fact, some logistics carriers have already implemented many of the innovations described above and are at your disposal. So, do not wait to benefit from it, get in contact with us at project.kparcel.marketing@k-parcel.com to see what we have to offer!.
