Types of warehouse automation

Types of Warehouse Automation – Technology has led to the smoother functioning of a number of industrial sectors. It has allowed warehouse services management to be more effective by increasing the rate of human labor, manual tasks and by taking control of a number of things that were previously handled by associates. And as a result, associates can easily concentrate on more complex tasks and take care of the other vital needs.

What is Warehouse Automation?

Warehouse automation refers to the procedure of automating the movement of inventory in and out of the ecommerce warehouse to customers with reduced human supervision. One can easily remove the tasks which demand a lot of manpower and heavy lifting, as well as manual data entry. Conducting a thorough analysis before choosing different forms of warehouse automation according to the requirement of the warehousing and storage place is recommended.

Warehouse automation does not really mean robotic or physical automation. In most cases, this term refers to the replacement of hectic and tiring manual work with the help of software. With the passage of time, it is pretty much clear now, that the incorporation of robots into our daily work schedule has not only helped us with time management and saved us from repetitive tasks but has also allowed humans to invest their energy and time into more critical areas of their work.

Types of Warehouse Automation:

Warehouse automation mainly includes those automated technologies which has proved repeatedly to increase productivity by all possible means. There are a number of ways which a warehouse can benefit highly from using the different methods of automation.

Here is a list of the most known types of warehouse automation:

• Goods-to-person technologies (GTP) – Previously, the worker had to lift up heavy products and goods while working in a warehouse. However, GTP technologies offer solutions for either machines or robots to bring the goods to the workers for either assembling them or for packaging purposes. The capability of a GTP is much higher and stronger than that of manpower. Therefore, one can easily reduce the number of employees, and hence, cut down the investment for their wages and spend it improving the quality of their services.

There are two main types of GTP technologies:

• Automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) – This is one of the major types of GTP technology and it brings or moves products and goods in bulk to reduce the tiring human work. Mainly this technology is installed into vehicles, carousels, and cranes for moving and storing items in the warehouse.
• Conveyors system: This is one of the oldest but most useful warehouse automation technologies. It is a major type of GTP technology that moves goods and products from place to place according to what procedure it will go through next.

• Pick-to-Light Systems– This automation type reduces walking, improves productivity as well as improves the warehouse transportation time by helping the workers locate the items faster and deliver them on time. A Pick-to-light system uses barcodes and LED lights to help the operator locate a specific item for fulfilling the delivery demands.

• Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) – This warehouse automation is used in mainly those places where there are high labour and high-volume requirements. Typically, the AMRs work with the manual workers for picking up items in large numbers and transferring them to the packing station.

• Voice picking and voice tasking: Warehouse workers use wireless headsets with each other mainly to communicate and coordinate the movement and picking of goods accordingly. The voice tasking and voice picking solutions are widely used by the pickers of a superior warehouse for communication purposes.

• Sortation systems: This kind of warehouse automation uses a diversified range of technologies for identifying and separating items and further directing them to certain locations for processing returns, or pickup zones, or to packaging sectors.

• Collaborative mobile robots: Most of these robots are capable of optimizing the pickup routes and tasks on the basis of the warehouse conduction and work priorities. These robots offer a wide range of benefits and help the workers to increase their picking accuracy and productivity by guiding the pickers through the complete process.

• Drones: Equipped with barcodes, drones are often used for inventory management in terms of conducting the procedures of inventory counts and informing the warehouse workers accordingly, so that they can further restock or locate the items which are placed in the wrong storage place. Many organizations and companies have started the using drones for delivery purposes as well.

The perks of installing warehouse automations are immense, and today’s technologies are extremely flexible and reliable compared to the older automation solutions. Choosing the right option according to the your needs, and installing it in the warehouse will help you to reduce errors and increase productivity in no time.