Nov 13 2019
Warehousing Automation -Retail… automatic for the people
E-commerce dominates the retail sector like no other materials handling market. More customers want a greater diversity of choice delivered directly to their homes in the quickest and most convenient time possible. For those supplying goods under such constraints the demands on existing warehousing infrastructure are enormous… Christopher Walton investigates.
Compound this with the potential for a lack of labour: The Freight Transport Association Logistics Report 2019 estimates that one is five forklift drivers and warehousing staff are EU nationals, whose vocational status in the UK is uncertain. Sprinkle in the need for a more sustainable supply chain, that is decarbonising every link in the chain… automating warehousing processes is now essential, not optional.
“Global inventories will have doubled between 2015 and 2020 and e-commerce is driving pressure for packages to be picked, packed and delivered within an ever-shortening time frame,” says Jim Hartshorne, MD, retail and consumer, at DHL Supply Chain UK and Ireland.
Hartshorne says that logistics companies and customers need to find an innovative way to reduce costs and increase throughput that traditional warehouses are not able to handle. He says that because automated warehouses have the ability to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without the need to be trained on shifts, this brings a new level of flexibility and practicality to warehouse managers who want to optimise output. It also, he argues, allows businesses to meet changes in purchasing habits and the subsequent distribution challenges they face.
Rachel Price, intralogistics’ business development manager for Siemens, agrees that automation helps to meet such challenges: “One of my clients, a nationwide post and parcel carrier, handled 1.2m packages a day last year. They are expecting a bigger peak this time, with 1.7m.
“More consumers want more products, available at the best price and delivered the next day. It means fulfilment centres must sustain the same level of optimum service whether they’re dealing with a steady, manageable flow of orders or a massive upsurge, just like they are about to experience with Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas.”
In truth, automation and e-commerce have achieved a symbiotic relationship. Growth in one cannot exist without growth in another. The scary thing is that for some, the market is still in a growth phase.
Simon Dixon founded supply chain and logistics advisors Hatmill ten years ago and helps small, medium and large organisations to plan and implement automated, part- automated and manual warehouse process.
“We don’t think the e-commerce market has matured yet, and don’t expect it will for another 10 years or so,” he says. “Only when everyone is online – that they’re IT literate to decide what they want to do – and then consciously choosing either e-comm or the physical store, will it have reached maturity.
“Currently you’ve got retailers such as John Lewis where 50 per cent of sales are e-commerce, but most others aren’t at that level. While e-commerce is still maturing, I think we’ll see businesses be reticent to invest large sums until they’re more certain about future capacity requirements, emerging automation technology and where customer needs are going to go.” Read more
Soure: LOGISTICS MANAGER