Industrial Automation Magazine India

Digitalisation of processes is the cornerstone of next generation of Supply Chain

Published on : Wednesday 25-09-2019

Smart forklifts, AGVs, autonomous mobile robots – what are the new trends in material handling?

The core of warehouse automation is to gain the control of process, better manage the inventory and efficiently move goods between different processes. In reference to this, there are some flexible and modular automation solutions that offer more visibility, improving tracking and thus enable control on processes. These include:

Automated Storage and Retrieval systems (AS/RS): Managed by the software platform, these automated pallets, cases, trays or tote storage and retrieval systems store and retrieve product quickly and efficiently based on demand, dramatically increase storage density and support optimised transport AGVs.

Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs): Intelligent AGVs bring increased flexibility and efficiency to material/Intralogistics transport. AGV systems automate workflows by executing transport tasks based on optimised and flexible strategies managed by the navigation software.

Good-to-Person Storage, Picking and Kitting (G2P): Goods-to-person systems can be deployed to deliver goods to a person for picking and further processing. Simple goods-to-person solution uses Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) to quickly transport goods, provide better use of available space, higher throughput and minimised errors.

Conveyors: A variety of conveyor systems are available for use in warehousing operations. Multi-function conveyors provide energy-efficient transportation of goods with both light and heavy loads.

What should be the ideal mix for efficient in-plant material handling?

The fundamentals for unlocking productivity and improving operations in warehousing lies in the basic concept of gaining more visibility, improving tracking and thus gaining a control on processes. Only after you track, you can control. Only after you control you can optimise.

Automation technologies that offer positive inventory control, intelligent material flow, flexibility and tracking form the idea mix of material handling solutions in the plant or warehouse.

Material handling solutions need to be powered by intelligent, data driven and modular systems that can be easily implemented, adopted and scaled at any point. Solutions that enable responding faster to changes in the demand are ideal fit.

The traditional warehouse is being transformed dramatically – what are the implications and lessons here?

Warehousing processes and technologies worldwide are looking radically different today. Automation is a buzz word of this industry. Warehouse transformations can convert your warehouse into a facility that does exactly what you want, when you want. The key is to determine objectives of this transformation and align it with the business strategy. This is the biggest lesson. Also, if automation is the key driver of transformation then, it is very important to think through the end-to-end objectives of automation. There is no point automating one process only to create further bottle necks. A classic example is automating the internal inventory storage without considering what bottlenecks would be generated in dispatch process and subsequent conveyance of goods to shipping docks. The investments that have been made in transforming the warehouses have paid dividends. However, in some cases, just transforming without alignment to long term strategy has resulted in diminished returns.

How is the Supply Chain Process impacted by digital transformation?

Digitalisation of processes is the cornerstone of next generation of Supply Chain. Intelligent, reactive, data driven and flexible software (or warehouse management system) forms the back bone of digitalisation. Software is the glue that holds the processes and automation together. In addition to providing the tools, the WMS also provides the business a competitive edge by automating compliance and statutory requirements. Automated receiving, accurate identification, easy tracking in the process, optimisation, inventory control, assured order fulfilment and reliable operations are all made possible at a finger’s click using the warehouse management software.

Is this the right time for enterprises to outsource supply chain management to professional oranisations?

It is always the right time to take the step towards moving to a next gen supply chain processes. Whether the expertise is present in house or has to be outsourced is an organisational decision. But, problems of today are not the problems of tomorrow. The inefficiencies in supply chain processes are becoming increasingly unacceptable in today’s hypercompetitive, dynamic markets and time is right to deploy automation technologies to create competitive advantage.

Warehousing in India is still in the early stages of automation barring some e-tailers. What are the barriers here?

Indian economy is poised to overtake developed economies like United Kingdom in the near future. For any emerging economy, its blood veins are the logistics and transportation industry. In the recent times, the transport, logistics and warehousing industry has gained prominence with the government granting infrastructure status to these industries. Yet, the adoption of logistics automation in India hasn’t been up to the mark as compared to other parts of the world, for various reasons. A common mind-set is that automation is more suitable for economies where labour cost is substantially higher and it would be difficult to justify the RoI in a cheap labour market like India.

The challenges for Indian markets in adopting automation are not only limited to cost. There has been a lot of stigma regarding the right fit of automation solutions for differing situations and lack of flexibility. A modular, flexible and scalable approach to automation solutions was absent and it was assumed even if one undertook the expense and implemented automation, the systems couldn’t adapt to changes in process configurations or new requirements. This was a base hurdle for investments in warehouse automation and marked as a high risk. Owing to this apprehension, warehousing community took an “if isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” approach

Rupesh Narkar is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in the field of logistics automation. He has a Master’s in Engineering Management (USA) with a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering (India). He is currently the Director of Sales for Logistics Automation Company in USA. His career focus include designing, selling and implementing logistics automation solutions throughout Americas. He has authored articles and spoken at events for logistics automation industry in USA.