5 Best Warehouse Automation Practices to Implement

We live in the age of technology. New scientific discoveries are being made every day, leading to the betterment of existing products. Suffice to say, the world of innovation is progressing quite rapidly.

We find technology in all aspects of society. It is especially important to warehouse owners as warehouses require vast amounts of machine-assisted intervention to stay up to date with production, consumer demand, as well as manufacturing.

Smart warehouses are warehouses that have been subjected to vast amounts of warehouse automation, allowing them to function better with improved productivity, accuracy, and efficiency. Smart warehouses also allow employees to enjoy flexibility.

In this article, we discuss some essential warehouse automation guidelines to boost productivity and function that much more effectively.

What is warehouse automation?

Warehouse automation promises a reduction of human error, an optimization of throughput, and a lower risk of workplace accidents. It adds flexibility to your operating hours, enabling increasingly accurate approximations of workforce demand.

Designed for improved performance, here are a few warehouse automation best practices that you can implement.

1. Guided Vehicles

AGVs or Automated Guided Vehicles are both efficient and practical. They’re used for effectively giving your storing and retrieval processes an upgrade. They come in handy with loading, stock-take, and put-away.

Most AGVs are self-guided, following digital paths to unload and load boxes, pallets, and other containers. They come in different shapes and sizes, often including pallet carts and forklifts.

Perhaps the best part about AGVs is the fact that they can be integrated into your warehouse without having to change any existing systems and layouts. You can expand and add your automated guided vehicle complements in accordance with the growth of your business.

2. Warehouse Management System

Your warehouse management system should be able to comprehensively arrange critical warehouse data into a platform that can be easily accessed. This platform will provide members part of your supply chain with a complete overview of how you work, real-time statistics, fast reporting, and impeccable planning capabilities.

A warehouse management system indeed offers a host of benefits, lessening the grueling paperwork you have to suffer through on a daily basis. Here are some merits you can look forward to:

• An accurate forecast of your demands.
•  Access to good-quality information, which means you’ll have more visibility over your supply chain.
• Streamlined warehouse processes.
• An accurate inventory list.
• Optimized warehouse layout.
• Improved responsiveness and flexibility of the warehouse.
• Better relationships with suppliers.
• Superb customer satisfaction.
• A reduction in labour costs due to a more efficient allocation of staff.
• Enhanced pick accuracy.
• Ability to execute optimization strategies with ease.

3. Barcode System

You can now increase the accuracy of your inventory list by implementing a barcode. Setting up a good barcode system can significantly increase the accuracy of your inventory.

Assigning barcodes for all your items means that you can now read them instantly with a barcode scanner or any computer which boasts such a capability. So there’s no need for you to take hours to organize and go through manual stock-taking when you have a barcode system in place.

The barcode system also means that there will be minimal errors. While computers are not perfect, they make statistically fewer blunders as compared to humans. Sifting through barcodes has an approximate inaccuracy rate of 1 instance per 5000 barcodes scanned.

4. IoT Implementation

IoT, otherwise known as the ‘Internet of Things’, is not an individual item but rather an overarching concept. In a warehouse environment, it’s built to inform you about all the ways in which you're able to control the moving parts in your warehouse.

IoT plays a significant role in reducing any risks and avoiding accidents or mistakes that can lead to losses in the supply chain. It uses early detection to dramatically lower oversights, ensuring an increase in profit. IoT can even help your warehouse thrive with the following tools:

• Sensors, which you can place in the warehouse. They serve to monitor moisture, temperature, and other conditions that may be overlooked.
• The collection of products and data which comes through vehicles, shipping conveyances, etc. This helps to reduce counterfeiting, spoilage, theft, and diversion.

An IoT system can synchronize all your data with ease, arranging it on an accessible platform. It helps with optimizing the control you have over your inventory and improves customer experience and labour planning.

5. Picking Tools

Automated picking tools improve accuracy as well as productivity. In distribution centers with high labour costs and large volumes, picking is aided by the usage of material-handling equipment, such as ASRS, which is an abbreviation for automated storage and retrieval systems.

By including automated picking technology in your warehouse, you’ll benefit from nearly-perfect picking rates. There's an array of automated picking tools that are available to you on the open market. These include pick-to-light and voice automated picking.

Picking tools drastically improve productivity by quickening the process, reducing human error, and optimizing labour allocation.

Warehouses that have implemented automated technology have statistically been proven to do better than those that haven't. If you have a vision for your warehouse and how well you’d like to function in the long run, these warehouse automation tips are guaranteed to bring it to reality.