Considering Automation?

Today more than ever, consumers are demanding a variety of products and they want them quickly.  This creates many challenges for manufacturers and distributor’s as growth is causing an increase in number of SKUs, resulting in a lack of space. 

Westfalia’s Aaron Corcoran, account executive, and Dave Williams, director of software and solution delivery, take you back to the basics in a recent webinar titled, “Considering Automation? Analyze how your warehouse can be transformed with automation.” During the webinar, Corcoran reviewed how to analyze your current warehouse to determine if automation is the best fit with the following three-fold approach:

1. Analyze your warehouse’s existing design and framework
2. Examine key information to see if your current operation is suited for automation
3. Justify the basic cost by demonstrating the benefits.

Next, data was analyzed from real-life situations to explain how a custom solution can be created in order to optimize space and increase inefficiencies with an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) coupled with a warehouse execution system (WES).  Williams described the importance of a WES by stating, "We can look at it [WES] like a conductor of an orchestra. Software solutions managing the operation in a warehouse must be able to monitor and direct all of the different components of the solution simultaneously while providing a fluid efficient and flexible inventory management and inventory fulfillment process.”

Lastly, cost justification was discussed.  To assist you in deciding whether or not automated technology would be the right fit for your organization, Corcoran reviewed key system benefits. Main benefits to consider are:

1. Optimized space utilization: Better utilization of warehouse space using automation provides 40% more pallets in the same space than a conventional rack warehouse.
2. Less waste: There is less product damage and theft reducing total waste produced within the warehouse.
3. Lower energy cost: AS/RS allows businesses to operate using less square footage and in a tighter cube with less space to cool.
4. Improved productivity: The technology behind an automated process guarantees an efficient system without the time constraints of an average work shift. It also allows for total visibility of the automated system and processes.

Automation is changing the way companies do business, but you cannot thrive on automation alone.  Automation coupled with software technology, workers, and equipment are what create a great automated system and make a company competitive in its marketplace.

Download the full webinar to learn how automation can change the way you do business.