A few weeks ago we pointed out that it is generally understood that automation has inherent business and operational advantages (see “Understanding Key Drivers For DC Automation”). Based on reader response to this and other related articles, we felt that we should provide more perspective on this important initiative.
Shippers, who are considering a DC automation project, should first have a consensus among the planning team managers as to what the system objectives and business issues are relative to adopting new and more highly automated processing methods.
In today’s quick response environment, while throughput and order accuracy are still highly important system objectives, the key business factors are flexibility and adaptability. Operations that have these characteristics have the inherent capability to quickly and efficiently adjust system operations to changing order profiles, while providing customized value-added order processing and palletizing services - all within a 24 hour (or less) shipping window.
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