An example of what drives some of this concern is how quickly Ecommerce and the Direct-to-Consumer portion of Omni-Channel Distribution impacted on DC operations. Systems installed just a few years ago are now required to transport and sort smaller products (cases, cartons, bags, cold sealed items, inner packs and eaches) a capability most do not have. While new products are being introduced to address these requirements, current operations are being forced to either increase their percentage of non-conveyable items or provide special sub-systems to handle them.
The DC automation picture is not as clear cut as we would like for it to be:
Pro - Automated equipment such as weigh-in-motion, label print and apply, case filling and sealing, sorting, palletizing, and the newer generation of AGVs and robotics, are examples of where automation will definitely increase throughput and productivity of repetitive operations. Standalone automated equipment of this type can operate in the typical DC environment reliability and efficiently without a high degree of system integration and dependency. This level of automation makes it much easier to accommodate changes in SKUs and order profiles while increasing DC performance.
Often the above standalone types of automated equipment can boost productivity and DC performance with relatively small incremental investments. After these upgrades have been made what remains should be consistent enough to consider higher levels of integrated system automation.
Con – Highly integrated automated systems are not easily modified. It’s a fact that bolt-to-the-floor systems can be difficult to reconfigure once installed. System planners usually incorporate extra capacity into the system for expansion purposes. This is sometimes described euphemistically as being a “scalable” solution. Therefore, all throughout the system planning stage the need for operational flexibility must be stressed. In addition, many DCs have at least one or two huge peak seasons per year when they may require a large pool of temporary labor. In this case, automation may be a benefit or a hindrance depending on how it is configured and applied.
Material handling systems represent a major long term investment. Therefore, it is highly recommended that before committing to any such project, invest in an independent computerizes graphic simulation of the proposed system operation. This will provide the opportunity to test and prove the system design under a variety of conditions and obtain a clear understanding of its performance capabilities. In addition, such a simulation can greatly reduce the possibility of over or under sizing the system – both of which are potentially costly mistakes. |
