DSLV Survey Reveals Low Risk of Payment Defaults for Freight Forwarders
Apr 28, 2021 at 5:50 PMDr. Malek Optimizes ETA Calculation of His M3 Software
Apr 29, 2021 at 6:10 PMExperts from CIM GmbH and Gilgen Logistics AG analyze whether warehouse automation is the key to success in intralogistics. More than half of the approximately 2,000 warehouse management projects implemented each year are semi-automated or automated solutions. This is shown by the WMS Market Report Compact 2020 from the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML. The experts investigated the reasons behind this question.
(PressBox/Fürstenfeldbruck) In principle, both parties agreed that automation, particularly semi-automation of logistics, will continue to increase in the coming years. “Automated components have many advantages that will become increasingly significant in the future,” said Kilian Küsters from CIM GmbH. They enable, for example, improved picking quality while simultaneously increasing process reliability. This allows for shorter throughput times, and customers benefit from shorter delivery times. Additionally, operational costs are decreasing: The main and ancillary times in production, picking time, search times in the warehouse, or process-related activities significantly influence these costs. These times can be reduced with the help of automated components.
All warehouse movements in an automated warehouse are carried out mechanically and are controlled by the overarching warehouse management system. Human errors, such as those in manual picking, are eliminated. Therefore, delivery quality increases, and returns decrease. Another aspect of machine or software-supported control is inventory security and transparency. Users in an automated warehouse have inventory-secure clarity at all times about how many items are located at which storage location.
Automation Can Compensate for Missing Space
The issue of missing space and facilities can also be countered with automated warehouses. They allow for greater shelf heights and thus construction upwards. Additional options include multi-depth storage or very small distances in narrow aisle warehouses. Sustainability in logistics is also playing an increasingly important role. With individual energy-saving concepts up to dark warehouses, savings potentials can be utilized, and the overall CO2 consumption can be significantly reduced.
And yet, the answer to the question of whether automation is the key to a sustainably successful and future-proof logistics was surprisingly “it depends.” “Automation is the future; however, it is essential to weigh carefully when and why automation makes sense. Factors such as company size, processes, warehouse conditions, and other considerations must be taken into account,” concluded Kilian Küsters from CIM.
Enormous Potential for Production and Assembly
It is undisputed that automation holds enormous potential in areas such as production and assembly, (online) retail, healthcare, or hazardous goods. To leverage these potentials, it is important not to view software and hardware separately but to emphasize the interplay between the two. Only when the automated components function flawlessly and are optimally controlled by the warehouse software can an automated warehouse contribute sustainably to successful and optimal warehouse operations. This recipe for success has already been implemented in numerous warehouses by CIM GmbH, an internationally leading provider of intralogistics software for over 35 years, and Gilgen Logistics AG, a general contractor for logistics total systems, through their long-standing partnership.
Photo: © CIM
