Ensuring the Success of Your Robotic Technology Deployment

As part of the continuing digitalization of the supply chain, there are a range of technologies available today that are demonstrating their value in warehouse operations. One such technology is robotics, which is enhancing the value of human workers and transforming the way products move throughout the supply chain. Based on early adopter deployments, valuable best practices have emerged to help guide companies that are now considering the technology.

Increasing Deployment of Robots in the Warehouse

With recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), sensor technologies and 3D visual autonomy, robotics applications in the logistics industry are significantly expanding. Currently, companies across all industries are testing robotic solutions and determining the most promising applications for their logistics operations.

The activity around robotics in the warehouse can be divided into two types. Stationary robots perform value-added tasks from a fixed location, attached to the floor, ceiling or other surfaces, and often resemble robotic arms. Mobile robots fulfill tasks without direct input from human operators, either following predetermined visible or invisible paths or using real-time path planning to move more freely. 

Especially in light of warehouse labor shortages and demand volatility, many logistics companies are realizing the significant economic potential of implementing robots for repetitive, strenuous, physically demanding work processes. Automating these processes can not only help address worker safety concerns but also enable companies to redirect skilled labor to focus on value-add, strategic tasks in other areas of the warehouse.

The increasing prevalence of robots in logistics is being seen in four primary areas that that are further driving collaboration and task sharing between humans and machines.

1. Automated shipment sorting

Sorting shipments is a very repetitive, monotonous task that nevertheless requires high-quality output. Workers who have to perform this task for hours on end in the warehouse tend to lose concentration after a certain amount of time, making their work error-prone and leading to additional rework costs. Sorting is therefore an ideal application for sorting robotics. The technology often uses cameras and AI capabilities to differentiate items for shipment and use pre-defined characteristics to classify and sort them.

2. Robotic picking and order fulfilment

The manual separation and alignment of parcels, letters, cartons and flyers to prepare them for further processing downstream is very monotonous and labor intensive. Robotic induction, the act of picking an item and placing it with a specific orientation on a conveyer belt as well as identifying its characteristics, is a very scalable solution given its widespread applicability. Additionally, the introduction of assisted picking robots can drive efficiency in the overall order fulfillment process by shortening the distance walked by humans and reducing the time between picks.

3. Palletizing and depalletizing

The automation of palletizing and depalletizing in inbound and outbound warehouse or hub operations holds great potential for robotics. This includes uniform and mixed (de)palletizing. While uniform (de)palletizing is the movement of same-shaped, unvarying goods from and onto a pallet, mixed (de)palletizing describes the handling of pallets with items of various sizes and weights.

4. Loading and unloading

Loading and unloading containers and trucks with loose load is one of the most physically demanding activities in logistics. Workers are exposed to extreme weather conditions and must repeatedly move heavy goods in confined spaces as quickly as possible to ensure downstream operations can continue uninterrupted. Today’s deployed solutions are typically for unloading cartons or pallets. However, with advances in robotic software and computer vision capabilities, robots will eventually achieve additional autonomous capabilities such as mobile case picking.

Best Practices for Integrating Robotics

Below are some of the key best practice tips that are emerging to help guide companies as they deploy robots within warehouse environments.

1. Work with credible technology vendors that understand the warehouse environment, can support the size and needs of your deployment, and will have the longevity and capacity to offer support after the deployment is up and running. Leverage their knowledge of the technology and deployment experience to help ensure the technology is deployed with minimal disruption to operations and can deliver a return on investment that meets your operational objectives.

2. Consider the items to be picked or handled, including size, weight and shape, to ensure they align with the capabilities of the robotic technology. Decide how the items will be picked and placed, noting the type of containers that can be used, special packaging and handling requirements, and the items that are most frequently purchased. Determine the workflow patterns that work best with the technology and your application to ensure the technology is seamlessly integrated to maintain the needed throughput without negatively impacting your ROI timeline.

3. Choose the right robotic technology that is easily scalable. Ensure you and your team understand the resources, investment and effort needed to scale as demand increases or your operations evolve. Identify what you want to accomplish with the technology, focusing on operational challenges you are trying to overcome, objectives you want to achieve and the team and infrastructure that needs to be in place to proceed.

4. Consider the workforce and determine where your warehouse employees might be supported and/or productivity might be enhanced. Identify those non-value tasks where employees can be relieved so they can focus on more strategic and value-adding tasks that enhance operational performance. Update training and safety programs accordingly to make sure standards are maintained and any safety concerns are quickly identified and addressed.

5. Give thought to the workspace the robots will occupy. Give consideration to any barriers, provide ample room for the robots to adequately operate and allocate the necessary space from your existing warehouse. Also determine if and how your workforce might interact with the robot and if it is necessary to adjust traffic patterns within the workspace.

6. Keep safety top of mind, choosing technology that reinforces ergonomic principles, revising your safety and training programs and ensuring steps are taken to foster safe interaction between robots and workers. Make sure there is a process in place for identifying, addressing and minimizing safety concerns and issues.

7. Determine the metrics and data that you will use to measure installation success and technology performance, while also having a plan to share that information internally and to make adjustments as needed. Put in place the processes, resources, support (internal and external) and commitment to help ensure decisions are made and actions are taken based on what the data is showing.

The growing number of successful proofs of concept and pilot projects using stationary and mobile robotics in the warehouse environment is paving the way for wider implementations across the entire supply chain. Following these best practice tips will help ensure that the robots you deploy will become a valuable component of your warehouse operations, delivering the needed flexibility, efficiency and productivity.