Like many other workplaces, warehouses have experienced a significant transformation due to new technological advancements. Tracking, organizing, picking, packing, and shipping inventory are common in warehouses. The trends and advancements take on repetitive and labor-intensive warehouse chores and make them manageable.
Most warehouses are incorporating the use of the advancements for maximum utilization of resources into their daily operations. It’s a move to reduce costs, streamline processes, and improve the efficiency of operations.
Here’s an in-depth discussion of the trends and advancements to boost warehouse operations:
1. Packing Technology
One of the most recurrent activities in the warehouse is packaging. It’s one of the most time-consuming tasks. Again, the packaging process is labor-intensive and takes up most of the employee’s time. The automation of most of the packaging processes has led to shorter packaging times in the warehouses. Robots make work more accessible since they can work twice as fast as human laborers.
The new trends you can use in packaging include:
- Robotic packaging: The robots can open, stack, and close packages. It makes the process faster and easier. They can also seal, code, and label products to make storage easier. Also, you can use robots to store or retrieve inventory from the warehouse racks. Robots are more reliable as they can perform more tasks than human laborers.
- Automated documentation: Besides packaging, putting correct documents into a product can be daunting. However, robots can insert the correct documents into the packages and reduce errors.
- 3D bin packing: This technology facilitates using the correct box sizes to maximize your packaging needs. The technology helps create custom boxes so you can minimize your packaging materials. This promotes sustainability and helps your warehouse to reduce wastage.
After packaging comes the need for safe storage. It ensures your products are in proper condition as they await to be bought or transferred to the consumers. Most warehouses use pallets for safe storekeeping and organizing. Palletizing patterns ensure the products are stored well and their safety secured. Strategic arrangements provide easy access to inventory and maximum utilization of the storage spaces. As such, you must consider the best pallet patterns for your product storage.
2. Inventory Scanning Technology
Warehouses need to keep up with inventory levels. Warehouses rely on data collection to make several decisions. They also need fine details on the number of units in their stores. Such vital information helps in making timely replenishments and maintaining healthy inventory levels. Advancements in inventory scanning technologies have enabled warehousing companies to get such details.
Some of the common inventory scanning technologies include:
- Barcode scanners: The barcodes contain most of the product information that helps identify the product and the units in the warehouse. They can also be shipping barcodes to monitor the products as they go through different phases.
- Radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology: They use electromagnetic waves to keep track of inventory in the warehouse. You can attach them to your products for ease of tracing.
Record keeping on inventory is an essential task for warehouses. It helps in tracking what goes in and out of the warehouse. This boosts the accuracy and efficiency of warehouse operations by reducing waiting time.
3. Cloud-Based Managed Solutions
A lot of data transfers and exchanges take place in warehouses. Accurate data records are ideal for the warehousing setup. For such reasons, cloud computing-managed solutions come in handy. This facilitates quick data transfers and access to real-time data records. Also, with the significant shift to many Internet transactions such as order processing, delivery scheduling, and inventory management, computer-based managed solutions consolidate warehouse operations into a simple chain.
The solutions host software that helps reduce errors and detect faults with your systems. For instance, you can integrate machine learning and artificial intelligence into your inventory monitoring systems. They can alert you on malfunctions and help you schedule maintenance. This way, you can limit downtime and ensure business continuity.
4. Warehouse Designs
As large as they might be, warehouses want to maximize the space as much as possible. The layout design significantly contributes to how to utilize space maximally. A good layout should accommodate adequate storage space and quick access to products and equipment.
There are three common types of warehouses layout designs:
- I shape: This design consists of a straight flow from receiving to shipping. It’s best at optimizing the space as the whole area is covered. It’s also efficient as it minimizes back-and-forth movements.
- U shape: In this design, components are arranged in a semicircle with shipping and receiving ends on parallel sides. Storage takes centerstage. It’s best for warehouses that want to streamline primary warehouse traffic flow.
- L shape: This design features adjacent sides’ receiving and shipping areas. It minimizes congestion.
Choosing the warehouse layout design is critical as it influences productivity and smooth operations. With a suitable layout, you can improve your inbound efficiency. This way, you’ll have the best time management skills and facilitate ease in moving goods in and out of the loading dock.
Conclusion
You should leverage your warehouse’s new trends and advancements as they’re efficient and promote productivity. They can also be the best strategies to reduce wastage and cut operations costs. You can use several of them and record a magnificent change in your productivity levels.