Why invest in warehouse automation?

The rapid digitalisation of society that we have seen in recent years means that today's customers have completely different requirements for efficiency and speed in ordering products, be it B2C or B2B. This requires both manufacturers and distributors to review inventory management to meet customers' new requirements.

“Fully manual storage solutions are no longer efficient, and we see more and more companies accelerating automation to become competitive,” says Debra Wilkins, marketing manager, Kardex UK & Ireland.

Kardex systems are built vertically or horizontally depending on customers’ requirements. Vertical storage utilises the space that is unused in a warehouse – meaning the entire height up to the ceiling. Automation is not only utilising ‘dead’ space, but the handling of goods are 3-4 times faster than manual handling with picking errors reduced and inventory levels optimised. There is also the option of using labour elsewhere as automation delivers the stock to the person.

In the past a manual inventory management solution worked fine. However, today we want to understand more about how our processes work, what are the fastest/slowest moving SKU’s, are we impacted by seasonal ordering, how do we handle growth and how Is our overall productivity in relation to the business plan. Making better use of storage space is an obvious benefit, but automation delivers answers around managing growth, processing returns and faster goods management. Automated storage systems enable 80-90% better use of space and can increase efficiency by 300-400% without having to build or move to larger premises.

Automation is suitable for a wide range of companies in many industries and today’s current solutions are easy to use. The goods are delivered to the user at the right height, improving the quality of work and the ergonomics of employees. It’s all about understanding customer needs, working with them in a long-term partnership to find out what challenges and needs exist and what can be optimised with warehouse automation. Calculations are made based on operational performance and best practices put in place to make the most of the investment operationally.

Many of the solutions offered by Kardex are fully tailored to the needs of customers. Smart software can be integrated with existing management systems. Robotics and conveyers can be integrated depending on requirements. A company can start with a smaller solution and as their need grows, expand automation without affecting daily operations. This means lower investment costs. 

To learn more about automating your warehouse download the free white paper here.

Or contact Kardex direct at [email protected]

Or visit our website www.kardex.com