Like most other businesses, supply chain and logistics are undergoing a significant transition. In addition, a new standard for automation and eCommerce lifestyle adaptability has emerged due to the current pandemic.
As commerce has evolved and become more efficient, people have turned to the latest technologies to keep up with the changing trends. This includes implementing automated dimensioning solutions in supply chains, which helps to reduce the need for manual labor.
This article helps you get a transparent insight into how the overall supply chain benefits from automated dimensioning systems.
The rising supply chain in the warehouse:
The real-time purchasing experience of consumers has changed dramatically in the last ten years due to how eCommerce is developing. As innovation spreads, huge online order demands derive from consumers’ growing comfort with online shopping. As a result, most supply chain owners are forced to consent to deploy automation technology in their industry to improve working efficiency.
Supply chain a game-changer in the logistics industry:
The logistics industry has undergone a massive transition from planning each operation to automating them all during the past three decades. Major eCommerce sectors have consequently reevaluated how they should define the supply chain framework. So, naturally, we must eliminate most manual labor before automating the activity. But first, the industry needs to have a deeper understanding of the operations that will be automated. Then, for example, we can have an automated dimensioning solution to replace the existing dimensioning process, which is once again a time-lagging methodology.
Customer expectations are increasingly important as eCommerce continues to develop. As a result, the business must focus on various aspects, such as operational effectiveness, to transform the organization into a digital supply chain and meet customer expectations.
Innovative approaches for the future digital supply chain:
The growing digitalization empowers organizations to address new prerequisites of online customers, including:
- Speed: Consumers want the option for same-day or next-day delivery when they make a purchase. Companies need to have precise, up-to-date demand forecast reports to make this possible. By tracking these reports daily, companies can ensure faster doorstep delivery and avoid frustrating their customers with slow delivery times.
- Flexibility: To thrive in the industry, companies need to prioritize expanding their transportation capacity and increasing their number of distribution centers. Providing excellent service in the supply chain is crucial and ensuring flexibility in the supply chain can help drive corporate growth.
- Accuracy: With the right knowledge, the industry supply chain can expand by several orders of magnitude. The specific data can identify the improvement we should prioritize to enhance its workflow.
- Productivity: includes keeping track of internal products, having granular stockpile reports, and having detailed inventory and warehousing data.
- Efficiency: Efficiency is built on careful planning. Most organizational automation is implemented to boost productivity. In the supply chain, efficiency means obtaining the right goods at the optimal time and at the lowest cost. Customers’ satisfaction serves as a measure of the efficiency of the entire supply chain.
- Constructing a well-functioning supply chain for the logistics and warehouse sector:
The supply chain has grown faster than logistics and warehouses in recent years. The ultimate warehousing and logistics objective is to deliver the products to the clients with no worries about damage and at a reasonable price. As a result, we can now describe the plan for creating a productive supply chain for the warehouse and logistics sector.
There are four strategic stages to be concentrated on as the industry grows:
- Strategic: The initial preliminary review process is put through this step to establish a successful supply chain strategy.
- Functional: In this stage, we can specify the operation and function to be carried out using a priority scale.
- Structural: The structural stage, which starts after the review phase, entails choosing the kind of goods to be stocked up depending on seasonal demands.
- Implementation: This allows us to carry out a precise plan and evaluate the results.
When a company raises its level, it should keep an eye on particular elements that help to further enhance its supply chain level.
The following are some of the crucial components to take into account while creating a workable supply chain for the logistics and warehouse sector:
Customer request cycle: When online orders are processed, prepared, and dispatched to customers within the specified timeframe, this component takes place. The industry determines the client order cycle by dividing the annual demand by the number of orders.
Pick-to-ship process: It drives the order fulfillment process. The software at the warehouse creates the item slip after the consumer places their order, and the warehouse associate then selects the products from the shelf, packs them carefully, and labels the shipping label. Sorting the orders and preparing them for delivery is the final stage.
Production: The products/items are moved from the warehouse to other distribution centers and eventually to the customers with the aid of the production plan.
Inventory: It is where different operations, including analyzing the product’s quality and accuracy and moving it into the warehouse for further customer conveyance, take place.
Forecast accuracy: it is crucial in reducing the inventory level linked to scrap costs. An accurate forecast report aids in determining the industry’s financial and growth foundations.
Overall expenses: Include controlling various expenses such as transportation, warehouse work, time and product investments, fuel, energy, equipment maintenance fees, operational costs, and disposal fees.
What impact is supply chain automation having on our perspective in 2023?
As the expanding eCommerce industry develops, various warehousing and logistics sectors work very hard to automate various activities. Numerous iterative processes can be automated to reduce manual labor. As a result, we can quickly update logistics and warehouse production with the expanded supply chain.
Here are some examples of the technologies being utilized to make warehouse and logistics operations more efficient:
Drones: Drones are quickly becoming a popular tool for the business supply chain management. These unmanned aerial vehicles can be used for various tasks in the warehouse, including transporting small packages, surveillance, inspecting damaged goods, inspecting roofs, tracking delivered goods, and gathering internal product information. By implementing drone technology, companies can improve delivery times and production rates and reduce freight costs. Simply put, drones can handle the small details of moving packages and monitoring operations.
Vehicle automation: Autonomous trucking is becoming popular in the warehousing and logistics industry to alleviate common transportation challenges. These self-driving vehicles can move faster than traditional trucks, offering numerous benefits such as lower transportation costs, fewer driver shortages, and the ability to relocate distribution hubs. In addition, for eCommerce companies looking to ramp up delivery in response to rising demand, autonomous trucks can be a valuable asset to the supply chain.
Automated dimensioning solutions: An effective supply chain is usually hampered by inaccurate measurement. We can quickly build a reliable operational procedure for the sector using error-free dimensions data. The warehouse associate would use tape and a ruler to calibrate the product’s dimensions according to the standard time-lagging dimensioning approach. Intelligent technology called the automatic dimensioner was installed in the warehouse to quickly estimate its dimensions data. To navigate the position of the shipments, these dimensioners are further connected with the barcode scanners. Following the vertical requirements, the industry selects either or both dimensioners.
Below are the major advantages of implementing automated dimensioning solutions in your warehouse to improve the overall supply chain:
- Enhanced cartonization: aids in choosing the appropriate box size for the products, saving time during packaging when deciding which box would be best.
- Future capacity planning: We can quickly assess the warehouse’s available room space for future shipping with pertinent measurement data. Additionally, dimensional data helps in creating product forecast reports.
- Enhanced accuracy and transport tariffs: The logistics and storage sector depends heavily on accuracy. Without reliable information, it is challenging to determine whether business owners in the industry and consumers can afford the essential sum for shipping products.
- Reduced human errors: The traditional dimensioning practices can produce more dimensional errors, ending in unnecessary transportation costs. With automated dimensioning systems, we can instantly eliminate dimensional data errors and save time.
Why is this the perfect time for warehouse modernization?
As time passes, various eCommerce sectors have understood that investing in warehouse and logistics automation can aid various human-held issues. Besides, warehouse automation can boost efficiency, accuracy, and productivity, which is more beneficial in last-mile conveyance.
What are the key benefits of modernizing the warehouse and logistics?
- Increased drop shipping: The dropshipping trend permits manufacturers and wholesalers to build overall revenue and gain more customers by building direct-to-client channels.
- Quick conveyance: After ordering the product online, the price is no longer the competitive differentiator; however, receiving the product on time turns a fundamental part. In forthcoming years, the fulfillment responsiveness will increase exponentially.
- Overflow of online 0rder requests: social media has become indispensable to the human lifestyle. According to the poll, there is a massive demand for social media marketing, which encourages almost 34 percent of the populace to order products through social media sites, bringing a flood of online requests. Because of this, most organizations should speed up their working proficiency.
- Flexible pickup methods for multiple orders: Picking and sorting is the genuine cycle requiring more focus. Enabling adaptable pickup methods can diminish the pointless conveyance costs and significantly increase its supply chain throughput.
Final words:
As industries embrace digital transformation in the supply chain, they are turning to futuristic tools like Edge AI, computer vision, and deep learning to streamline their operations. But don’t worry, these advancements in supply chain management actually make things easier by eliminating redundancy. To kick off their automation journey, many industries have implemented automated dimensioning systems to reduce risk and speed up production in the supply chain. So basically, the robots are here to help us and not steal our jobs…at least for now.
