Because of emerging technologies, information technology is expected to play a more central role in streamlining warehouse operations over the next four years, according to a new white paper released recently by Motorola.
Entitled “From Cost Center to Growth Center: Warehousing 2018”, the report outlines the ways warehouse strategies will turn to multi-modal data collection technologies — such as bar coding, RFID, mobile device, voice and pick-to-light — to enhance workflow and to increase warehouse productivity and flexibility. The use of these types of technologies will increase 113% to 142% between now and 2018, it states.
Faster, Smarter, Cheaper
According to the report, the use of these IT data collection devices will be expanded as warehouse operators seek to increase inventory turns, equip more staff with technology, automate more processes, increase the number and size of their warehouses, and accommodate a higher volume of items and an increased number of SKUs.
“Today’s warehouse professionals face a series of significant changes in the ways warehouses, distribution centers and the entire supply chain operate,” the report states. “More facilities and larger spaces demand high-speed mobile communications virtually everywhere on or off the floor. A virtual across-the-board customer demand for personalization is driving an increase in the number of SKUs leading to increased inventory visibility, accuracy and efficiency needs.”
New Regulations Come into Play
Warehouses also will have to operate smarter in order to adhere to new regulations which require more accurate product tracking and tracing. Plus, the trend toward re-shoring is bringing businesses and customers closer together, facilitating the need for more efficient and and effetive cost and labor management, according to the white paper.
In preparation for the major changes that are expected to impact warehousing operations from coast to coast, warehouse operators can begin by carefully analyzing the issues and evaluation the steps that can be taken to increase facility productivity while simultaneously driving down costs.
Seven Step Approach to Warehouse Modernization
A starting point is by making sure operations and IT are on the same page. While IT should address high-level issues such as standardization, integrity and risk management, operations will be responsible for defining and executing workflows, identifying new business initiatives and working with It on the new systems, interfaces and workflows they will require.
A second step is to understanding the changing wireless needs and solutions. New devices such as wearable computers and new applications such as multi-modal picking and other emerging technologies can dramatically improve the performance and reliability of wireless networks.
It’s also critical that warehouse operators keep an open mind, especially when it comes to shifts in processes throughout the supply chain. As the size and frequency of deliveries and shipments change, corresponding shifts in the upstream and downstream piece, case and pallet identification can result in improved workflow efficiency and productivity, which can then result in many new technology requirements.
Other steps that can be taken to prepare for the closer relationship between IT and operations include:
- Evaluating purpose-built and adaptable technology alternatives
- Placing renewed emphasis on risk management
- Considering the consequences of bigger and more warehouses
- And building a return-on-investment model that includes both top-line and bottom-line results
The coming changes are positive, the report concludes.
“They provide warehouse management with an opportunity to benchmark their current capabilities against what their businesses, their suppliers and their customers are going to need in the next five years and beyond,” it concludes. “They can also take inventory of where their current performance levels are, and how they stack against their different processes.”