6 Ways Warehousing Robotics Will Revolutionise Your Operations

With the rapid advancements in technology and the rise of e-commerce and online retail, robotics is fast becoming the must-have solution for warehouses in the 21st century.

The efficiency, accuracy and flexibility of this innovative technology can help you automate time-consuming and repetitive processes, manage order picking and packing and optimise your inventory management.

With the advent of AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots) and their ability to adapt to their physical environment, optimise pick paths and even collaborate with humans, these robotics technologies are already upgrading warehouse automation operations across the UK, Europe and the wider world.

Numerous larger corporations and businesses have already invested in these emerging technologies. Amazon is the most famous of these, having installed 520,000 robotics drive units by June 2022 and remain firm leaders when it comes to adopting robotics technologies for more efficient and productive warehousing.

They certainly aren’t alone; according to BusinessWire, robotics technologies are expected to almost quadruple within the next few years and increasing numbers of businesses realise the range of advantages and cost savings that they can benefit from.

Want to know more about warehousing robotics?

Here are six ways robotics will benefit your warehouse operations and make your organisation more efficient, productive, safe, sustainable, and cost-effective to run.

1. Robotics boosts your warehouse efficiency and productivity

Deploying a robotics solution in your warehouse will bring you a significant increase in both efficiency and productivity.

This is because robots can perform repetitive tasks such as picking, packing and inventory management with consistent precision and reliability, and won’t make costly human errors. They can also work around the clock and don’t require breaks so can process orders faster, reducing order fulfilment times and enhancing the productivity of your business.

If you are adopting advanced AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots), you’ll also benefit from their ability to navigate complex environments and collaborate with humans for better warehouse output.

2. They are full customisable and ideal for scaling

Whether you need to increase or decrease your order fulfilment volumes, adapt to new product lines, expand your business or move to new premises, robotics can be quickly reprogrammed to meet your changing demands.

Any alterations can be seamlessly integrated into your current WMS (Warehouse Management System) and distributed with minimal downtime, removing the need for additional investment or other costly changes.

As a result, your business can easily explore new opportunities and adapt in a rapidly changing marketplace. It’s a technology designed to scale with your business as your grow and expand.

3. Robotics improve workplace safety & the worker experience

The physical demands and ever-present hazards of a warehouse environment keep health and safety at the forefront of your operations. With robotics, you can effortlessly minimise the potential for accidents and injuries, reduce worker effort and ‘outsource’ those more repetitive and demanding tasks.

As a result, your workers can enjoy a safer work environment that takes less of a physical toll on their bodies and allows them to complete their work faster and more effectively. If working with AMRs, they’ll also benefit from the additional support and collaboration these robots offer, reducing their workload and freeing up their time to focus on value-added tasks instead. Ultimately, robots are about enhancing a workforce rather than replacing it.

4. Deploy a more efficient approach to storage

For warehouses and DCs, fulfilling orders and maintaining customer satisfaction requires the need to optimise their use of storage space quickly and efficiently.

By adopting robotics technologies, this space can be used more effectively as vertical storage space and narrow aisles can be navigated with ease, inventory can be organised for better accessibility and frequently accessed items can be located in easy-to-access areas.

Warehouses can make better use of available space and maximise every corner of their premises by utlilsing key warehouse automation benefits, such as optimised pick routes.

5. Warehouses become more cost-effective with robotics

Robotics can help reduce your need for manual labour in repetitive or potentially hazardous tasks, significantly bringing down your costs while ensuring your warehouse can perform at optimum efficiency.

These technologies can also perform tasks with greater speed, accuracy, and consistency than their human counterparts and so help avoid unnecessary expense or additional team members.

Your business is then able to redirect human capital to value-added tasks, in so making your workforce more cost-effective and better utilised to match their skillsets.

Because workflows are more streamlined when you use robotics, you can also reduce operational costs, better manage your inventory, minimise waste and avoid unnecessary holding costs.

6. A technology that helps address your sustainability concerns

Adopting robotics in your warehouse can help you achieve your sustainability goals as they are energy efficient, consuming less power and lowering your carbon footprint.

Their better use of storage space minimises your space constrains, reduces waste while continuing to support the needs of your business.

Finally, their real-time inventory management means that your warehouse can avoid overstocking and product spillage and instead reduce your impact on the environment.

Summary

Robotics technologies are already transforming warehousing and making it more efficient, productive, cost-effective, and safe. Introducing these technologies into your warehouse with a robotics solution brings countless benefits. You can streamline your processes and boost your order fulfilment, enabling you to protect and enhance the future of your business.

Here at Renovotec, we provide cutting-edge and in-depth knowledge and expertise in warehouse automation. We help optimise your processes by leveraging the right technology for your unique requirements. Contact us today to speak to one of our warehousing and robotics solution experts.