During the dot-com bubble, entrepreneurs struggled to keep the back end of their businesses moving as quickly as the new, secure servers that tracked orders on the front end. For most companies, logistics management looked like the hodgepodge of bike messengers toiling to deliver snack orders for Kozmo.com customers. Webvan.com developed sophisticated fulfillment centers, only to be hobbled by lackluster demand for online grocery shopping. By the close of 2002, Amazon.com remained the model for solid warehousing and shipping strategies, even though it relied on teams of runners to pick, pack, and ship orders.
Logistics Management: A New Frontier
Just as broadband has improved Internet access speeds and overnight shipping services have raised customers expectations for fast delivery, third party logistics companies are shaving crucial minutes from the time it takes to select and box customer orders. Some of Americas most successful companies hope technology can streamline logistics services in the same way that car manufacturers improved assembly lines: by blending human expertise with robot precision.
Most warehousing operations still rely on human beings to scamper through rows of pallets, pulling items from shelves and checking off pick lists. Strategies for making this unglamorous corner of the logistics services industry more efficient have included:
- handheld computers
- bar code scanners
- RFID chips
- Segways, scooters, roller skates
- golf carts
Still, at most distribution centers, humans roam the halls while product stays put. Thats a trend that a few inventors want to put to an end.
Robots and Humans, Handling Logistics Services Together
The latest hot technology to hit logistics companies involves wide, squat robots that can carry over half a ton of products across a warehouse floor. A writer for BusinessWeek likened the tools to yellow ottomans that can glide underneath a rack or a pallet, shifting it across to a central work area manned by packing specialists. For complex orders, like the kind often placed by online shoppers, multiple robots queue up so packers can take what they need from various racks. Humans stay in one place, cutting down packing time.
Logistics services managers hope that robots like these can increase flexibility in a variety of warehousing spaces. With real estate rates allowing shipping and storage companies to pick up new properties at rock bottom prices, not every facility boasts a standard design. Fulfillment robots can eliminate the need to outfit new warehouses with permanent racks or conveyor belts. They also can 0adapt quickly to the needs of various clients within shared storage facilities.
Best of all, an unexpected attribute of the robots may help logistics management companies become desirable neighbors. Unlike the clatter caused by humans rattling around with golf carts full of products, the robots are relatively quiet. Their small electric motors remind most observers of episodes of The Jetsons. When combined with the relatively low vehicle traffic of strategic shipping and freight services, a robot-enabled logistics park can seem even more sedate than an office complex.
Robots can speed up packing time, reduce noise, and significantly cut the risk of on-the-job injury for their human co-workers. Although logistics services expect to make some significant initial investments in the new technology, clients may notice their effects in smaller service fees over the coming years.
Sources
BusinessWeek
Mass High Tech
Wall Street Journal
Wired
Xconomy
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