Why Use Warehouse Automation?

There are many benefits of warehouse automation that are driving significant growth and increased adoption. Automation solutions provider Westfalia highlights the following automation benefits:

1. Customizable – With automation, a warehouse can be transformed into a facility that does exactly what you want, when you want.

2. Cost Effective – Automated warehouses may be a large upfront investment, but typically have paybacks within three to five years, and solutions usually last ~25 years:

• Reduced labor and equipment costs
• Reduction in land use requirements
• Reduced waste
• Lower maintenance costs
• Reduced energy costs especially for refrigerated and frozen warehouses

3. Improve Productivity – Automation systems are faster and more accurate than manual labor and ensure that product is moved and transported correctly.

4. Optimize Space Utilization – With a high-density ASRS, more product can be stored in a smaller amount of space and can store 40% more pallets in the same space as a conventional rack space.

5. Provide Better Inventory Accuracy – By bringing in software like a warehouse execution system and integrating with the ASRS, organizations have total control of their inventory.

6. Optimize Order Fulfillment – With an automated, warehouse, organizations can establish efficient, picking processes, routes, and sequences to enable better overall performance of the warehouse.

7. Safety – An ASRS adopts the idea of bringing, goods to the operator instead of the operator retrieving, them. This greatly decreases the amount of physical, labor involved with tasks, including walking, lifting, and carrying heavy loads.

8. Eliminate Product Damage – Less human interaction with product equals less damaged product.

9. Provide Fewer Shipping Errors with Just-in-Time Order Fulfillment – Westfalia estimates warehouse automation delivers 15% fewer shipping errors. Automated technology can eliminate staged orders waiting to be picked up by implementing JIT order fulfillment, which prepares orders right when a truck arrives on site, as efficiently and quickly as possible.

10. Environmentally-Friendly – Three primary “green” outcomes concern land use, energy consumption, and waste production:

• • Reduced labor and equipment costs
  • Reduction in land use requirements
  • Reduced waste
  • Lower maintenance costs
  • Reduced energy costs especially for refrigerated and frozen warehouses

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