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To be competitive and faster service delivery, e-commerce businesses must consider smart warehouse automation.

The retail business in today’s digital age is increasingly turning to online for effective service delivery. This has led to a new, always-on business model, e-commerce, which is available 24/7 for each and every individual, regardless of his/her demographics. With the evolution of automation technology, this service has surged significantly. Warehouse automation is essential for keeping up the innovation in the e-commerce space, offering a variety of automated and analytics-driven tactics with IoT-enabled devices to create warehousing systems that are immensely faster, cheaper, and more efficient.

The e-commerce industry is growing at an unprecedented rate and warehouse automation is pushing this growth to a new next level. Simply, it involves machines and robots that help workers with processes related to inventory from when it arrives at the warehouse until it leaves. Implementing warehouse automation solutions will be an effective approach for e-commerce as it can assist warehouses in improving productivity and precision, minimizing labor costs and enhancing safety. 

Some warehouse automation settings include everything from unloading trailers to fulfilling orders. Despite this, human workers still play a significant part in this work scenario.

How Does Warehouse Automation Work?

Integrating automation in any working scenario creates an improved work system that helps in completing monotonous, tedious tasks with less human presence. In warehouses or inventory like workspace, advanced technologies like drones, robots, autonomous driving systems, and others can play a vital role, leading the way for warehouse automation to complete multiple tedious and complex tasks that are hazardous for humans.

Modern warehouse automation solutions typically make use of robots and cranes to perform various range of tasks. Some automation solutions like collaborative mobile robots use Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning solutions in order to optimize tasks in real-time in accordance with warehouse conditions and work priorities.

Warehouse Automation in E-Commerce – Benefits and Use Cases

As the growth of e-commerce is tremendously spiking, it has driven retailers, e-commerce businesses, warehouse management system vendors, third-party logistics providers and integrators, and manufacturers, among others to re-consider their use of technology, in particular, of automation. Thinking about smart warehousing, the practice of using a wide range of automated processes and analytics-driven tactics with IoT-enabled devices is significantly more efficient. This automation system for warehouses is growing at an incredible pace, making it to be the future of e-commerce.

Since the automated storage and retrieval systems combining dense architecture, mechanized transferals and computerized inventory management have long been existed in manufacturing, wholesale and institutional contexts, they have proved their capabilities to organizational and logistical demands in e-commerce. As warehouse automation involves robotics and automated order processing, it can dramatically advance warehouse management and everyday processes.

According to the ARC Advisory Group report, the major benefits of warehouse automation include robotics disruption as robots do not go on vacation, and do not require sick days, paid leave, lunch breaks, or health insurance. In turn, they offer an attractive, cost-saving alternative to traditional human labor. While Amazon Robotics is leading the way, there are numerous new entrants in the autonomous mobile robotics market, boasting improvements in the management, control and automation of warehouse operations.