The Future of Automated Warehouses Is Here

Summary

The evolving role of the warehouse workforce necessitates maximizing the benefits of automation to achieve substantial profits. According to a recent study, there is a projected shortfall of 2.1 million U.S. manufacturing jobs by 2030. The scarcity of human workers has led to rising costs, delays and decreased productivity, prompting the integration of robotics in warehouses and distribution centers. 
 
While the shift towards robotics in warehouses brings numerous benefits - including enhancing workforce efficiency and safety, it also presents challenges. While this can bring limitless opportunity, effectively harnessing their capabilities requires seamless coordination across different processes. This is where the concept of multiagent orchestration (MAO), and the resulting real-time coordination of warehouse operations, becomes crucial.
 
Let’s back up a bit to discuss automation within the warehousing industry today - you have mechanical automation and decision-making. Automating decision-making is a big deal. Literally somebody in the warehouse would create a wave of orders and push it manually. Given the complexity of situations today and need for real-time data, even decision-making needs to be very automated. Warehouse managers used to decide to allocate 20 people in picking, 15 people in packing and 10 people in outbound. All of these decision-making steps and the logic or reasoning that goes along with it also need to be automated to reap the best efficiency and reduce the most errors. Whether it is execution by people, robotic agents, or automation, this decision-making process needs to be automated.

Today, automation customers must consider questions like:

• Are you realizing the maximum potential of those automation investments? 
• Do you have the flexibility to adapt to change? 
• Will the automation you have today work with the automation you will need tomorrow? 

By investing in robotic warehouse automation, retailers are scaling their operations up and down to meet peaks and troughs in consumer demand. This helps to increase warehouse productivity by as much as 40%, while also being cost-efficient as retailers can only pay for what they use. For example, AI-powered robots have helped retailers to reduce their labor costs by as much as one-third (33%), while also reducing order fulfillment time by as much as 50%. 
 
Meeting today’s fulfillment needs is not enough. The whole purpose of forward-looking automation and multi-agent orchestration is not binding retailers to one particular solution or one particular type of technology - because there are different types of fulfillment centers in different sectors. To truly reap benefits from automation in warehouses, it is essential to embrace flexible solutions that can adapt and effectively orchestrate all decision-making and robots in the warehouse environment - both now and in the future. The ability to scale and add various functioning robots manufactured by various vendors is essential for automation now and moving forward.  
 
Some robotics solutions fit well for dark stores, while different ones fit for omnichannel fulfillment centers, and there are places where you want two or three different technologies to come together and get coordinated with each other - and the multi-agent orchestrator has all of those feature sets.
 
MAO serves as a central system that harmoniously integrates various types of robotic technologies, ensuring they work together towards specific outcomes - including the automated decision-making concern. From managing inbound movement to facilitating forward area picking and sorting, MAO enables a smooth and efficient workflow across the entire supply chain. Through leveraging the power of AI-driven multiagent orchestration, supply chain leaders can unlock the full potential of automation, streamlining operations and enhancing overall productivity.
 
Adding an open application programming interface (API) to the multiagent orchestration platform, allows the software to seamlessly connect and control robots manufactured by different vendors. One compelling example is the returns process, which traditionally involves multiple complex steps. While automation may accelerate individual stages, the true transformative power lies in orchestrating the entire return journey, encompassing everything from dock to stock. This intricate orchestration involves a harmonious interplay between human workers, robots from various vendors, conveyors, elevators and other elements. Implementing sophisticated technology elevates the overall efficiency of the returns process to unprecedented levels. The result is a streamlined and agile system that not only enhances productivity but also optimizes resource utilization - redefining the standards of efficiency within the logistics industry. That's where orchestration comes in as the solution.