A smart warehouse is a large building in which raw materials and manufactured goods are stored that uses machines and computers to complete common warehouse operations previously performed by humans. These operations include identifying and receiving orders, counting products, storing products and remembering where they are later and sending orders to the correct place. The most successful smart warehouses automate nearly the entire operation and journey of goods from supplier to customer, with negligible errors.
Smart warehouses are inspired by smart factories and adopt a similar data-driven environment. They incorporate various automated and interconnected technologies to create a technological environment in which goods and requests can be received, sorted, organized, recognized and prepped for shipment automatically. This collaboration of technologies allows warehouse workers to increase the productivity, quality and efficiency of their facility while decreasing the number of errors that occur and minimizing the amount of human workers needed.
How does a smart warehouse work?
Smart warehouses rely heavily on robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to allow technology to perform tasks — like managing inventory and locating products around the warehouse — rather than having the job performed by humans.
Other important components of a smart warehouse include:
- radio-frequency identification (RFID)
- wearable technology
- sensors
- warehouse management systems (WMS)
The robots used in smart warehouses frequently resemble Roombas, or robotic vacuums, and automate the product retrieval process by physically delivering requested items to the human employees packaging the orders. The IoT is what allows the robots in the smart warehouse system to communicate with all the other necessary technology and complete their tasks.
Artificial intelligence is used primarily to increase productivity and minimize errors. Robots can use AI to find the most efficient way to find and pick products. Other machines can use AI to pack products in the most space-efficient way. AI can also determine the best box type for a specific shipment, using the type, size, weight and product number of the item.
RFID allows warehouses to switch from paper tracking methods to tracking with digital tags. RFID also takes the place of barcode readers. While barcodes had to be precisely aligned with the reader to be registered, RFID scanners can identify packages when simply pointed in the appropriate direction. Furthermore, the collaboration of RFID, wearables and sensors provides warehouse managers with real-time monitoring of the progress and location of all inventory.
Wearables also enable workers to move all over the facility and continuously access information instead of relying on an unmoving workstation. Additionally, the network of sensors in a smart warehouse is responsible for monitoring the entire operation and ensuring that everything progresses appropriately.
Warehouse management systems track a warehouse’s everyday operations and reveals the efficiency of the processes as well as areas that can be improved upon. WMS gathers important data and helps warehouse managers control operations and processes. Since most WMS collects real-time data and provides visual reports, it can be used to reveal vulnerabilities or problems in the operation, therefore allowing workers to identify where issues are and fix them.
Orders are automatically received by smart warehouses. At this point, the system checks and confirms that the requested products are available. A list of items to pick up is then sent to one of the system’s robots, triggering the retrieval of products and the delivery to workers for packaging. To work efficiently, smart warehouses must be agile, flexible and scalable and provide data visibility.
Benefits of a smart warehouse
The goal of smart warehouse systems is to provide companies with real-time visibility, enabling the optimization of processes and the ability to make instantaneous changes to improve operation speed. Smart warehouses can also remove the majority of human error and increase safety and security within the facility. Overall, the primary benefits of a smart warehouse are its ability to save the company time and money, increase profits and raise the satisfaction level of clients and customers.
Smart warehouses have also become increasingly important and beneficial as the need for inventory management accuracy grows due to the increase in online shopping. It is essential that online retailers provide accurate, real-time information to consumers about the availability of products. The data visibility afforded by smart warehouse systems allows for this while also helping to decrease out-of-stock conditions, improving customer service and increasing customer satisfaction, thus growing customer and brand loyalty.
The future of the smart warehouse
Smart warehouses signify the switch from slow, unchanging, reactive supply chains to faster, smarter, automated systems, and this change is expected to continue.
YGL BeyondERP is ERP Strategy Industry 4.0 ready.
A lot of ERP solutions aren’t designed to enable real-time collaboration, which has a tendency to result in information and planning silos. This obviously makes it difficult to create an agile or dynamic planning flow that truly incorporates the massive influx of data from your production floor RFID chips or the IoT sensors in your warehouse.
How YGL BeyondERP can help SMEs in manufacturing industry to adopt and implement Industry 4.0?
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With YGL, you’ll be working with the most experienced professionals in the ERP industry. Whether you need short-term support or resources for a long term engagements, our ERP Consultants have the expertise to help you implement and integrate the ERP system requirement for Industry 4.0. With a core team of functional and technical ERP consultants that are both skilled and certified, we can quickly implement a robust ERP System to maximize the value of your investment.
YGL BeyondERP system applications allows you to enable a seamless workflow from your finance to warehouse and right down to your production efficiency by providing you the essential management dashboard which allows you to have a clear visibility.
As an industry leader in ERP system Implementation, we can be sure that each YGL consultants have the highest qualifications. We provide a wide range of ERP System Integrations with experience ranging from IOT(Internet of Things) right down to Data analytics on OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness), supporting all functional modules to complete project management for your project needs. All of our consultants are fully vetted for the project they’re submitted for, which means you’re only reviewing the most qualified consultants who do what you need done.
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We look forward to hearing from you. Contact us today so that we can help you with our YGL BeyondERP which is strategy Industry 4.0 ready implementation needs heading towards Industry 4.0.
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