The Material Handling Blog

Today, companies around the world are shifting their operations to meet the needs of market challenges – acceleration of ecommerce, microfulfillment adaptation. But, with that too comes a need for maintained quality and reliability.

Adding advanced technologies to a distribution or manufacturing operation can certainly create efficiencies. With food and beverage, I’ve found that there are four key focus areas that can help manufacturers truly make the most of automating their processes.

Dynamic and easily scalable, goods to person technologies have risen to the forefront of order fulfillment conversation amid rapid ecommerce growth. Answering the challenge of automation for various industry applications and operation sizes, Scallog’s order fulfillment system adds a mobile robotic solution to the mix. Announced late last year, Bastian Solutions, an independent integrator, has added Scallog’s technology to our growing portfolio of automation capabilities. We talked to Olivier Rochet, founder and president of Scallog, for a deeper insight on the technology and future of DC automation development. This French robotic automation system manufacturer, already installed in six countries, offers a goods to person technology based on robots that move shelves around the warehouse.

You’re planning on implementing a new turnkey system for your business. Just like the name implies, implementation should be as easy as turning a key, right? Not quite.

As a fundamental element, supply chain and logistics requires delivering a quality product to the consumer. The details behind quality product and on time delivery are complex and filled with complexities such as distribution center locations, advanced automation technologies, product specifications, throughput goals, and software support. And, while selecting the right automation equipment is important for a company’s competitive advantage, sustainable growth is most centered around the people. Lean supply chain management and the operational success is a product of the strength of your human resources. How do you create and foster sustainable human resource growth? While COVID-19 has forced companies to shift priorities and adjust manufacturing processes to deal with changing consumer demand and new safety precautions, the fundamentals continue to hold true for employee development: clarify goals and direction, identify the challenges, promote learning, and put that learning into practice.

In today’s environment, technology and automation are growing and advancing at a drastic speed. Recent investments by venture capital and private equity firms are further evidence of that rapid growth. Whether industries are looking to increase the amount of throughput in their facility, reduce or eliminate any ergonomic risks, or increase overall efficiency of the operation, the right combination of technology and automation in an industrial robot can provide the solution. So why are some individuals still hesitant about implementing industrial robots? Common misconceptions in our industry could be playing a part in that. The top three most common myths touch on ROI, applications, and complexity.

The internet, since its adoption in the 1990s, is an amazing place that consistently opens new doors and creates new opportunities. Business models continue to adapt to our new connected reality. Increasingly, consumers are working their way up the supply chain. Retailers first felt this push as customers are happy to cut brick and mortar stores out of their daily routine and make purchases directly from the warehouse through digital storefronts. This has led to the development and dominance of omnichannel distribution models, delivering a variety of goods and brands under one company. They are required to compete with online-only retailers like Amazon. This was a dramatic shift for the distribution center.

More companies are starting to prioritize automation while those that had already put a lot of focus on automation are not looking to slow down. In fact, there is greater emphasis on it. Companies are realizing the competitive advantages that automation provides and are starting to challenge why adding a goods to person or ASRS system may or may not work in their business.

The amount of new technologies emerging to support distribution and supply chain automation is also rapidly increasing; and for good reason.

Robots have been around for a while now and some may now consider them a commodity. They take inputs – product dimensions, pick and place locations – and produce outputs – finished pallets, unloaded or loaded machines. The inputs and outputs are controlled and consistent. What happens when the inputs and outputs can’t be controlled? Are you out of luck? Not anymore! Bastian Solutions has implemented robotic systems that allow robots to see, reason, and act to unknown inputs and produce desired outputs.

International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8th every year around the world. It has been observed since the early 1900s and first recognized by the United Nations in 1975. This year’s theme is “Choose to Challenge.” What started as a protest for equal rights and voting rights is now a day to “celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.” In the supply chain and logistics industry, there is increased support to drive recruitment for women in engineering and tech related roles, influence of women in the industry, and the development of women’s careers.

The word “complexity” usually garners feelings of fear or hesitation. At Bastian Solutions however, when customers inquire about complex multi-site projects, we view these as exciting and engaging opportunities. Amidst the pandemic, there has been a sudden rise in ecommerce. It is estimated that U.S. ecommerce sales in the third quarter of 2020 was $209 billion, which was an increase of 37% from sales over the same time period in 2019. With this rise in consumer demand, there has been an increased demand for quick, complex supply chain solutions.