Electric Charge | Choosing the Right Warehouse Automation Solution

Warehouse automation technology continues to evolve and, according to experts, there are a variety of solutions available today for virtually any beverage operation be it big or small.

For a smaller operation like a warehouse under 200,000 square feet there are basic systems like voice picking and barcode scanning. For the larger operations, more expensive automation technologies can be useful, including AS/RS (advanced storage retrieval systems). 

But any size operation can see immediate benefits from the installation of a warehouse management system (WMS) or upgrading to “smart” lift trucks that enable operators to track driver productivity.

Jim Burleigh, CEO of SmartTurn, a software as a service (SaaS) WMS provider, says the majority of beverage operations can start out with simple upgrades. “The number that can take advantage of AS/RS is really very small in beverage,” he says.

“This stuff is cool and sexy, but we can be talking about robotic non-invasive surgery when all the vast majority of the world really needs is aspirin.”

Instead, he says, basic voice picking and barcode scanning can bring smaller distributors immediate benefits when it comes to recording and tracking products and eliminating picking errors. “That’s where the biggest win is for folks in automation today,” says Burleigh. “I’m thinking of a beer distributor that isn’t quite 100,000 square feet, these guys are running on paper.

They need to realize that they can affordably and effectively apply the automation that is not as cool and cutting edge, but is now cheap enough and available enough that they can put it into a facility like that.”

Read the rest of the Beverage World article.