In today’s fast-paced business environment, supply chain management plays a critical role in the success of any company. Efficiently managing the flow of goods from production to the end consumer requires innovative solutions. This is where supply chain automation comes into play. By leveraging technology and advanced systems, companies can streamline their operations, improve efficiency, and reduce costs. In this article, we will explore the concept of supply chain automation, its benefits, types of automation and their impact.
What is Supply Chain Automation?
Supply chain automation refers to the use of technology and automated systems to optimize various processes within the supply chain. It involves integrating software, robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to automate tasks that were traditionally performed manually. By automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks, companies can improve accuracy, increase productivity, and achieve operational excellence.
The Benefits of Supply Chain Automation
Implementing supply chain automation brings many benefits to businesses, regardless of size or industry. Let’s explore the key advantages:
a. Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity
Supply chain automation eliminates time-consuming manual tasks, allowing employees to focus on value-added activities. By automating routine processes such as order processing, inventory management, and data entry, businesses can significantly increase their operational efficiency and productivity.
b. Improved Accuracy and Error Reduction
Human errors can have a significant impact on supply chain operations, leading to delays, stockouts, and dissatisfied customers. By leveraging automation technologies, businesses can minimize errors in order fulfillment, inventory tracking, and data entry. This leads to improved accuracy, reduced costs associated with rework or returns, and ultimately, enhanced customer satisfaction.
c. Real-time Visibility and Data Analytics
Supply chain automation solutions provide real-time visibility into inventory levels, order status, and shipment tracking. This enables businesses to make data-driven decisions, anticipate demand fluctuations, and proactively manage inventory. Additionally, advanced analytics tools can generate valuable insights, identifying areas for improvement, optimizing processes, and driving continuous growth.
d. Faster Order Fulfillment and Improved Customer Service
Automation expedites order processing, picking, packing, and shipping, resulting in faster order fulfillment. This helps businesses meet customer expectations for shorter delivery times, leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. Moreover, automation enables businesses to provide accurate order tracking information, enhancing the overall customer experience.
e. Cost Savings and Resource Optimization
By automating repetitive tasks and optimizing resource allocation, businesses can achieve significant cost savings. Automation reduces labor costs associated with manual processes, minimizes inventory holding costs, and optimizes transportation expenses. This allows businesses to allocate resources more effectively, resulting in improved profitability and a competitive edge.
The Future of Supply Chain Automation
As technology continues to advance, the future of supply chain automation looks promising. Emerging technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and artificial intelligence are revolutionizing the logistics industry. These technologies enable real-time tracking of shipments, enhanced supply chain visibility, and predictive analytics, further optimizing supply chain operations.
Partnering with a 3PL to Leverage Leading Automation Technology and Maximize Fulfillment Productivity
SCI has invested in industry leading automation solutions so you don’t have to. Partner with SCI to access our suite of automation technologies and gain the benefits of smart-task completion. Our automation solutions help improve productivity, support our people, and reduce our impact on the planet.
SCI is dedicated to enhancing operational efficiency, increasing production capacity, supporting our workforce, and contributing to environmental and community benefits through ongoing investments in automation.
Over the past several years, we’ve emphasized this commitment through numerous multi-million dollar projects and the formation of a specialized automation team. Today we are proud to offer our clients a ready to deploy suite of integrated, industry-leading solutions that will lead their operations into the future of e-commerce.
SCI Automation Highlights:
- 2X increase in pick rate utilizing Cobots (collaborative robots)
- 3-4X increase in pack rate leveraging end of line right size packaging
- 99% + inventory and ship accuracy with visual aids guiding associates to pick and pack
- 75% less space used than traditional warehouses using Goods-to-Person automation
- 8% reduction in carbon footprint
- 80% Improvement in New Associate Onboard Time
Collaborative Robots :
Our collaborative robots, or ‘cobots’, are a scalable, user-friendly solution suitable to customers of all sizes. Our cobots drive significant productivity improvements, streamline training and onboarding during peak periods, utilize simplified user interfaces to increase order accuracy and improve overall safety for our associates. Cobot implementation sees a 2X increase in pick rate.
Box-on-Demand:
Our customized end-of-line packaging solution solves the complexities of optimizing both packing and efficiency and cubic utilization for our customers packaging. This industry leading technology delivers benefits to overall throughput capability, total transportation cost and the environment through material reductions in carbon footprint. Our box-on-demand (BOD) automation solution delivers a 25% carbon footprint reduction and significantly impacts dunnage (waste) for all orders run through the BOD solution.
Goods-to-Person:
Our goods-to-person solutions offset increasing market costs for warehouse space through significant cubic storage density, enables high pick accuracy through system driven inventory and pick sortation, and enables greater efficiency for picking within high-SKU e-commerce operations.
Automated Sortation:
SCI continues to leverage traditional solutions, ranging from simple end of line carrier sortation through to fully automated order sort and merge leveraging both sortation and put-wall technologies. These solutions continue to provide scalable, technology driven processes to increase efficiency, reduce dependency on scarce labour pools and to drive increases to our overall capacity during critical peak periods.
Intelligent Warehouse Management:
Our leading Warehouse Management System (WMS) offers a full range of fulfillment solutions to support your business growth. From managing multiple DTC channels and enabling B2B wholesale fulfilment, to forecasting, order planning and seamless returns processes, our solution saves you more than just money.
Complete visibility of your fulfillment operations enables us to optimize warehouse productivity, maximize space utilization, and manage the flow of inventory as your business fluctuates. Our WMS seamlessly integrates directly with your existing e-commerce platform using our standard catalogs that include API, XML and EDI options.
Order Management System
Discover our best-in-class Order Management System (OMS) that is fully integrated with core supply chain systems providing end-to-end visibility of your inventory and orders. This enables you to dynamically adapt your inventory and merchandising strategies as your supply chain productivity changes across your entire fulfillment landscape.
Agile Transportation Management:
SCI provides an end-to-end strategic approach to your 3PL transportation service needs. With our leading TMS technology platform, we can streamline your transportation supply chain across all channels and make your operations smarter, faster, flexible, and more transparent.
Our best-in-class technology features allow us to optimize network planning and routing to find the most efficient routes to lower shipping costs while maintaining service levels. With the added functionality of rate shopping between multiple carriers, we’re able to select the best cost and service level from our large, high-quality network. You can have peace of mind that our agile services are continuously optimizing your transportation needs.
Conclusion
Supply chain automation is transforming the logistics industry by streamlining processes, increasing efficiency, and reducing costs. As technology evolves, the future looks bright for supply chain automation, with even more improvements on the horizon. Partnering with SCI means staying competitive and reducing your overall environmental impact. With a steadfast commitment to operational excellence and ongoing investment in automation, SCI empowers businesses to thrive in the digital age and navigate the complexities of modern supply chain management with confidence.
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