Automated warehouse management
One of the reasons for the success of some companies is the ability to manage and send, in a few hours what we just bought from our house using a single click. An essential part of this success is the efficient management of its distribution centers.
As in any other type of warehouse, we can distinguish four fundamental processes:
- Reception of goods
- Product storage
- Orders preparation
– Selection of items
– Product packaging
- Delivery and shipment
All of this related with the storage and preparation of orders, where some companies have been able to implement the latest technological advances and important innovations, allowing them to change their storage and distribution centers into highly efficient “organisms”
Products are not organized by categories
One of the most innovative aspects in smart warehouses is the products organization. Once the new merchandise is received at the warehouse, items are not placed in shelves and organized by categories, but they are located in a random way. The fundamental thing to make the system more efficient is to know exactly where products are located in the warehouse.
Both, products and containers, are labeled to be identified at any point in the process. This allows the management software to choose different routes for the selection and collection of various items. The choice of the most efficient route we made considerable time and displacement saving
Maximum space optimization
Through the use of robots, this kind of companies has managed to convert its distribution centers into warehouses with high product density. It has revolutionized the way companies replace the material in the warehouse and the order preparation. The entire warehouse is designed in streets that allow the movement of these robots. They move to the point where the operator is going to replace the product or prepare the order. Their motion sensors and their design let them move a complete shelf with their products. This system allows a very high storage density. In addition, the fact that the storage blocks are in continuous movement permits to reorganize spaces and maximizing the storage capacity. This constant interchange of the robots means that products do not occupy a fixed position in the warehouse. For this reason a great efficiency of the system is achieved due to the management software and the advanced technology and robots used.
The system is coordinated by a powerful management software.
The high efficiency of intelligent warehouses depends on a powerful warehouse management software, that exactly knows the location of the merchandise. In the case of high-density product warehouses, it is identified by geolocation of the merchandise.
New technology in conveyor systems
We have already mentioned robots used in warehouses, however there are many other elements in charge of the freight transport: from conveyors and pallet elevators in reception areas, to installations for orders preparation. The qualities of all the mechanical parts, as well as, the automation are fundamental in the efficiency of the system.
These companies carry out a quite innovative, highly technical and automated management in the warehouses of their distribution centers. The use of robots for orders preparation, the random organization of products and the coordination of all processes with a sophisticated management software have allowed to create highly efficient logistics centers.
