Warehouse Automation 101 More and more warehouses are looking at automation to help achieve greater effiency but, what is warehouse automation and how exactly can it help? We’ve put together this comprehensive guide to outline the many aspects of warehouse automation that you should know – and some best practices for implementing automation successfully. www.scanco.com / -- Table of Contents 1. About This Guide 2. What is Warehouse Automation? 3. Why Should You Automate Your Warehouse? 4. When to Introduce Automation 5. What Processes Can Be Automated? 6. Getting Started with Automation 7. What Automation Solutions Are Available for Sage? 8. Determining the Automation ROI 9. Summary 10. Contact Scanco www.scanco.com / Warehouse Automation 101 | Scanco -- By improving efficiencies and cutting costs, automation technology is one of today’s fastest-growing supply chain innovations. Distributors are facing more challenges than ever before in today's constantly changing world of warehouse management. Emerging trends in retailing and complex global supply chains are putting more pressure on distributors and manufacturers to increase output, cut costs, and reduce inventory cycles. Companies like Amazon have entirely changed the way retailers do business adding even more pressure with customer expectations of "next-day" and even "same-day" shipping. Distributors must find new ways to solve challenges more effectively. Management also has countless responsibilities to worry about as well, such as: Establishing and following best practices for efficiency Driving higher KPI performance and goals Workforce shifting from “Baby Boomers” to “Millennials” Keeping up with technology trends If all of this sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. Zebra listed all these factors and more as drivers of change in the warehouse marketplace. In short, your job is not only tricky but may be getting more difficult every year. To compete in this dynamic environment, today’s warehouses must be proactive and responsive. That means implementing new improvement strategies to gain critical efficiency gains, reduce costs, and maximize productivity. More and more warehouses are looking at automation to help them achieve these objectives but, what is warehouse automation and how exactly can it help? We’ve put together this comprehensive guide to outline the many aspects of warehouse automation that you should know – and some best practices for implementing automation successfully. What Are The Key Takeaways? Who is this guide for? 1. What is Warehouse Automation? 1. You're a distributor and manufacturer that uses the 2. How can I benefit from implementing automation vs following Sage Solutions: Sage 100/100cloud, Sage manual processes 100cloud Manufacturing/JobOps, and Production 3. What parts of my operation can I automate? Management Powered by Scanco 4. What types of solutions are available to me as a Sage 2. You're the owner, supervisor or manager of a 100 user? warehouse/distribution center or manufacturing facility that responsible for managing operations 3. You're a Sage reseller that has clients that could benefit from incorporating automation into their processes www.scanco.com / Warehouse Automation 101 | Scanco -- What is Warehouse Automation? From robots to barcodes, people have a very different idea of what warehouse automation is. Warehouse automation encompasses a wide range of technologies that promise to increase warehouse productivity by leaps and bounds. At its core, though, automation revolves around identifying repetitive tasks that are process-oriented, time- consuming, or error-prone, and finding ways to automate them. Warehouse Automation can be broken up into two main categories: Process Automation and Physical Automation. Process automation digitizes manual processes like physical inventory and integrates that data into your software environment, such as your Sage 100 ERP system. Process automation runs on an ecosystem of barcoding and wireless barcode scanners to input and tracks data at the point of activity, which communicates back to your ERP system. Physical automation includes various forms of mechanized automation and refers to the use of robots and robotic systems in the warehouse. Its more costly to implement, and only provides a reasonable ROI for larger high-volume warehouse and distribution center (DC) operations. Physical automation includes goods-to-person (GTP) technology, driverless automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs). While process and physical automation are robust, choosing the right type of automation for your company can make the difference between a successful implementation or failure. The trick is to not buy into automation until you establish a solid business case for change based on your business’ needs. While there is no single “best” solution for everyone, there is one “best” solution for your business. www.scanco.com / Warehouse Automation 101 | Scanco -- Why Should You Automate Your Warehouse? Your warehouse occupies a critical role in your business’ supply chain. As a core hub of logistics, your warehouse is not just a back-end operation that stores goods, materials, or inventory. It’s a critical link essential to the success of your supply chain it’s connected. Problems and delays in your warehouse operations can be attributed to outdated, manual processes. The outcome isn't only errors and delays but is practically guaranteed to hurt the company’s bottom line. If we know inefficient processes can have downstream consequences, that means the reverse is also true. Warehouse automation, efficiency gains created in the warehouse can be passed on, driving improvements in the rest of the organization and supply chain. Distributors that introduce automation technologies in their warehouse often experience several of the following benefits: Better Space Utilization A reduction in inventory stocking levels — as well as the associated capital and space requirements Utilize warehouse space that is no longer required in the business area where it will provide the most value — for example, to expand the production line to add a new product line or increase capacity Sales Impact A reduction in out-of-stocks — delivering a potential increase of 15 percent or higher in sales Reduces sales cycle times by enabling nearly immediate picks for faster order fulfillment Production Impact The ability to support new manufacturing applications that improve profitability and customer service, such as Production Management and Inventory Resource Planning (IRP) www.scanco.com / Warehouse Automation 101 | Scanco -- Why Should You Automate Your Warehouse? Business Impact A faster invoicing and payment cycle, made possible with real- time visibility in shipping A reduction in transportation costs through tighter scheduling and management of shipments Customer Service Impact Ability to provide customers with real-time order status, improving customer satisfaction and retention Reduces field sales cycle times by enabling nearly immediate picks for faster order fulfillment As you can see, the benefits of what automation provides in the warehouse can easily extend beyond the loading docks, warehouse aisles, and shelves. It can create a ripple effect throughout the organization, improving efficiency in the shop floor, on the production line and in-field service dispatch, and mobile sales reps. www.scanco.com / Warehouse Automation 101 | Scanco -- Why Should You Automate Your Warehouse? Business Impact A faster invoicing and payment cycle, made possible with real- time visibility in shipping A reduction in transportation costs through tighter scheduling and management of shipments Customer Service Impact Ability to provide customers with real-time order status, improving customer satisfaction and retention Reduces field sales cycle times by enabling nearly immediate picks for faster order fulfillment As you can see, the benefits of what automation provides in the warehouse can easily extend beyond the loading docks, warehouse aisles, and shelves. It can create a ripple effect throughout the organization, improving efficiency in the shop floor, on the production line and in-field service dispatch, and mobile sales reps. www.scanco.com / Warehouse Automation 101 | Scanco -- When to Introduce Automation How do I know if I’m ready to deploy automation? Before we look when you should let’s look at some of the myths around warehouse automation that might prevent you from considering it: Myth: Automation is an inflexible strategy that will put a stranglehold on my logistics operations, with no way back. Truth: If an in-depth analysis is done beforehand, risks can be minimized or eliminated. Myth: Automated systems are costly and out of my investment scope in terms of ROI Truth: Using these systems have a direct impact on an installation’s profitability. Myth: These rigid solutions are out of touch with my core business activities Truth: Today's advances in technology offer a broad range of solutions are available on the market for all sorts of sectors and warehouses. Warehouse automation is not as big, scary, or costly as the myth-makers make them out to be. If you are experiencing one or more of the following symptoms daily, it’s time to look into warehouse automation: 1. Your current processes are too labor- and time-intensive 2. Order fulfillment is inaccurate 3. You've increased headcount to check and recheck order accuracy 4. You can't trust your inventory levels because counts are rarely right 5. Your