warehouse management Archives

Emerging Tech in Your Fulfillment Network: Stepping Beyond Digital Transformation

Business Intelligence | By Diego Pantoja-Navajas • 06/10/2021

As an entrepreneur I’ve been reflecting on this a lot: The current milestone in logistics and fulfillment is using emerging technologies to capture and leverage exponentially growing data sets in warehouses and throughout the entire fulfillment network. Data sets have grown quickly in the cloud paradigm – and they exploded in 2020. Perhaps nobody realized how quickly or how extensive that growth would be, but all of that data has value. How are we as supply chain leaders and businesses tapping into that data and using it to make our supply chains more efficient?

This intelligence wasn’t broadly available to us ten years ago. Cloud technology uncovered it, Covid-19 accelerated it, and today, right now, businesses need to tap it to become competitive. The challenge is that these data sets are growing too quickly, and businesses are challenged with the task of capturing, managing, understanding, and finally acting on it without having an assist – and that’s where emerging technology comes in. Automation and autonomous technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and the Internet of Things (IoT) can help supply chains harness the abundance of data to gain predictive insights into their business to increase their value and efficiencies. Leveraging different models of thinking, representing key metrics using data aggregation, exposing real anomalies, and recommending a course of action based on operating models will make businesses smarter.

The rise of autonomous technologies

There has never been a doubt in my mind that automation and autonomous technologies were the next evolution of our industry after cloud technology. Now that the world is finally understanding how fragile supply chains and businesses are in a demand driven model, businesses and consumers want supply chain leaders to leverage these advanced technologies as soon as possible. Business leaders have learned how expensive it is to manage this data manually, and they are aware their businesses cannot scale by simply adding more resources at the pace supply chains are moving. They are aware of the untapped competitive value and competitive advantage of managing data automatically. However, they are frustrated that their organizations are not quickly pivoting to adopt these technologies to extract and leverage this data, get faster insights requiring less resources, and reduce overall IT costs.

As the years pass, many supply chain vendors have decided to add intermediate layers to their enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems or warehouse management systems (WMS) as a strategy for adding automation and low-level emerging technologies. For example, Warehouse Execution Systems have been labeled as having the ability to provide unprecedented, automated business intelligence, but remember, this is a whole layer of functionality that sits on top of a WMS or ERP. A whole layer of technology had to be invented to solve this problem, and forward-thinking companies – not having the solution already available in their WMS platforms — are investing in middleware applications in order to automate and ultimately tap that reservoir of information. In my head there is no need for another layer of integration. The solution should be as simple as having one true SaaS Cloud WMS, and bring that automation and autonomous technology layer into the WMS itself. What I wanted to solve was bringing an automation layer in without creating a layer of complexity – everything managed within one application – without worrying about integrations and third-party, bolt-on, software.

Harnessing the power of managing data within a single database

One year ago, we moved in that direction by migrating our cloud native, mission-critical SaaS application to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI – Gen2) and moved all our Rackspace and AWS PostgreSQL databases to Oracle Autonomous Transaction Processing (which also runs on OCI-Gen2) for better performance, higher elasticity, improved security and reduced TCO. To fully understand our strategy, it is important to understand the differentiation between autonomous and automated. For example, a warehouse process that can be accomplished automatically is still not autonomous if a warehouse user needs to respond to an alert, make decisions, or synchronize different systems to initiate the automated activity. In contrast, an autonomous system combines the power of managing data within one single database in the cloud while also applying advanced algorithms to process KPIs, detect anomalies, predict future scenarios, offer prescriptive courses of action, and provide forecasts based on multi-dimensional trends.

Oracle Warehouse Management does this! We are able to differentiate and provide unique value to our customers by leveraging the in-database machine learning algorithms available within Autonomous Transaction Processing. We deployed more than 40 different AI/ML algorithms. This approach has further helped our customers by improving their logistics network capabilities and efficiencies not just by generating automated tasks but by helping them predict future target values, calculating expected profit from each order fulfilled, or rerouting orders within the warehouse to improve overall warehouse flow to optimize space and make better of use of robotics and other material handling components. Business executives want to go to Mars, but a good CIO knows that first she/he has to get to the launching pad. Operations teams want practical applications for their emerging technology plays — practical use cases for automation and autonomous technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), the Internet of Things (IoT).

Next generation cloud platform

As a next generation cloud platform and leveraging our modern cloud native REST services-based architecture we rely on API calls to connect to any material handling equipment (MHE), robots, or smart machines in real-time. We orchestrate all these different systems, robots, or smart machines by constantly making API calls. We offer our customers limitless performance by instantly and transparently scaling up as demand increases making it easy to accommodate peak processing workloads in zero downtime. The elastic, independent, and autonomous scaling of our computing enables our true cloud capabilities.

As a platform that was built in the cloud, for the cloud, our integration capabilities are seamless. That ease of connectivity means we are naturally positioned to meet that next milestone of using emerging technologies to capture and leverage data sets throughout the entire fulfillment network. We are fully capable of helping the enterprise level business speed up their innovation and maybe even get ahead of their industry. Furthermore, we can do it without adding complexity to the system and without having to worry about integrating bolt-on technology.

The wave is here, and a race is on to see who can catch it first. It’s too much intelligence to let go to waste, and this intelligence was always the ultimate promise of cloud technology and we are ready today to help you realize it.

Diego Pantoja-Navajas is vice president of WMS development at Oracle and former founder and CEO of LogFire. He is an industry thought leader in SCM who enjoys exploring the impact of advanced and emerging tech on supply chains.

Profitably Delivering eCommerce with Consumer-Centric Priorities

Logistics Technologies | By Terence Leung • 05/27/2021

Five Forces Reshaping Logistics as We Know it

Because warehousing and transportation represent significant cost centers, intelligent logistics decisions are critical. And, more than ever, these decisions have to be made on the fly, in real-time. As logistics managers grapple with their own challenges, including labor shortages and emerging commodity marketplaces, the logistics function has never been under more pressure to deliver.

Forget what you knew about logistics. Even before the emergence of COVID-19, next-day and same-day delivery promises from mega retailers, as well as new delivery models such as store pick-up, were driving increasing customer expectations — not just in retail, but in every industry. Every day, retailers and manufacturers are challenged to balance ambitious customer service promises with profit margin protection.

In my Logistics Viewpoints article in April 2021, Building Profitability with Agility while Digitally Transforming the Supply Chain, I mentioned that we will continue to explore here the concrete steps in the digital journey and examples of determination from the top in addition to logistics operations.

Uberization: Exploring On-Demand Transportation, Labor and Warehousing

In the consumer sector, few recent trends have been as disruptive as the new on-demand marketplace for commodities like transportation and lodging, driven by Uber and VRBO. In fact, the on-demand industry was estimated to account for $75 billion in 2018.[1] Now that same concept is poised to similarly disrupt the world of distribution.

While the need to keep up with the delivery promises of mega-retailers has made many companies blind to the true costs of their transportation, labor and warehousing activities, digitalization is opening their eyes. Today the concept of on-demand distribution is increasing companies’ ability to gain a marketplace perspective on these capabilities, treat them as commodities and compare the financial contributions of various options. This is foundational to achieving profitable agility as demand and supply remain volatile.

IoT capabilities have long helped to track the location of transportation assets, communicate with employees and support real-time collaboration in the warehouse. But the real financial value of advanced technology resides in its ability to sense real-time demand and monitor supply availability ― then secure on-demand transportation, warehousing and labor assets dynamically, re-planning flexibly as conditions change.

Today’s expanded transportation, warehousing and labor networks provide companies with many more options, which means greater bargaining power. Transportation assets, warehousing space and human workers can be optimally scheduled, and rescheduled, based on real-time or near-term demand signals. Extending visibility of available capacities in the market enables a more effective result, often delivering win-wins for collaborative trading partners.

How great can the impact be? Consider warehousing space. Historically, companies needing greater warehouse capacity would have invested in new construction ― a large capital expense that typically requires five years of operation to achieve a full return on investment. Or they might have leased space, which traditionally requires a long-term commitment and involves a one- to three-year payback on the investment.¹

In today’s fast-moving, on-demand marketplace, the warehousing capacity commitment can be made on a monthly basis, via short-term outsourcing. This means that not only is the financial investment low ― making a fast return on investment (ROI) fairly likely ― but that the supply chain has maximum flexibility as conditions change. Capacity can be easily ramped up or down due to product seasonality, holidays and of course global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the on-demand concept does not end with transportation, labor and warehousing. Extended offerings around value-added services, co-packing, co-manufacturing and even 3D printing will continue to deliver options that allow agility and scale in supply chain operations, with third-party logistics providers coordinating much of this capacity as they morph into super-grid logistics services providers.

As the supply chain becomes increasingly digital and collaborative, new partnerships may be formed by retailers, distributors and manufacturers to collectively source services and capitalize on economies of scale. This will help drive agility, optimize the customer experience, and ensure profits for all trading partners.

A Top-Level Vision Is Key to Enabling Agility

While the advanced technologies are widely available to support the extreme level of agility required for an uncertain world, often the barrier to successful adoption is cultural. At both the executive and lower levels, there may be resistance to adopting AI, ML, automation, analytics and other concepts that threaten to replace “the way we’ve always done things.”

In a McKinsey surveyed, 59% of participants stated that a lack of executive vision was a significant obstacle to the digital transformation of their organization.[2] In the “average” and “below average” companies in a CSCMP publication, 20% of respondents said a lack of management support, funding and resources was hindering supply chain innovation ― double the rate of the most innovative companies, where only 10% called this a significant challenge.[3]

When DHL Supply Chain determined that automation and robotics could play a critical role in increasing customer value and workforce productivity, CEO Oscar de Bok announced a $2.2 billion commitment to advanced robotics implementations. The company also created a digitalization plan, stretching to 2025, which was shared with customers and employees. In an interview with Supply Chain, de Bok said, “We believe to be truly innovative, an idea has to be rolled out throughout the entire organization…we are not going to wait for customers to tell us what will happen tomorrow, we will tell our customers.”[4]

Supply chain technology investments were once delegated to a specific function such as procurement or logistics. But in the extremely unpredictable post COVID-19 business environment, these investments are critical in delivering the essential capability of agility. As such, they must be a priority for every supply chain stakeholder, from the shop floor to the C-suite ― and beyond the walls of the enterprise. The payoff is well worth it. A recent survey by PWC demonstrated that the most innovative supply chain leaders ― called “Digital Supply Chain Champions” ― fully recoup their financial investments in digitalization in just 1.8 years.[5]

Today, every supply chain has the ability to adopt the advanced technologies needed to drive agility. Those who act quickly will seize a powerful advantage in identifying and capturing opportunities via supply chain digitalization. Those who hang onto traditional ways of doing business ― including manual processes, siloed functions, fixed assets and best guesses ― will fall behind as the world around them continues to be completely transformed.

Enabling Agility via Advanced Technologies.

The five advanced technologies highlighted below are emerging as competitive imperatives in establishing agility and resiliency across the logistics organization. Whether they’re retailers, manufacturers, or third-party logistics providers, companies must adopt and master these five technologies in order to:

Identify and manage disruptions
Deliver ecommerce-caliber service levels
Implement successful omnichannel strategies and business models
Achieve end-to-end visibility and control
Make optimal decisions that protect profit margins

Fortunately, the world’s leading logistics teams are already implementing these advanced technologies, creating a wealth of expertise and best practices that other companies can draw upon. The innovations helping this crucial change include:

Human + Machine: Robotics, cobots, drones, and warehouse automation improve productivity and reduce human errors
IoT and Telematics: Detection and monitoring tools increase real-time visibility, improve quality, and support optimal decisions
Autonomous vehicles: Driverless trucks, forklifts and drones deliver enhanced efficiency and safety
Collaboration and connectivity: Digital partnerships increase visibility and responsiveness across the logistics network
Intelligent problem solving: Advanced algorithms, AI, and ML detect and manage issues autonomously

Now, logistics providers and shippers are accelerating the pace to adopt new technologies to serve customer-first and eCommerce expectations. The logistics landscape has been completely transformed with consumer expectations driving next day and same-day delivery across industries. For the hyper-connected supply chain to come to satisfying these expectations, unifying logistics and advanced technologies will accelerate the journey to improve. Learn more about acceleration of the journey here.

The acceleration of technology is enough to give anyone pause. The opportunity these advancements present are unprecedented but also forces us to really understand what data is there across the supply chain and how we can use it to drive profitability and growth. In the next article, we will discuss the lessons learned from the customer sessions at our Blue Yonder ICON event this year and on June 8^th the 3PL Execution Forum on Delivering eCommerce with Consumer-Centric Era, moderated by Steve Banker of ARC Advisory.

[1] “On the Unique Features and Benefits of On-Demand Distribution Models”, Pazour, Jennifer A. and Unnu, Kaan

[2] “The Next Horizon For Industrial Manufacturing: Adopting Disruptive Digital Technologies in Making and Delivering,” McKinsey Digital (November 15, 2018)

[3] “Focus on Customer Experience Research on Supply Chain Priorities and Investments,” The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (2019)

[4] “DHL: Driving Global Standardisation of Operations with Robotics,” by Georgia Wilson, Supply Chain, January 16, 2020

[5] “Connected and Autonomous Supply Chain Ecosystems 2025,” PWC Global

Terence Leung is Senior Director, Solutions Marketing at Blue Yonder. He has a keen interest in digitalization and the value it generates throughout the supply chain. In this role, he leads his organization to drive thought leadership and go-to-market strategy for supply chain execution and logistics solutions. In addition, he works with customers to understand requirements and drive best practices in the digital journey.

Prior to joining Blue Yonder, Terence was the leader in product marketing and value engineering at One Network. Previously, he was in leadership positions in industry management at Savi Technology and solutions and management consulting at i2 and Deloitte Consulting respectively. Terence holds an MBA from the University of Texas, Austin and an Electrical Engineering degree at MIT.

Evaluating Innovative Technology with Warehouse Simulation

Warehouse Automation | By Simon Shore • 01/19/2021

No question – logistics challenges have increased since the rise of e-commerce and the number of products on the market started to multiply. For this reason, supply chain solutions have become an integral part of business strategies to cope with these ever-increasing complexities.

However, there is the difficult question of which technology to implement to make better use of your warehouse. So, how can you tackle this task?

Simulate

Simulation technology is broadening possibilities for how warehouses evaluate their:

Processes
Physical space
Use of technology

Compared to traditional forecasting models on spreadsheets, the benefits from simulation software come in the form of a holistic overview of both current and potential operations through a user-friendly interface. Plus, it eliminates costly errors by enabling the trialing and benchmarking of different solutions in a virtual warehouse

What exactly is warehouse simulation?

Through warehouse simulation, you can accurately visualize all the attributes of the warehouse in a 2D or 3D computer model. By doing this, you can run a day or a week in the life of your operation and get back data on its performance capability.

Areas can include:

In- and outbound workflows
Staffing requirements
Material handling
Vehicle movements
Aisle widths
Storage capacity
Entrance gate, loading/offloading bays and other external areas

Simulation can compare different “what-if” scenarios. This is possible for greenfield as well as brownfield sites. So, for the former, this might be different layout and storage configurations, and for the latter, solutions for current process bottlenecks. Evaluating obvious and hidden “breaking points” allows to create accurate longer-term projection for future expansion.

Examples of use

Driving performance

If you are using warehouse simulation as an improvement tool to current operations, the first step is to create an exact computer model of your present end-to-end processes. This is typically over a seven-day period, reflecting a weekly distribution cycle. Then you can run different scenarios over a similar seven-day period, against the data you have collected, to create an accurate “compare and contrast” picture.

For example, you can compare fixed automation with the use of autonomous mobile robots.

Making the best use of space

Using preconfigured industry standards, such as aisle widths and pallet sizes, allows quick and easy simulated use of space: You can optimize your storage by evaluating different storage methods and racking types and the software will automatically show the number of pallet positions created. Running the simulation will further identify if sufficient storage has been provided. Changing the size of the allocated space results in the number of locations automatically adjusting. Further customization in the simulation software, for example, allows adjustment of the height or width of a rack and the number of storage locations. Plus, if your storage system is automated, you can compare the speed of putting away or retrieving items against different automation technologies.

Dealing with seasonal peaks

Preparing for seasonal peaks can be achieved by identifying areas which will need more attention, a change in process, or extra resources. This is particularly prevalent when you consider that during peak periods, warehouses can expect to double staff levels. You may need to consider the area you will need to allocate for a 10% rise in demand for a particular product, how many more AMRs you may need to lease, or – if you deploy voice technology – how many additional headsets you will need.

Calibrating the model

It is important to note that the more accurate the data, the more effective the simulation. For this reason, it is crucial that the simulation partner runs the model based on the information they have assimilated. If the numbers do not reflect the reality, work with your partner to fine tune until you have achieved 95 to 98% accuracy.

Tying it all together

Warehouse simulation technology is continuously evolving. It allows you to

clearly visualize your operations from A to Z in 2D and 3D
evaluate your current and potential technology performance
create “what-if” scenarios for peak seasonal demand
generate models to assess your breaking points
prepare for long-term growth
reduce time and cost and risk for the decision-making process

Plus, the Internet of Things (IoT) in particular – the connectivity of devices and software – is exploring possibilities we could previously not even imagine. As time goes on, the sensors and information within a warehouse will be able to provide far more accurate information, which simulation software can then use as a basis for optimizing the operations. Predictive maintenance – where you can evaluate the health and lifetime of a piece of equipment in advance of any failure – is another example of how warehouses will improve their performance into the future. By feeding these predictive insights into a simulation model, you will be able to better maintain performance levels and direct capital expenditure. Looking through a future lens, the possibilities of warehouse simulation are endless.

Simon Shore is Managing Director for Supply Chain Modelling and Maritime solutions globally at Korber Supply Chain. Simon and his team are focused on using technology to help their customers identify the optimum supply chain strategy for their business. Simon has over 20 years’ experience in the supply chain software industry and has held Director positions in sales and services driving business benefits for his customers in the areas of warehouse management, customs and excise, freight forwarding and ERP. He studied engineering, is a Chartered Engineer, a member of the Institute of Engineering Technology and a member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

Tech Integration Keeps Shippers in Step with Customers

Business Intelligence | By Ken Fleming • 10/08/2020

The exponential growth of e-commerce in 2020 has brought peak-like levels of order volume for many retailers since as early as March. Looking to the quickly approaching actual peak season, volumes are predicted to hit unprecedented levels, and carriers have been warning shippers for months to expect capacity crunches, increased surcharges/fees and other challenges.

Shippers must overcome these challenges without sacrificing customer service, competitive pricing or margins to be successful and satisfy consumers, who still expect free shipping, fast delivery and full transparency. For many, that means getting more agile by expanding fulfillment and customer service capabilities so they can prepare in different ways, better manage partners and contain rising costs without sacrificing performance. How quickly and easily this can be achieved depends largely on how well a shipper’s mission-critical fulfillment technologies have been integrated to work cooperatively.

Preparedness Varies Greatly

Shippers using standalone systems in their supply chains, warehouses and fulfillment efforts will encounter more challenges than their autonomous warehouse and omnichannel competitors. Without connected systems working as one, shippers inevitably incur more costs and need more manual labor to fulfill orders. Lacking the inventory visibility and other controls afforded by integrated systems, these shippers cannot deliver the same level of customer service as their high-functioning and more agile competitors.

On the other end of the spectrum, fully-integrated technologies make it possible for shippers to provide inventory visibility and controls throughout the organization and quickly augment their capabilities with specialty software. Totally autonomous shippers offer a great example of the power of fully-integrated technologies. Often referred to as lights-out (Europe) or black-box (U.S.) fulfillment, these merchants require little or no human involvement to deliver hundreds of thousands of parcels daily from a single distribution center. Omnichannel retailers also make great use of fully-integrated technologies by deploying ship-from-store, buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS) and other innovative fulfillment strategies.

In each of these examples, merchants rely on a designated system of record functioning as a central nervous system that unites otherwise disparate technologies and shares critical information throughout the organization. With this type of system in place, merchants enjoy big advantages when needs change and new challenges arise. They need not adjust operational processes and resources; instead, they can quickly add new specialty software solutions and technologies to address new requirements.

Easy Tech Integration with Containerization

While different types of technologies can serve as a system of record, each merchant must choose the one that makes the most sense based on its own unique needs, and these systems increasingly embrace containerization to make it easy for shippers to augment their capabilities by quickly adding specialty cloud-based software. Warehouse management systems (WMS), order management systems (OMS) and other types of technologies most commonly designated as a merchant’s “system of record” increasingly come ready to integrate with specialty software to support a wide range of fulfillment capabilities, including:

Fleet monitoring
Counting inventory
Monitoring supply chain workflow
Category management
Merchandise operations
Managing locations
Multi-carrier rate shopping
Parcel shipping
Fulfillment tracking

Consider Interoperability

Whether a shipper already has a system of record in place or needs to work toward this goal, they should keep two considerations top of mind:

The interoperability of all mission-critical technologies
The fundamental requirement of transactional data exchange

Shippers with a system of record already in place can quickly augment fulfillment, customer service and other critical capabilities with specialty software, but they should ensure compatibility with their existing system of record whenever possible. Fully autonomous, omnichannel and other merchants with an integrated system of record can keep fulfillment efforts on track without missing a beat as they add specialty software to expand capabilities so long as they ensure interoperability. When maintaining a unified fulfillment operation, ensuring the compatibility of specialty cloud-based software being added saves money and, more importantly with peak season looming, time.

Merchants not yet leveraging a system of record that fully integrates with a wide range of specialty software have a lot to gain by putting the right system of record in place to unify disparate technologies and software to ensure a cohesive and orderly overall approach to order fulfillment and customer service, but the right system of record varies. To select the best system of record to meet its unique needs, each business should weigh the value and consider the pros and cons of all viable options. They can start by answering three questions:

Which option will best mesh with mission-critical specialty software already in use by the organization?
Do restrictions or requirements of ownership or parent companies limit the available options?
How many manual integrations will each potential system of record require to work with all mission-critical specialty software, and what data exchange processes are supported?

Any systems not yet supporting transactional data exchange and still relying on batch data exchange should be eliminated from consideration. Even if they can be leveraged to fully automate a warehouse, systems that rely on batch data sharing leave many benefits unrealized. Insisting on the ability to exchange transactional data in real-time across the organization via fully-integrated systems provides merchants with a wealth of benefits that reach well beyond the warehouse.

Beyond the Warehouse: Other Benefits of Integration

When organizations insist on near-real-time transactional data exchange, they unlock next-level benefits that extend far beyond an automated warehouse. Customer service, financial and inventory management initiatives can all benefit greatly by accessing these integrated systems.

Integrated systems and transactional data allow organizations to deliver superior customer service with less manual intervention and cost. On the self-service front, customers can help themselves to real-time order status updates. When customers contact customer service teams, they too will be better cared for, because customer service teams can access the same real-time information repositories on behalf of customers and offer greater problem resolution strategies.

When payments and other financial details tied to a customer or their orders are available to those with a need to know throughout the organization, this too improves customer service, but financial initiatives and departments also benefit directly from these integrated systems exchanging real-time transactional data. Integrating all mission-critical software that houses financial data into a unified system of record protects cost data, for example, and this can be a huge benefit for shippers sending even thousands of orders/day, let alone hundreds of thousands.

Consider the costs associated with losing financial data tied to just 10,000 shipments. This necessitates a lot of manual work and human intervention. A specialized solution like a transportation management system (TMS) for parcel shipping, when integrated with a WMS, OMS or other system of record, can solve this problem and save thousands of labor hours by mapping all deliveries back to cost center codes, accounting codes, carrier reference data and more if all systems are integrated and sharing data with each other in real time.

Inventory management also benefits from integration and real-time data exchange. Without integration, most of an organization lacks inventory visibility and cannot see what is housed where. This makes it impossible to implement an omnichannel strategy and places customers out of reach. With proper integration and real-time data exchange, merchants can better serve customers with ship-from-store, BOPIS, in-store returns and other omnichannel fulfillment offerings.

Extend Standards throughout the Organization

Merchants should be sure to coordinate technology implementations throughout the entire organization. Whether at use in stores, the warehouse or other distribution centers, shared technology implementation standards reduce chaos and errors and make the many benefits of an integrated system of record possible. Organizations should coordinate with their procurement and purchasing departments to put approval processes in place to help control technology adoption and meet all standards throughout the entire organization.

Totally autonomous shippers, omnichannel retailers and other shippers with a unified system of record can quickly and efficiently augment their fulfillment capabilities with modern specialty cloud-based software to meet rising customer demands and boost profitability. Making careful choices; insisting on real-time information exchange; and requiring reliable, practical, organization-wide standards will simplify the effort and greatly increase the odds of not only automating fulfillment but delivering a wide range of organizational benefits that help merchants meet and exceed customer expectations.

Ken Fleming is president of Logistyx Technologies, the leader in Transportation Management for parcel shipping. Since the mid-1990s, Ken has led successful launches of many new technologies and services, including supply chain management, e-commerce, SaaS, and enterprise software and systems integration solutions. Ken can be reached at ken.fleming@logistyx.com.

In the Grocery Ecommerce Boom, Dark Stores Light the Way

Food & Beverage Industry | By Jacky Marolleau • 10/01/2020

In the last number of years, ecommerce has grown in popularity across many industries, including grocery. We saw an increase in the overall share of mobile-first ecommerce, and significant additions to hybrid approaches to purchasing, such as buy online, pickup in-store (BOPIS), curbside pickup, and home delivery. In the last six months, that steady growth line has become a spike. According to a recent Adobe digital report cited in Forbes, the rate of adoption for ecommerce accelerated by as much as six years. Total online spending was up 77% in May 2020, and BOPIS was up 195%.

The ecommerce explosion isn’t going to recede anytime soon. For the grocery industry, that means a greater need to focus on two key areas. The first is putting a true, authentic omnichannel customer experience at the core of its offering. The second is adding efficiencies across the supply chain, from scalable, agile technology in distribution centers (DCs) that can deliver flexibility and scalability on demand to the use of dark stores and micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs).

Dark stores look and feel like physical grocery stores – fully stocked with products – but are closed to customers. MFCs are mini-warehouses that typically hold about 15,000 to 18,000 of a grocer’s most popular SKUs. Both help take the distance out of the “last mile” of grocery delivery by combining proximity to customers, like a brick-and-mortar store, with the automation of a larger warehouse. Walmart, Kroger, Hy-Vee, Stop & Shop and others have all begun adopting dark stores while H-E-B is starting an initiative to build several automated MFCs to support delivery and curbside pickup.

The Right Technology for Greater Efficiency

Generally speaking, ecommerce fulfillment represents a higher cost to the reseller. If that challenge is here to stay, and all evidence says that it is, successful grocery retailers need to look at more efficient picking options in their DCs, dark stores, and MFCs. The key to achieving that goal is a modern, world-class warehouse management system (WMS) designed to accommodate modern shopping habits.

Leading WMS technology utilizes a process called order streaming to execute wave and waveless fulfillment simultaneously. That gives a grocery DC the ability to efficiently handle store replenishment and direct-to-consumer orders in a single platform. Better yet, order streaming – automatically and without human intervention – looks at the capacity constraints of the entire facility and then releases work to ensure that all resources are consistently and optimally utilized. The system can even flag high-priority orders and borrow stock from other tasks to fill the urgent order first – allowing your warehouse to be as responsive and adaptive as possible. In short, order streaming delivers the strengths of batch efficiency combined with ecommerce order prioritization of time-sensitive orders to offer grocers the best of both worlds.

Another critical area is the ability to leverage automation and robotics. In the last few years, grocery DCs have increased their investments in automation to assist with food quality control, compliance, and specialized needs, such as facilitating product flow through temperature-controlled environments. However, facilities can face limitations when multiple types of automation are used and mixed together. The result? Wasted technology investments, inefficient use of labor, and increased time to market for fresh goods. Sub-optimal use of automation hurts grocery fulfillment, as they are challenged more than ever to ship a broader array of products to fulfill customer demands across in-store and online grocery orders.

How can a DC, dark store, or MFC ensure all types of automation are maximized, and orders are fulfilled as efficiently as possible? An embedded warehouse execution system (WES) within the WMS gives companies real-time awareness about the capacity of both man and all machines across its order fulfillment operations. This allows the grocery DC to blend time-tested traditional supply chain processes with modern ecommerce fulfillment processes – both of which effectively integrate labor and automation – to focus on getting the highest quality fresh goods to consumers as fast as possible.

For grocery retailers seeking to accommodate customers, meet growing ecommerce demand and keep costs down, the use of dark stores and MFCs is becoming essential. That means the right WMS – one that can fulfill any type of order and maximize every asset – is critical.

Adapt and Thrive

Despite the challenges many in the grocery industry have faced recently, a path forward has been revealed. Innovative fulfillment methods like dark stores and MFCs, coupled with flexible, agile technology, provide grocers a way to react to a shifting landscape quickly and profitably. The grocery industry is as essential as ever. From first-mile operations right through to BOPIS and last-mile delivery, the leaders will be able to adapt and thrive continually.

Jacky Marolleau is director of sales at Manhattan Associates and is currently responsible for sales to large and strategic accounts across EMEA.

Editor’s Choice: How Voice Picking Stacks Up Against Paper, RF Scanning, and Pick-to-Light

Warehouse Automation | By Chris Cunnane • 06/09/2020

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This week’s blog comes from HighJump – now Körber, and examines various warehouse picking technologies and how they compare to voice picking.

Warehouse order picking describes the process of selecting and pulling an item from inventory to fulfill a customer’s order. The labor, materials, and technology involved in picking make up an average of 55 percent of operational costs within a given distribution center (DC). Therefore, it’s essential for supply chain managers to optimize their picking processes in order to avoid unnecessary costs.

When it comes to determining the most effective picking solutions, there are four main options that are typically considered: paper, radiofrequency (RF) scanning, pick-to-light, and voice. Each of these solutions has their own unique benefits and drawbacks, especially when it comes to warehouse productivity, order accuracy, and overall flexibility.

In this article, we take a look at the ideal applications of each warehouse picking option — and how they compare to one another in key areas. As you evaluate your choices, it’s important to consider future projects and updates in order to make the right choice for your operation.

For a quick review, here is a quick description of the warehouse picking applications that will be compared to voice.

Paper-based order picking, or label processing, is the process of completing warehouse procedures with the use of paper orders. Paper picking is typically coupled with after-the-fact data entry using desktop terminals.

RF scanning terminals have long been considered a prerequisite for larger, more complex operations. However, RF scanning can be found in all different types and sizes of operations, primarily due to direct support by most Warehouse Management Systems (WMS).

Pick-to-Light is typically used in a zone-based, pick and pass flow where an associate scans a tote or carton barcode label. The PTL software activates light displays for every location that shows the required quantity needed for the tote or carton.

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