How does warehouse automation work?

sorry i'm not expert on this filed

Increase throughput and raise the productivity of your employees with guided picking and optimized paths.

Transition to a paperless warehouse and eliminating latency, errors with manual data entry

Prevent stock-outs and minimize safety stock

Accelerate receiving by immediately routing items to ship (cross-docking) and kitting items together for faster movement

Increase the accuracy of orders, leading to fewer costly returns

Implement voice-picking for even greater accuracy and speed, as well as improved safety

Incorporate data from automated warehouse equipment for a complete picture of your warehouse or factory floor.

Run your operations around the clock without disruption

Warehouse Automation specially increased performance gains as following below

Increased Safety

Efficient materiel Flow 

Major benefits through supervision

i fully agree with the answers been added by experts.....Thanks.

The warehouse management was seen as an industry which cannot be automated so easily and was considered mainly as a workplace for low-skilled workers. Although barriers for implementation fully automatic warehouse systems are still high (mainly because of initial investment) more and more companies, particularly in countries where labor costs make up a big proportion in overall costs, adopts high effective automatic systems.

The pioneer in this segment in particular is company Amazon which seeks to create fully automated warehouse systems in their distribution centers. Basically it is about increasing efficiency (shortening handling process) and achieving that DC should have only minimal inventory stocks. Check for example this link: http://www.therobotreport.com/news/amazon-has-30000-kiva-robots-at-work-alternatives-begin-to-compete

Look up :

http://www.chonday.com/Videos/how-the-amazon-warehouse-works

 fully automated warehouse works non-stop, 24/7 if necessary, and is even able to increase your throughput capacity. You need less manpower and can reduce the number of shifts in your operations. Automation solves the dilemma of having to demand higher productivity from your labour force or increasing overhead costs by hiring extra workforce.

Team,

Automation Trepidation Despite the promise of increased productivity that automation and its many forms can provide, there are real (and perceived) barriers keeping supply chain professionals from investing in these solutions (Figure 4). Companies were first asked if they had investigated warehousing automation in the past and chosen not to proceed with the project. Then, that sub-set of respondents were asked why they chose against automation. Nearly half of these companies cite cost issues as their primary reason for not investing in automated warehouse solutions, with another 34% of companies saying flexibility was their biggest concern. With SKU proliferation, shorter product life cycles, and high levels of seasonality in some industries, it is vital for many warehouses to create agile operations and not lock themselves into a form of automation that will not be able to adapt to change easily Warehouse Automation

The fact that despite these barriers to automation, a large percentage of companies have slashed costs, boosted pick rates and improved pick accuracy through the adoption of automated equipment. Technology Landscape “Warehouse Automation” is a broad term that encompasses many different individual technologies. The following is a list of the primary technologies Aberdeen has analyzed for this benchmark report: Bar-Code Scanning Bar-coding has been used in distribution centers for decades, and it remains the most commonly adopted form of warehouse automation today. It is reliable and relatively inexpensive. Bar-coding is typically used in a real-time environment, with data being transmitted back and forth via a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN).

Regards,

Saiyid

Excellent explanations from experts. Useful too to me