This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

 

MNET:

What kind of robotic assists or automated machines are being rolled out in the supply chain?

 

Adam Kline:

Mostly, there are two different kinds with a ton of different subtypes: traditional automation includes conveyance, print-and-applies, perhaps unit sorters and put walls and stuff that’s bolted to the ground. You can also put in ASRS [automated storage and retrieval] and shuttle systems, which are more modern and sophisticated. Opposed to this is where you get started to see things which are more dynamic in nature: robotic solutions, collaborative picking bots and those sort of things.

 

With respect to robotic assists there’s a number of different categories of those as well. We have come in touch with quite a few of vendors. I will identify two of our partners to start. One is Locus Robotics, which provides collaborative picking bots. We are official go-to-market partners with them and have quite a few joint installations. Interesting thing about their solutions is they're not there to replace people. That is one of the misnomers around robotics in the warehouse. Although some solutions are intended to be a headcount reducer, I think a majority are there to help make people more efficient in the DC and help make your people more efficient. With a traditional goods-to-person system like the old style Kiva [Systems] bots prior to Amazon buying them, the intent was the picking would kind of go away.

 

Those bots would go from a parcel to a packing place where people would be at a picking station. With new bots the pickers will still be out and about in the shop section and the bots will come and sort of visit! I say that because there's a bit of personality with these bots, which is interesting. And the picker will select into their totes, hit a button and move away. And the bots will go to another area and visit another picker. You have two different resources, the bots and the pickers, both of whom are moving. The pickers are confined to a specific area and the bots are free to move around. Which is a great example of collaborative picking. Interesting thing about it is you are lowering the amount of travel for each picker but not reducing it to zero. The physical movement of products from rack to tote is still in the picker’s hands. The bots are basically an overly flexible conveyance. Locus claims a pretty high improvement in terms of total efficiency in regards to each picker. We need to see more results before quoting their stats, but it looks to be more efficient.

 

Second is Kindred AI, a picker. Generally you either pick supply to a put wall or a tote. This bot is a substitute for a put wall. It's different from what you see in other warehouses because everything is generally straight and this is actually round. When you first see it it’s almost a bit disruptive. When you get closer you see the tote is dumped into a hopper inside this sort-bot, and a robotic arm picks up each individual item. As it picks it up, an array of scanners ensures it gets a good read on the barcode. As quickly as it gets the barcode, it sorts to a bin to order. It can continue to do this as items and orders come in. As soon as that is finish, some one can pack it from the other side. You've got automated the sorting process. These two solutions may possibly work together, although I do not know if anyone has done it that way.

 

Some administrators I've got spoken to have told me that automation is absolutely not a replacement for labor, but a reaction to a dwindling labor pool. Have you seen this across industries?

 

We completely have seen it. Our warehouse management solution has a number of attributes that are worthy of bringing up. We have a labor management system aswell, which is complimentary. Over the last two to three years we have brought our warehouse management and labor management capabilities very close together. You’d be hard pressed to know where one ends and the other starts. All the reasons that you just stated have driven us to that decision. I don’t have percentages at my fingertips, but if you look at the amount of qualified applications for a given position directionally, they have lowered substantially. One of my peers who manages our labor management solution brought a stat that said a growing number of companies, 25 to 30 percent, are actually hiring warehouse workers who have a criminal record. The quantity of competent applicants has gone down, so the quality of applicants has gone down. A lot of our clients are searching for alternatives, looking for ways to make their good workers even more efficient.

 

Like with the sort bots, these are kind of a labor replacement in that unique area in contrast to pick bots that work with people. This doesn't necessarily come with a headcount reduction, but those workers might be moved around.

 

This article is originally posted on TRONSERVE.COM