Warehouse Automation Solutions for Today’s Labor Challenges

As a recent guest on the Unboxing Fulfillment podcast, global operations consultant Keith Swiednicki and host Austin Feagins discussed why warehouse automation solutions are so important today, why they can be hard to implement, and what companies can do to ensure successful automation projects.

Here’s some advice offered during the podcast interview.

“Warehouse automation solutions are crucial because the availability and the quality of labor today is just not there.”

A scarcity of warehouse workers has been an impetus for automation for a while now. Keith points out that the focus on availability has obscured another labor-related motivation for automation: a waning interest in working. “A lot of people don't want to work the second shift or the third shift, let alone on weekends,” he said. “Recruitment is made even tougher in eCommerce fulfillment because it's more complicated than B2B. There are more tasks, a lot more touches.”

“The first question everybody should ask is ‘What can I do better with what I have?’”

“Typically, we see 15% to 45% improvement in productivity just by working with what you have. It doesn't matter what it is,” Keith says.

His firm follows a set methodology for every consulting project. Extensive audits of a company’s current operations come first. Next Keith’s team analyzes the data to understand present state and reveal improvement opportunities. Then they do an initial optimization.

This step takes place before automation even occurs and often leads to a low-cost, quick return that could avoid new automation completely.

“In the absence of data, you’re just making suggestions without any basis.”

A lot of companies don't spend the time to collect the data needed to do a proper internal assessment for warehouse automation solutions. That makes companies reliant on the automation vendor to get information from them.

Companies’ important KPIs can lose priority in the process. A key example is the order profile and the timeframe within which you have to ship.

“What can drive automation costs very high is how quickly you need to get things out the door,” Austin says. “Do you have 8 hours to ship? 12 hours to ship?”

“Equipment vendors will recommend what they’re selling.”

The reality is that the vendor community is selling equipment and if there is a technology or machine that they’re not offering, it’s not something you’ll see,” Keith says.

So how can a brand get multiple vendors to collaborate on a warehouse automation solution?

Keith says the ideal protocol would be to develop an RFP and then request bids from multiple vendors, with all the recommendations shaping the ultimate solution. It’s a protocol his firm uses successfully for warehouse automation solutions.

“I don't think I've worked on a project where we've accepted the proposal from any one specific vendor,” he says.

“If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there.”

So how can companies make sure they choose a warehouse automation solution that is flexible and scalable for a future-state they can’t foresee?

Keith and his team rely on modeling to evaluate and compare automated solutions.

They start by using a company’s data to create a working database. That working database is then applied to the initial optimization that Keith’s team performs at the beginning of engagements.

To determine what things are going look like in the future, the team applies growth projections within the modeling software for the company’s velocity, SKUs, inventory, and more. Then they run multiple “what if” scenarios that are pessimistic, optimistic, realistic, or specific.

“It becomes a mathematical model,” Keith says. “Depending on the growth and where you are in your business, you can say…well, maybe I'm going to grow 10% this year and then 50% next year…. You can model an end-state goal and then determine how to get there.

For details about how smart fulfillment automation is benefiting Staci Americas' eCommerce customers across the U.S., talk to a fulfillment specialist at Staci Americas, part of the global Staci Group.