At the Future Work Summit held on January 12, 2022, listen to the opinions of CIOs, CTOs, and other C-level and senior managers on data and AI strategies. to know more information
Like all other elements in the enterprise, the warehouse management stack is increasingly automated and intelligent. Nonetheless, the technology is not only focused on the needs of warehouse floors and the ever-expanding robotic workforce.
Instead, you will find that there are as many activities happening behind the scenes as planning, supply, and other processes performed by invisible software modules. These new tools will play a key role in removing many of the obstacles that still exist in the warehouse management arena, and may provide critical relief for over-stressed supply chains.
Warehouse optimization platform developer Lucas Systems recently highlighted five ways artificial intelligence affects warehouses and distribution centers, of which only one involves robots. Key issues such as dynamic product launches, product transfer from one place to another, and workforce planning will be significantly simplified, at least for HR managers. Similarly, artificial intelligence support can more easily meet performance management and safety indicators, and it can even help employees navigate an extremely dynamic and rapidly changing environment more easily and safely.
Nevertheless, Vanson Bourne's recent research shows that although most warehouse supervisors and managers have high hopes for artificial intelligence, few people use it in areas other than inventory management. Part of the reason is the lack of internal knowledge and experience of new methods of system and process management. In addition, there are still lingering fears, uncertainties and doubts in terms of risk and control. Considering that most executives stated that they expect the return on investment of artificial intelligence investment to reach more than 60% within five years, this situation will soon change.
Artificial intelligence will also help transform physical warehouses, supervise power management and temperature control, and other often vital functions, and eventually, it may even change the size and location of facilities. Peter Lewis, the founder and chairman of Wharton Equity Partners, saw that a fully automated microcenter could provide better services and better products to underserved communities, especially the world of food. Rural areas will be the main beneficiaries of these new warehouses, which require minimal infrastructure and moderate labor (if any) to operate.
By transforming warehouses into intelligent, automated entities, companies have also taken a big step forward in breaking down the silos that hinder the performance of the entire supply chain and distribution strategy. Jerry Stephens, vice president of global sales for Outlier AI Inc., said that the interconnected warehouse overcomes many key obstacles that prevent all elements of this complex system from working together. On the one hand, a better understanding of inventory and goods flows can proactively help managers solve emerging problems in advance, rather than taking corrective measures after productivity is affected. In addition, because artificial intelligence can provide rapid analysis, planning and optimization platforms can run in near real-time.
In this way, artificial intelligence can increase productivity and revenue by targeting all the key steps of delivering goods and services to the market (that is, demand planning, manufacturing, transportation, and fulfillment). Especially in warehouses, organizations will better track meaningful changes in multiple key performance indicators, not just across days or weeks, but hourly.
Ultimately, we can expect AI to further integrate warehouse management into the enterprise data stack. Even the robot on the floor will become a data generator, feeding back important information to AI-driven software. The ultimate goal is to create a more conspicuous and interactive warehouse that is more adaptable and responsive to many rapid and subtle changes that affect the supply chain.
But as in other aspects of the enterprise, artificial intelligence-driven warehousing is not only a platform to be deployed, but also a fundamental change in the way data, systems, and human operators interact with each other. The transformation of warehouse management into this new business model requires everyone to work together, and then greater determination to guide it to adapt to the unique business model of each enterprise.
On January 12, 2022, online listen to the opinions of CIOs, CTOs, and other C-level and senior executives on data and AI strategies.
Hear the opinions of CIOs, CTOs, and other C-level executives on data and AI strategies.
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