For years, warehouses have been quietly incorporating robots into their material handling business, but due to soaring e-commerce demand and labor shortages that prevailed during the pandemic, this trend has developed rapidly in the past 18 months.
It is expected that this demand will not stabilize soon. Market consulting firm ABI Research predicts that from 2021 to 2030, global mobile robot shipments to warehouses will experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 40%, and exceed 500,000 global shipments in 2030.
In turn, the surge in automation may have a knock-on effect on the labor force, that is, rewriting the job descriptions of many workers in the manufacturing, logistics, and retail industries. Suppliers said that the entry of robot fleets into DC will not only speed up operations—especially in areas with severe labor shortages—but also create new jobs for workers who can manage, maintain, and “train” automated equipment.
"As busier warehouses shift to robotics, manual workflows can be automated, or workflows traditionally performed by highly specialized and inflexible machines can soon be performed by robots that can be moved and retrained as needed. "Adhish Luitel, ABI Research's supply chain management and logistics industry analyst said in a press release.
For example, in order to increase the productivity of e-commerce fulfillment operations, Seattle-based sporting goods retailer evo recently signed contracts with supply chain software and solutions developer Körber and AMR (autonomous mobile robot) manufacturer Locus Robotics for deployment in Washington State Robot fleet at the Sumner Distribution Center.
The surge in demand caused by the pandemic, the continuous surge in peak seasons, and the lack of temporary and seasonal workers have pushed the company to the limit of its production capacity. However, by incorporating Locus' rolling robots into its workflow, the retailer eliminated unproductive walking time for workers and reduced the need for manual labor, while supporting Covid-related safety and social distancing agreements.
"The supply chain industry is dealing with multiple challenges, especially during periods of disruption," said Bill Ryan, chief executive officer of North American software for the supply chain of the Körber business area, in a press release. "In today's increasingly complex world, we are looking for technology to solve these problems. With the new AMR solution that we can deploy with our partners in record time, evo can improve performance while providing employees with safe and intelligent working environment."
Another example of how robots can change jobs in the material handling industry can be seen in the development of robot training—that is, how people “train” robots to perform certain tasks in DC. Currently, most robots are programmed by humans, who either write software codes or guide the robot's arm to the correct position by themselves. But the new generation of robotics increasingly relies on artificial intelligence (AI) to guide, so that workers can completely free up time for other DC tasks.
An example comes from the Japanese industrial robot company Mujin Corp. The company recently selected Atlanta as the location for its first US office. The company said its intelligent robot control technology allows robots to perform complex picking tasks without having to teach them exactly how to move. Instead, they rely on a technology called "Machine Intelligence" artificial intelligence, which combines real-time motion planning, perception, simulation and control technology.
Mujin's customers first model the new environment and "set up" the relationship between the robot and its target object; then, the system sets high-level goals to enable the robot to perform tasks safely without explicitly telling the robot where or how to move.
“Companies that want to automate mundane and repetitive material handling tasks face countless challenges, from the high cost of developing solutions for their difficult applications to unplanned downtime and when things don’t go as planned or because robots have to be reprogrammed. The reprogramming costs product or workflow changes,” Mujin CEO Ross Diankov (Ross Diankov) said in a press release. "Mujin will bring a new wave of robotics to the US market. Robots no longer need to explicitly learn how to move."
The third example of how robotics can change logistics workflows comes from the Midwestern grocery chain Hy-Vee Inc., which recently deployed robots to patrol the aisles of its stores and automate inventory counts.
In order to improve prediction accuracy, optimize store layouts to promote sales and avoid out-of-stocks, Hy-Vee is deploying Simbe Robotics' "Tally" robot models in five stores in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri. According to the developer, Tally aims to automatically scan the products on store shelves up to 3 times a day to ensure that the products are in stock, in the correct location and at the correct pricing. Simbe added that by freeing workers from the need to take inventory, robots enable them to focus on more attractive tasks, such as serving customers.
Brad Bogolea, CEO and co-founder of Simbe, said in a press release: "This pandemic has indeed created a'new normal' for grocery stores, indicating the need for higher frequency and fidelity of in-store data. "Hy-Vee is a perfect example of the deliberate use of technology to improve the store experience for customers and their teams. As retailers face more and more considerations, Tally provides a cost-effective solution to ensure They can continue to provide excellent customer service and create a valuable and more enjoyable working environment for their employees."
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