Integrated automation solutions company Swisslog recently presented two whitepapers, aimed at highlighting the importance of energy efficiency in the warehouse, as well as the need for a dedicated e-commerce fulfilment centre to improve small order fulfilment.
The first paper, Goods-to-Person Solutions: Solving the Challenges of Small Order Fulfillment, explains how a business utilizing a streamlined, highly-efficient automated goods-to-person solution can expect to see a doubling or tripling in picking activity over conventional manual-based picking methods.
As for improving energy efficiency, the second paper, Energy Efficiency in Automated Distribution Facilities, recommends positioning power monitoring devices throughout materials handling equipment, giving logisticians the ability to measure, visualise, and track energy consumption throughout the distribution facility in real time. The Swisslog report finds that refrigerated warehousing, while an expanding sector, is the most energy intensive. Energy is one of the largest expenses for the sector, second only to labor costs. To counter this, Swisslog recommends: The most efficient shuttle and robotics systems have been engineered to reduce carrier weight and optimise weight/payload ratios for lessened energy requirements; since these systems provide dense storage capacity, they are also ideal for minimising refrigeration energy costs, when compared to manual small quantity picking in traditional refrigerated warehouses.