Digital technology has revolutionized warehousing services in India. It is known that digital technology drastically reduces the pressure on manpower and eliminates human errors and redundancies. Even so, the tremendous scope for growth and advancement of warehouse services through digitalization is not known to many! Digital technology in Warehousing not only reduces the workload on manpower but also replaces older technology.
Here are some ground-breaking digital technologies in warehousing services:
Internet of things:
The Internet of Things refers to the mesh of physical objects or “things” fixed with sensory devices. It is used for connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems over the internet, automatically, without human intervention.
IoT has a plethora of possibilities in technology that can boost the warehouse logistics sector. Some of these are real-time location tracking, automating processes, improving warehouse security, end-to-end inventory tracking, getting updates on weather conditions (eg. humidity, temperature) to ensure secure storage of goods, updates on the condition of goods in stock, etc.
The Internet of Things helps with a number of other advanced technologies, such as the increasingly popular blockchain technology.
Blockchain technology:
Blockchain technology can predict demand and thereby prepare the warehouse operations to have the right type and quantity of goods in stock. This helps in optimizing supply and revenue, at the same time, prevents businesses from losing sales.
Blockchain is probably the best way to securely store data, which can greatly help in keeping secure logs of the staff, goods, transactions, operations, and customer feedback. This way it eases accessibility, security, and accountability.
A smart, automated warehouse that adopts blockchain technology can be anything but opaque! It not only helps warehouse storage operations to keep an eye on the functions and whereabouts of the inventory but also helps customers keep track of their fulfilment. Apart from transparency, blockchain facilitates efficiency all the same.
Digital Twins:
Many technologies in the past have helped generate a virtual model of a genuine thing. A simple simulation of the physical condition of an object, region, or action, on the other hand, is not very useful howsoever. Digital twins are a step ahead of the competition. They give a physical simulation as well as real-time updates on the status, condition, and context of the simulation!
Rugged tablets and vehicle-mounted computers:
These devices are used to improve warehouse efficiency, reduce data collecting time, and enable access to systems from anywhere in the warehouse.
Rugged tablets are mounted on forklifts, carts, and vehicle dashboards, as well as carried across floors, without concern of being damaged by intense vibrations, rough handling, or drops. Warehouse managers who need to move about the warehouse while simultaneously needing access to performance indicators, client communications, papers, and other information can benefit from rugged tablets and computers.
Wearables:
Wearables are hands-free internet-connected computer devices that can be worn on a body part. These enable the inventory staff to do the same amount of work as through any mobile device, but with much ease.
Ease of work helps reduce friction and results in fewer mistakes and greater efficiency. Wearables are embedded with smart sensors and are connected with the warehouse computer systems. Here are few examples of commonly used wearables:
Wearable computers: These devices are fastened on the wrists and provided the functionality of rugged tablets and vehicle-mounted computers.
- Activity-tracking Bracelets: These GPS and movement sensor-based trackers allow supervisors to monitor warehouse staff’s activity and performance.
- Smart Glasses: The most dramatic enhancements to warehouses are augmented reality and virtual reality using smart glasses. They offer advanced navigation, labeling, and picking efficiency, among other things.
Benefits of digital inclusion in warehousing services for 3PL companies in India
- Higher efficiency:
Warehouse activities and operations are sped up by having access to the right data without having to repeatedly walk up to the workstation. These technologies vividly accelerate the warehouse processes and are now faster than ever before!
- Eliminating errors:
The employees can only pay limited attention to multiple things at once, no matter how focused they are. They are also easily sidetracked and make frequent errors. Warehouse automation lowers human error to a bare minimum, ensuring that no procedure is left unattended and that no crucial detail is overlooked. It also aids in the prevention of accounting errors and tax concerns.
- Increasing transparency:
The positive disruptive consequences of automated and entirely transparent smart warehousing include eliminating stock misplacement, forecasting demand and planning supply, issuing purchase orders and automated procurement, deriving company insights, and generating sales reports.
- Ensuring safety:
Wearables and warehouse mobility solutions increase the safety of operations that require hand agility and repeated motions. Sensor-enabled devices can also warn individuals about potential dangers in certain situations, and even advise ways to avoid them.
AAJ Supply Chain Management
