Robotic order fulfillment is a best practice for a busy warehouse that results in improved picking productivity, reduced costs, and increased flexibility in responding to customer demand, all without causing disruption in or requiring modifications to the warehouse. This technology should be considered by any company doing e-commerce, wholesaling, or store replenishment, as an effort to increase operational efficiency.

How it works

The robotic order fulfillment system involves a number of components:

• Autonomous robots that know where stocking locations exist in the warehouse and the best way to get there, working hand-in-hand with associates
• Servers administering communication with the robots and the customer’s WMS
• 5GHz WiFi network for exclusive use by the robots
• Integrated communication between robot server and WMS, sharing order data, pick information, and transaction status
• Warehouse infrastructure unchanged
• Deployment as fast as 60 days

14 ways that a robot helps

Robotic order fulfillment offers the following benefits to optimize picking:

1. Mitigate problems with labor costs and supply
2. Train associates, including temporary help, in minutes
3. Allow multiple carton types customized for specific item types
4. Identify associate via Bluetooth lanyard for ID and language purposes
5. Find picking location, decreasing task execution to scanning item for verification
6. Eliminate picking workflow bottlenecks
7. Reduce order cycle time by increasing picking efficiency
8. Multiply picking productivity up to three times baseline
9. Increase order throughput
10. Realize ROI in two years
11. Scale quickly to cover peak order periods by adding robots, carts, RF picking, or associates
12. Free pickers to patrol zones, reducing walk-time
13. Allow pickers to work hands-free, collaboratively with robots
14. Allow pickers to concentrate on picking correct product, not finding locations