Robots, logistics 4.0, smart vehicles help carriers build efficient supply chains and reduce delivery times.
Modern logistics service providers are very aware of the fact that e-commerce is now booming: by 2027, online sales are estimated to account for 24% of total sales. This rapid growth has in turn created huge logistical challenges in recent years. Companies are forced to rebuild their warehouses and logistics centers in order to meet the demands of consumers to fulfill their orders as quickly as possible. These days, if a supplier can’t meet a need for fast delivery, customers simply choose a competitor who can complete the task.
Thus, workflow automation software has become a prerequisite for the development of any business whose goal is to keep up with the times. Many automation systems focus on logistics integration, operational control and/or business management. Thanks to the integration, logistics companies gain full control over automated equipment, which, for example, allows sorting cargo without the participation of personnel. Operational automation software enables lower-level decision making, such as inventory storage solutions, warehouse space planning recommendations, identification of incoming shipments, selection of shipments.
Today’s businesses must streamline operations by incorporating new technologies that can go far beyond simple process automation solutions. The most innovative companies are improving logistics operations using innovative robots, artificial intelligence, IoT devices and more to create an optimized supply chain that can meet the rapidly changing needs of today’s consumers.
Robots are quickly becoming one of the most common tools in warehouses due to their efficiency and ease of use, they are proving indispensable for routine processes such as unloading, unloading and stacking. As always, Amazon has been one of the pioneers among the e-commerce giants who have adopted robotics in their logistics centers, which has resulted in more than 200,000 robots now working alongside humans in the company’s warehouses.
At re:Mars (Amazon’s annual machine learning, automation, robotics and space event) in 2019, the company unveiled two new types of robots that have been trialled in logistics centers over the past year. Pegasus is a robot equipped with a conveyor belt for sorting parcels, which is able to deliver and unload them to the right places. Also on display was Xanthus, an updated version of the Hercules robot designed for automated pallet lifting in warehouses. The use of such robots significantly increases labor safety in all warehouses.
Robotic solutions are widely used for loading and unloading operations in logistics centers. For example, Honeywell uses an AI-enabled robotic forklift that can unload trucks, trailers, and shipping containers fully autonomously while handling products with great care. The Honeywell forklift helps improve workplace safety as well as minimize package damage. Honeywell is an American corporation that manufactures electronic control and automation systems. Its main areas of activity are aerospace equipment, technologies for the operation of buildings and industrial facilities, automotive equipment, and turbochargers. The company was founded in 1906 in Minneapolis.In addition to robots, logistics companies are also increasingly using AI-driven autonomous vehicles. A study by the Materials Processing Institute found that industry participants expect driverless vehicle use to increase from 34% to 73% over the next five years, with more than half of respondents saying that autonomous vehicles can create a significant competitive advantage. Studies have shown that market adoption of this technology is currently 11%, but half of the respondents expect widespread adoption of this technology over the next five years.
Seegrid is one of the clearest examples of an American company using software to manage vehicles, warehouse or factory. The company is a leading supplier of self-propelled material handling and storage vehicles with a combined mileage of over two million miles. The technology behind the company’s autonomous vehicles, Seegrid Vision, is the brainchild of world-renowned robotics visionary Dr. Hans Moravek. After decades of perfecting imaging technology at Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute, Hans Moravec founded Seegrid in 2003, putting artificial intelligence at the service of logistics. Safe and reliable material handling and transport solutions provide customers with a significant competitive advantage.
Micro-logistics centers are becoming increasingly popular as a way for retailers with small warehouse space to house their shipping systems. Fabric is one such supplier, building automated and robotic warehouse yards for retailers. At the end of 2019, representatives of the startup announced that one of the company’s logistics centers in Tel Aviv has started working and delivers orders to online customers quickly. The underground center is located under the city’s skyscraper and is only 18,000 square feet. The company says most orders are completed within a day, with some customers receiving products within the hour.
In March 2020, Amazon also announced the launch of new micrologistics centers in Philadelphia, Phoenix, Orlando, Florida, and Dallas. By opening these hubs, Amazon will be able to offer even faster shipping to its customers—same day delivery. In addition, the convenient location of micro-logistics centers in relation to consumers reduces the actual distance that delivery drivers must travel, which in turn will help reduce carbon emissions in line with Amazon’s climate commitments.
Another common problem of logistics companies, which is being solved with the help of new technologies, is the measurement of cargo dimensions and weighing. Too often, freight forwarders fail to properly measure and weigh cargo due to the bottlenecks created by measurement systems at transport terminals. As a result, the entire logistics sector is forced to rely on assumptions when billing for its most valuable resource, storage space.
CARGOMETER is one of the startups that solves this problem with a special device designed to measure the dimensions of cargo during the unloading and loading of a car right at the gate.
This data will help shippers and logistics service providers create a digital shipping twin, which will ultimately lead to cargo visibility and better control over logistics operations. CARGOMETER is a market-leading Austrian company that provides on-the-fly measurement, weighing and product identification services on a mobile loader.
The powerful CARGOMETER software processes individual low-resolution images captured by a low-cost 3D image sensor, creating a high-resolution 3D model for each measurement. The advantage of this approach is that the company uses sophisticated algorithms instead of expensive hardware. Algorithms are able to work with any form of goods.
In general, a large number of innovative technologies are being used to change almost all aspects of logistics activities already in this decade. While many employees fear that new technologies could completely replace them, it is important to remember that these solutions are designed specifically to support staff, make work easier for employees, and increase productivity and efficiency.
New times require new technologies – and in today’s era of globalization, it is imperative that retailers, 3PL providers and logistics service providers widely use new tools in their activities. To stay competitive and thrive in our increasingly mobile digital world, we need to respond quickly to all global changes and boldly arm ourselves with technology.
International road freight transportation in Ukraine, as well as international sea freight container transportation, is successfully carried out by M&M Ukraine (head office in Kiev, subdivision in Borispol and Odessa) in all promising and demanded world directions . “M&M Ukraine” provides high-quality and safe cargo transportation from European countries to Ukraine, from Ukraine to Europe, to China and to the USA.
Based on http://www.transmetrics.eu and open sources.