We use cookies and other tracking technologies to provide services in line with the preferences you reveal while browsing the Website to show personalize content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audience is coming from in order to improve your browsing experience on our Website. By continuing to browse this Website, you consent to the use of these cookies. If you wish to object such processing, please read the instructions described in our Cookie Policy / Privacy Policy.

Interested in blogging for timesofindia.com? We will be happy to have you on board as a blogger, if you have the knack for writing. Just drop in a mail at toiblogs@timesinternet.in with a brief bio and we will get in touch with you.

Co-founder and CEO, Addverb Technologies

Businesses have been grappling to deal with the challenges of supply chain complexities due to SKU proliferation, onset of e-commerce, shorter delivery time pressures and supply-side disruptions and shortages. Material handling automation in factories and warehouses have become a differentiator for many businesses to ensure timely and prompt delivery and companies are not shying away from using automation as they are looking to scale fast. The digitization and digitalization wave has finally set the stage for the automation wave. The question which businesses are discussing today is not “whether automation will help their warehouse operations” but “what kind of automation should they opt for”. The two options available in industry today are Flexible and Fixed (rigid) Automation. Fixed automation refers to systems that use static infrastructure such as racks, shelves, conveyors along with automated storage and retrieval systems like Carton Shuttles, Pallet Shuttles and Stacker Cranes. This type of automation systems come with higher upfront costs, longer installation time and work on a fixed layout. Flexible automation refers to systems which are completely mobile such as Autonomous Mobile Robots, Sorting Robots, Automated Guided Vehicles etc. This type of automation systems allow businesses to plan out their investments as these robots can be purchased or rented, the implementation time is usually smaller, and the layouts can be completely changed in really short time to meet the business requirements.

To summarize it in one-word, fixed automation remains “fixed or grouted” to the ground and flexible automation does not remain fixed on the ground; as in, in case of fixed, the racks, shelves, conveyors and cranes need to be bolted to the ground whereas the robots & AGVs can keep on moving to create different flows and increase or decrease the throughput of the system based on requirement.

Fixed automation has been in usage for the last 2-3 decades but flexible automation has become more prominent in last five years and one of the major reasons for this rise in adoption has been the advancement in software stack. The software stack has become more containerized as compared to legacy systems due to which the integration with ERP system and deployment time goes down. Also, with the introduction of micro services-based architecture and cloud based deployments any feature or service can be added or removed easily without affecting the stability of the system, this was a much challenging task earlier with monolithic architectures. Also, advancement in data transfer speed and advent of advance chips implies that stronger algorithms can be deployed to manage the fleet of robots. This allows the customer to experiment with change in workflows based on business requirements, for instance, addition, deletion or mapping of a sorting destination can be controlled without any change in hardware with just a simple console, which was not possible earlier where hardware and bin locations were more hardwired.

Though there is no one-size-fits-all approach in warehouse automation, the nature of business determines what kind of automation solution would be ideal. In a growing business like e-commerce where the difference between peak demand and low demand is very high and the demand patterns and SKU profiles keep on changing dynamically, flexible automation, which can accommodate these changes, makes more business sense. Flexible automation finds maximum application in e-commerce, sort centers and is very apt to handle reverse logistics in fashion & lifestyle segment. Whereas, for business operations where the number of SKUs are low, total volume to be handled is high and variation in demand is low, fixed automation makes more sense as it can give higher throughput and higher space efficiency. Fixed automation finds maximum application in captive distribution centers set up in factories. Businesses that really want to harness the full potential of automation must opt for a combination of flexible and fixed automation where they use flexible robots for handling small sizes and larger variety of SKU type of operations, and fixed infrastructure for handling high volume SKUs.

{{{short}}} {{#more}} {{{long}}} ... Read More {{/more}}

Views expressed above are the author's own.

The Gati and the Shakti: Writing on the occasion of PM’s birthday, Union road and highways minister says the speed and scale of infrastructure-building owe much to Modi’s inspiring leadership

After all, the Raj is dead: Colonialism was horrific. But a confident India should move past the decolonisation debate

Making in India. But how? PLI aims to create a manufacturing base. More evidence is needed before extending the scheme

Lessons from Gyanvapi: Courts cannot offer solutions to all religious disputes. Communities must work out compromises

The peace principle: Modi’s words to Putin didn’t mean a change in stance. India’s ability to wage peace is set to increase

Can wordsmith Tharoor teach the grand old party some new tricks?

Let’s put things in perspective with a towering Gandhi statue

India’s Russia problem will grow: Locked out of semiconductor supply, Moscow will be hard-pressed to fulfil New Delhi’s military needs

The real story of how Narmada dam oustees became crorepatis

Big bosses just don’t get Gen Z techies: Though Wipro has sacked 300 staffers for moonlighting, the punishment won’t really arrest the trend

Interested in blogging for timesofindia.com? We will be happy to have you on board as a blogger, if you have the knack for writing. Just drop in a mail at toiblogs@timesinternet.in with a brief bio and we will get in touch with you.

Right & Wrong,TOI Edit Page

Copyright © 2022 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service