Smart fulfilment - the advantages of warehouse controls
Fulfilling online orders profitably has a significant impact on retail customer satisfaction – and the latest developments in warehouse technology provide significant efficiency gains and a good ROI.
Warehouse controls are a key element in an automated system as they integrate the different components in the system and streamline it with the following advantages.
Safety is improved
- Less people are involved in the operation, human error is minimized as is the likelihood of accidents.
- Designing a system in line with machine safety directives ensures the safety of operatives is central to the operation.
Flexibility and onsite control
- The latest range of PLCs and Controls are more standardized, more commonly used and work well with new technology.
- Good Control philosophy means bespoke requirements can be added in so that different settings can be used as required giving a greater degree of onsite control.
Increased productivity
- Controls mean the operation runs consistently and much more predictably.
- Changes can be anticipated and don’t require manual intervention to implement, saving time and costs.
- Reduced error rates mean less downtime.
Feedback
- Smart controls systems also monitor running time and the lifecycles of parts showing mean time to repair and improving efficiency and forward planning.
- Similarly an unexpected operating problem will be communicated before it escalates into a more serious problem.
Energy efficiency - A smart system will only run when product needs to be moved rather than constantly running. For example eco modes built in to optimize efficiencies.