Warehouse Scanning Technology: Additional Options to Elevate Your Warehouse Operation

Warehouse operations are continuously evolving to meet the growing demands for efficiency, accuracy, and speed in order fulfillment. While handheld RF scanners have been a staple in warehouse environments for data capture, advancements in technology have introduced alternatives that offer enhanced capabilities and improved productivity. In this post, we will explore alternatives that are redefining warehouse operations, surpassing the limitations of handheld RF scanners and opening doors to new levels of efficiency and automation.

Wearable Technology - Empowering Hands-Free Productivity: Wearable technology, such as ring scanners or wrist-mounted devices, is emerging as a popular alternative to handheld RF scanners. These compact devices provide hands-free scanning capabilities, allowing warehouse personnel to move freely while scanning items. With wearable scanners, workers have improved agility, enabling them to perform tasks quickly and efficiently. The convenience and ease-of-use of wearable technology streamline order picking processes, resulting in enhanced productivity and reduced fatigue.

Voice Picking Systems - Harnessing the Power of Voice Recognition: Voice picking systems leverage voice recognition technology to guide warehouse personnel through picking activities. Workers wear a headset and receive verbal instructions on which items to pick and where to find them. By responding with voice commands, workers confirm their actions, eliminating the need for manual data entry or scanning. Voice picking systems improve accuracy, enhance worker safety, and eliminate the need for handheld devices altogether. This technology allows for seamless integration with warehouse management systems, further optimizing operational efficiency.

Mobile Computers - The Power of Data and Functionality in One Device: Mobile computers, also known as rugged tablets or handheld computers, offer a versatile solution for warehouse operations. These devices combine the functionality of a scanner and a portable computer in a single device. Equipped with built-in barcode scanners or capable of connecting to external scanners, mobile computers provide a larger screen for displaying information and enable real-time communication with warehouse management systems. They offer additional functionalities beyond scanning, such as inventory management or order tracking, empowering workers with comprehensive data and tools at their fingertips.

Vision Systems - Advancements in Visual Recognition Technology: Vision systems leverage cameras and image recognition technology to capture and process data in warehouse operations. These systems can automatically scan and decode barcodes or labels, eliminating the need for manual scanning. By integrating vision systems with conveyor belts or automated sorting processes, items can be identified and tracked accurately without human intervention. Vision systems offer rapid and reliable data capture, improving efficiency and throughput in the warehouse while reducing reliance on handheld scanners.

RFID Technology - Enabling Real-Time Inventory Visibility: RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology has gained prominence in warehouse operations, offering a highly efficient alternative to handheld RF scanners. RFID tags are attached to items, pallets, or containers, and RFID readers or antennas capture the data wirelessly. Unlike traditional barcode scanning, RFID technology does not require line-of-sight scanning and can read multiple items simultaneously. This enables real-time inventory visibility, automates tracking processes, and reduces manual data entry, resulting in improved accuracy and streamlined operations.

As the demand for speed, accuracy, and efficiency in warehouse operations continues to grow, alternatives to handheld RF scanners are revolutionizing the industry. Wearable technology, voice picking systems, mobile computers, vision systems, and RFID technology offer advanced capabilities that surpass the limitations of traditional handheld scanners. By leveraging these alternatives, warehouses can enhance productivity, improve worker safety, achieve real-time inventory visibility, and streamline operational processes. Embracing these advancements empowers warehouses to stay ahead of the competition, meet customer expectations, and unlock new levels of efficiency and automation in their operations.

Warehouse Automation: Where to Start?

In the days of the pandemic (and even pre-pandemic), the trends and challenges facing the warehouse industry are clear: difficulty finding labor. As such, exploring automation for warehouses has never made more sense. However, it is a daunting task to understand and explore how to start. Below, we explore basic options to explore warehouse automation.

Automated Repeated Material Movements

Automating activities that only people can do is difficult to achieve currently; however, there are repetitive movements such as walking or transporting material that can be automated, typically at a good ROI.

For carts, something like CartConnect works well. Also, conveyance is always a good option. For repeatable pallet load movements, AGV forklifts are good at moving loads from one end of an operation to another.

Automated Storage and Retrieval

The second option is arguably the most automated – automated storage and retrieval (ASRS). There are many systems under this umbrella, but the concept remains the same for all: the ASRS will take product the operation has received, automatically store them, then pick/deliver them to an operator as needed.

Systems range from a mini-load system to a full pallet ASRS to the new solutions on the market for smaller product like the AutoStore. Also included are dense/fast-pick solutions such as vertical lift modules (VLMs) and horizontal and vertical carousels.

Whichever system is selected, the benefits are the same: more efficient storage space and reduced warehouse labor in putaway and picking, 2 of the most time-consuming processes in distribution operations.

Transaction Automation

Though perhaps not the first thing to come to one’s mind when thinking of warehouse automation, transaction automation is arguably the most important. This is a very broad term but stands for eliminating manual operator interactions to log transactions. The default way for an operator to log inventory movements, receipts, etc. is to manually type it in to the ERP or WMS. The ways to automate this are varied, from RF guns/scanning to RFID to voice picking to put-to-light/push buttons. Regardless of the method, automating transactions improves

5 Supply Chain Trends for 2021

This past year has created many new challenges for everyone, causing consumers and companies to adapt. We expect some of the supply chain changes to be temporary but that many of them will have a lasting impact on the supply chain industry going forward. Below, we discuss some of the trends that we expect to see in 2021.

Fulfillment and Logistics as a Competitive Tool

Every year we continue to see consumer behavior change, and in no year has that change happened as rapidly as in 2020. People want to get quality goods for a reasonable price and quickly. Unorganized supply chains will become increasingly exposed as companies will have to choose between bad service levels or unsustainable costs to meet customer demand. The most obvious example of this trend is Amazon's move to achieve next-day or same-day shipping. As stated above, consumer expectations for service continue to rise. This means businesses that have systems in place to forecast well, stock optimal levels of inventory and fulfill efficiently have a significant advantage over those that do not.

Focusing on E-Commerce, Service Levels and Omnichannel Development

The shift from brick and mortar retail to e-commerce has been growing every year, and COVID-19 only expedited that growth even more. It's no surprise that consumer’s extreme shift to e-commerce seen in 2020 will have a lasting effect on the way people do business moving forward. In addition to the e-commerce shift, service levels are also becoming a higher focus as consumers are going to choose the quickest and most reliable option. To keep up with these shifts, companies are going to have to continue to focus on developing their omnichannel strategy. This means using support systems to create an interconnected network of stores, warehouses and 3PLs, providing the flexibility to fulfill both large wholesale purchases and small e-commerce orders. Companies can then leverage this interconnectivity within the network to optimize fulfillment strategy on an order level basis.

Shifting E-Commerce to a 3PL

Another industry trend we expect to see is a significant shift for e-commerce distribution towards third-party logistics companies (3PLs). The e-commerce industry, in comparison to brick and mortar stores, presents a complexity that is hard to tackle for smaller companies. 3PLs provide an option that will allow companies to set up much quicker than if they opened their own warehouse and allow them to avoid significant fixed costs, have access to an already established network and get specialized processes based on their needs.

Making Procurement a Focus

COVID-19 complications and global trade friction with China mixed with consumer’s increasing expectations for better service have signaled to the supply chain world that now may be the time to focus on procurement. By moving suppliers closer to home (near-shoring) and prioritizing the procurement process to make lead time and flexibility priorities, companies can improve their fulfillment times and overall supply chain. Developing a regional supply chain offers the better potential for mutually beneficial relationships and improves both time and proximity to market. This confidence in relationship management and product could challenge the prior approach of low-cost country sourcing.

Freight Normalization – A New Baselinne

COVID-19 has caused overwhelming increases to volume causing capacities to be tested and costs and rejection rates to skyrocket. As the freight companies profit on these higher rates, it can be expected that they will reinvest into capital expenditures, such as more trucks, increasing capacity to meet market demand and normalizing from the economic shifts of 2020.

 We wish everyone a safe and healthy 2021.

How to Modernize Your Warehouse/Distribution Center: Part 2

In Part 2 of our process to modernize warehouses, we discuss the systems and automated confirmations necessary to eliminate human error and increase efficiency.

Support Systems

Support systems are critical in transitioning a warehouse into the modern age of logistics. Some of the most common types of support systems include Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, Order Management Systems (OMS), Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and Inventory Management Systems (IMS). Whether your distribution network consists of hundreds of warehouses around the globe or a single warehouse that ships to just a few customers, there is a support system that can help. There are numerous different options out there and each one has different capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses. Finding the right support system for your business is critical for any operation. These systems generally support warehouse operations by collecting and tracking data, standardizing processes and allowing operations to be executed more efficiently. The system should support all the current operations by decreasing manual work and helping implement future improvements. Without a WMS or other support system, warehouse processes and operations will be very manual and slow. Additionally, without a support system you will be limited in the further improvements and technology that can be added to the warehouse. Implementing a support system is a significant investment and might be difficult to see the exact ROI but it is one of the most important investments that can be made in a warehouse. It will support the entire operation by:

• Allowing processes to run quicker, meaning less time is spent on standard operations and higher throughput is achieved.

• Tracking and giving access to data which can be analyzed to see where further improvements can be made to reduce costs and increase output.

• Making it easier to track and manage inventory and KPIs which will result in better performance, lower costs, and higher output.

Automated Confirmation

Automated confirmation is the piece that brings together everything that we have talked about so far. We use the term ‘automated confirmations’ to be a blanket statement for all methods of an operator verifying their warehouse activity systematically, such as RF scanning, RFID, voice picking, etc. Using automated confirmation technology can drastically reduce the opportunity for human error and the time it takes to perform operations. An operator just needs to scan/speak/move a product and/or location rather than writing information down or updating the system manually. This will also provide increased visibility. Since the system is being updated at the time of the transaction, there will be a more accurate and real-time look at data which can help with knowing where products are and how much time is spent on different operations.

Adding these improvements will modernize your warehouse and allow it to operate more effectively and efficiently compared to how it operates today. They will also set you up to continuously grow and improve by making it easier to implement new improvements and technologies down the road.

How to Modernize your Warehouse/Distribution Operation, Part 1

For companies to stay successful over a long period of time, they must constantly be improving and changing with the times. This is especially true in warehousing and distribution. One of our core competencies at Establish is helping our clients logically and cost-effectively modernize and improve their warehouses and distribution centers. Over the next few weeks, we will be walking you through many of the steps necessary to modernize warehouses, from the most basic operation to a fully automated solution and everywhere in between. We start with two of the most important: Inventory Locations and Product Labeling.

Inventory Locations

Throughout a warehouse, there are many different places that inventory is stored. Simply adding names to each of those locations can help pave the way to a modernized warehouse so that an item and quantity can be tied to for efficiency and accuracy.

The naming structure can be virtually anything and should be relatively easy to follow. Each individual location should have a unique name and be labeled, with the labels being be easy to read and including barcodes to allow for scanning capabilities or check numbers. At a minimum, inventory location labels should have the location name and barcode, but they can also include more information such as color coding and the product(s) stored there. Below is a sample location name for a warehouse with standard pallet racking aisles:

The benefits of adding inventory locations to your warehouse include:

• Better tracking and traceability of inventory.

• Improved inventory accuracy and easier cycle counting.

• The ability to implement more robust warehouse practices such as barcoding.

• Improvement to current picking and put away processes.

• More functionality out of the current support systems.

Product Labeling

In addition to labeling the inventory locations, all the products in the warehouse should be properly labeled. These labels should include the product name, associated barcode, lot/batch/expiration date (if applicable) and be clear and easy to read. Products should be labeled directly upon receipt, prior to being put into storage. Even better, it can also be coordinated with suppliers to include these labels on the products that they come in already labeled. Labeling allows products to be identified seamlessly during receiving, picking and inventory counts and will help reduce human error and manual processing.

Next time, we talk about the IT and Support Systems as well as Automated Confirmations (RF scanning, voice, RFID, etc.).

Blockchain in Logistics: How it Started and How It's Going

Blockchain’s origin is rooted in the release of the whitepaper written under the name Satoshi Nakamoto explaining the foundation of what we know as today, Bitcoin. Bitcoin offered an avenue to worry-free digital transactions due to transparency and decentralization of the data. This ensured that information could not be altered and prompted the crypto-currency boom. The core-principles of blockchain and success of Bitcoin started a wave of curiosity into other possible applications, thus the development of the technology began to arise.

One of these applications was supply chain. Blockchain emerged and appeared to be the solution to everyone’s problems. In 2019, The Port of Rotterdam and The Port of Busan pilot tested blockchain into their maritime logistics and found success in automation and reducing operation cost.

What is Blockchain? As Explained from Blocklab:

• A “digital ledger” or spreadsheet that is duplicated and stored in a distributed network in multiple locations which can be updated instantly at any location.

• Data is decentralized since it is in multiple places at once. Thus, becomes a secure network as data cannot be modified without all approval of all the members and makes it difficult to hack.

• Information is constantly monitored which makes it difficult to change data and ensures that the information is distributed but not copied.

• Agreements become mutual and documented which enhances security and traceability as transactions are logged into the ledgers which reduces the worry of parties keeping their end of the deal.

• This results in lower costs, improved efficiency, increased transparency and increased trust.

Blockchain enables users to record and store data more easily and in a decentralized way which allows for transparency from all parties, accurate/real-time data, and improved traceability from production to delivery. Currently most companies manage their data individually on independent software support systems. The information is not shared across platforms which can cause confusion and miscommunication when the information does not align. Now, imagine the ability to track end-to-end performance of your goods and trust in the data being viewed. Blockchain provides exactly that solution. Participants in the network will provide information that would be difficult to change. The transparency allows anyone to audit any point in the supply-chain and reduce errors. Goods come as expected and as a result, increase trust amongst parties and reduce operation costs.

So Why isn’t Blockchain Used More?

 A study published in 2020 in the Journal of International Trade and Commerce, delved into the blockchain adoption focusing on Port of Busan and Port of Incheon. Despite all the possible applications of blockchain, the finding suggest it may be more difficult to sell than people think.

1. Logisticians have difficulties getting a clear idea on the benefits and successful blockchain adoptions.

2. Consultants and academics worry about the technological maturity of blockchain.

3. Competitive edge of the industry is highly influenced by economic factors related to financial and time-related aspects.

Blockchain Takes a Huge Shift in Infrastructure to Implement

Blockchain performs its best with more participants because there is more information. Without participants, the use case of blockchain no longer becomes applicable. Therefore, a decent size number of entities must agree on implementing blockchain which is harder than it sounds. Blockchain requires a huge shift in infrastructure.  Instead of storing information on their own subscription platform, the information will instead be widely available to anyone in the network which may be intimidating. Not only that, but the technology is new, and companies are hesitant on uplifting their entire structure. The pilot program by The Port of Rotterdam and Busan has shown that blockchain does perform up to expectation, but only provides a single example of the tangible benefits of adoption. A few ports have started pilot testing since, but until we see more entities willing to integrate this technology, it will be a long time till we see any major shifts in supply chain management.

Blockchain is the Future of Logistics

As supply chains become increasingly complex to meet the needs of consumers, the benefits of blockchain are far too good to not be considered as a solution. Not only does it provide relief to cumbersome problems in logistics, but transparency is becoming an important factor to consumers. Ethical sourcing and detailed package tracking are just a few factors that consumers are starting to consider. Blockchain allows for trusted end-to-end product visibility, which will become more vital to companies and consumers alike.

How to Select the Right Warehouse Management System (WMS)

A successful warehouse depends on employees implementing storage solutions, and the success of these employees depend on system support. A Warehouse Management System (WMS) is a key system requirement in a warehouse to collect and track data, standardize processes, and execute efficient operations. WMS vary in precise functionality but will typically manage several supply chain operations within the warehouse with the objective of boosting productivity, optimizing costs, increasing customer satisfaction and creating data visibility.

There are many different factors to evaluate when choosing the right WMS for a company’s business and processes. The right WMS should be able to:

• Support current warehouse functions

• Support desired functions the warehouse plans to implement

• Integrate with systems that will not be supported by the WMS

• Grow with the company and future improvements

Tier 1 versus Tier 2 versus Tier 3

Warehouse Management Systems are typically classified in 3 tiers; Tier 1 being the most sophisticated and Tier 3 the least, with associated costs following the same pattern. The standard costs will consist of startup and implementation in addition to monthly operational costs. The decision on what kind of WMS is needed comes down to balancing costs with required or desired capabilities. The line between a Tier 1, 2, and 3 WMS is becoming less defined – a Tier 1 WMS can turn functions on or off to provide custom applications on an individual customer level to accommodate specific needs.

Tier 3 WMS are usually an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that has WMS capabilities, but there are also basic WMS programs. The Tier 3 functionality will cover standard receiving, putaway, inventory, picking, packing and shipping. These usually are the lowest cost and popular for clients looking to develop and implement a WMS with minimal capital costs.

A warehouse operating with a Tier 2 WMS is likely to have more complex processes that require more advanced and custom functionalities. Tier 2 systems support multi-warehouse businesses, enable greater automation and can integrate with multiple systems like ERP and Transportation Management Systems (TMS). These can range in costs and clients favor these for the expanded functionality and better integration options than a Tier 3 system.

Tier 1 WMS deliver comprehensive functionality to any business operating a warehouse. These enterprise-grade systems include the most advanced functionality and can be multi-site and global installations. They provide a complete integration of the supply chain, fully automated warehouse operations, and additions like labor management, yard management and task management. Tier 1 systems are usually the priciest, but also have the broadest support and the most flexibility of all the systems. As mentioned before, most of these systems can only offer certain aspects of the software to help align costs with customer requirements.

WMS Selection Steps

When it comes time to select a WMS, the main process steps are as follows:

1. Recruit an internal WMS selection team, potentially with the addition of an external specialist, for example a WMS consultant or supply chain consultant.

2. Create a timeline and budget for the WMS search and implementation, including a forecast ROI.

3. Gather WMS requirements.

4. Create a vendor list based on WMS requirements.

5. Compile an RFP using a vendor template or custom outline.

6. Send RFP to vendors.

7. Analyze vendor responses to produce a final shortlist.

8. Schedule demos with top vendors to evaluate system performance.

9. Negotiate contracts with vendors where desired.

10. Make final WMS vendor decision based on capabilities and cost implications.

11. Schedule training and implementation.

At the end of the process, you will be going live with what is the right WMS for your business.