MHD TECHNOLOGY
Access to accurate dimensional data leads to more intelligent picking and packing decisions.
DATA AT THE HEART OF AUTOMATION
As the industry continues to implement automation across all aspects of fulfilment operations, Rhett Talley, Marketing and Business Development Manager at Diverseco says accurate master data is the foundation of running a successful operation.
D
uring the COVID-19 pandemic, many retailers have had to ramp up their e-commerce offerings. Leading grocery retailer Woolworths has reported a 320 per cent increase in online customer demand and has since doubled its capacity in this area. E-commerce speciality stores such as Kogan, Catch, Adore Beauty and Amazon are experiencing growth levels like they have never seen before. Many consumers are shopping online for the first-time ever and it is likely that this growth is here to stay. Warehouse and distribution centre (DC) operations are being pushed to their limits as the stress to meet this peak in demand is leading many to explore automation capabilities. Mobile goods-to-person picking robots, mezzanine storage and stock retrieval automation systems, and automated conveying sortation systems are now commonly found in DCs across Australia.
44 | MHD JUNE 2020
According to Rhett Talley, Marketing and Business Development Manager at Diverseco, the foundations of all successful warehouse automation operations lies in accurate SKU dimensional data. Historically, if a supply chain manager or warehouse management system (WMS) knew the length, width, height and weight of an SKU it was deemed a sophisticated operation. But now, as retailers and thirdparty logistics providers (3PL) run increasingly automated operations, this is not enough to satisfy the intelligent systems found in a warehouse today. The benefits of automation across a logistics operation have been proven. Goods-to-person methods minimise waste, reduce time between picks, and also significantly increase pick efficiency. However, for this kind of automation to work, it has to have access to very reliable and precise SKU dimensional measures, Rhett says.
INBOUND AND OUTBOUND OPERATIONS Access to SKU dimensional data has significant benefits for both inbound and outbound operations, Rhett says. “If you have access to accurate dimensional data about all of the SKUs coming into the warehouse, then you can make better decisions around layout, types of automation you will deploy, space saving and facility design,” he says. With regards to outbound operations, accurate dimensional data is absolutely key to running an efficient operation. “If a customer orders three different SKUs from your store, you need to pick and pack those based on the data you have about these items. Is the item bendable, stackable, nestable, fragile, heavy, foldable? All of these criteria will go into the decision that the operator will make for packing the items,” Rhett says. Carton optimisation programs as well as box-on-demand solutions
