Tag: warehouse automation

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Applied Innovation

How Supply Chain Automation is Leading to Efficient and Agile Logistics

Rise of Supply Chain Automation
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Applied Innovation

How Supply Chain Automation is Leading to Efficient and Agile Logistics

In today’s fast-paced business world, companies are continuously looking for methods to simplify processes, save costs, and increase competitiveness. Supply chain automation has emerged as a game changer, utilising cutting-edge technology to optimise operations and increase efficiency throughout the supply chain. Automation is transforming the way products and services are provided to customers, enabling unprecedented levels of productivity, visibility, and agility.

The Rise of Supply Chain Automation

Supply chain automation is the use of technology and software solutions to automate and optimise supply chain operations, therefore reducing the need for considerable human participation. This technique has gained popularity as firms seek to increase efficiency, minimise mistakes, and improve decision-making capabilities in their supply chain processes.

Key Benefits of Supply Chain Automation

1. Improved Efficiency and Productivity: By automating repetitive and time-consuming procedures, businesses may simplify processes, reduce redundancies, and free up valuable human resources for more strategic and value-added activities.


2. Cost Savings: Automated solutions eliminate the need for manual labour, decrease mistakes, and optimise resource utilisation, resulting in considerable cost savings over time.


3. Increased supply chain visibility: Real-time tracking and comprehensive analytics offered by automation provide unparalleled visibility into supply chain processes, allowing for proactive decision-making and quick response to interruptions or changes in demand.

4. Improved Predictive Analytics and Demand Forecasting: Using machine learning and artificial intelligence, automated systems can analyse historical data and market patterns to provide precise demand estimates, allowing for improved inventory management and resource allocation.


5. Regulatory Compliance: Automated procedures assure constant adherence to regulatory regulations, lowering the risk of noncompliance and the resulting fines.

Automation in Action: Key Applications

Supply chain automation comprises a diverse set of procedures and technology that allow organisations to simplify operations at various levels of the supply chain.


1. Back-Office Automation: Tasks like as invoicing, bookkeeping, and data entry may be automated with robotic process automation (RPA) and intelligent automation solutions, lowering the risk of mistakes and increasing productivity.


2. Transportation Planning and Route Optimisation: Advanced algorithms and machine learning approaches can optimise transportation routes by considering traffic patterns, weather conditions, and fuel prices, resulting in lower transportation costs and faster delivery times.

3. Warehouse Operations: Robotics, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and intelligent warehouse management systems may automate tasks like as picking, packaging, and inventory management, increasing accuracy and efficiency while reducing human error.

4. Demand Forecasting and Procurement: Predictive analytics and machine learning models may use historical data, market trends, and real-time consumer demand to create accurate demand projections, allowing for proactive procurement and inventory management techniques.

5. Last-Mile Delivery: The combination of drones, autonomous vehicles, and powerful routing algorithms has the potential to transform last-mile delivery, lowering costs and improving delivery times for clients.

The Role of Emerging Technologies

Several cutting-edge technologies are propelling supply chain automation forward, allowing organisations to achieve previously unattainable levels of efficiency and flexibility.


1. Artificial intelligence (AI): AI is critical in supply chain automation because it enables technologies such as digital workforce, warehouse robots, autonomous vehicles, and robotic process automation (RPA) to automate repetitive and error-prone operations. AI enables back-office automation, logistics automation, warehouse automation, automated quality checks, inventory management, and supply chain predictive analytics/forecasting.

2. Internet of Things (IoT): IoT devices help provide real-time data and connection across the supply chain, allowing for better tracking, monitoring, and decision-making. IoT sensors in warehouses, cars, and goods collect data on location, temperature, humidity, and other factors to improve operations and visibility.


3. Generative AI (GenAI): Generative AI is a subclass of AI that focuses on developing new content, designs, or solutions from current data. GenAI may be used in supply chain automation to improve decision-making and efficiency through tasks such as demand forecasting, product design optimisation, and scenario planning.

Organisations may achieve better levels of automation, efficiency, and agility in their supply chain operations by utilising AI, IoT, and GenAI capabilities, resulting in increased productivity, cost savings, and improved decision-making skills.

Limitations and Considerations

While supply chain automation has many advantages, it is critical to understand its limitations and carefully consider its adoption. Currently, automation is confined to certain activities like order processing, inventory management, and transportation planning, while many procedures still require human intervention and supervision. Furthermore, the financial investment necessary for advanced automation technology may be prohibitive for smaller enterprises with limited resources.


Furthermore, the possibility of job displacement owing to the automation of manual work is a worry that must be addressed through retraining and upskilling programmes. Organisations must find a balance between automating processes and relying on human skills to make crucial decisions and handle exceptions.

The Future of Supply Chain Automation.


As technology advances, the opportunities for supply chain automation will grow even more. Organisations that embrace automation and strategically use the appropriate technology will be well-positioned to outperform the competition.


However, a balance must be struck between automation and human skill. While automation can help with many operations, human decision-making and monitoring are still required for handling outliers, unanticipated interruptions, and strategic planning within the supply chain.By combining the power of automation with human innovation, organisations may achieve new levels of efficiency, agility, and customer happiness, guaranteeing a sustainable and competitive supply chain in the future.

Contact us at open-innovator@quotients.com to schedule a consultation and explore the transformative potential of this innovative technology

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Applied Innovation Industry 4.0

Self-driving Robots for Industrial Automation

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Applied Innovation Industry 4.0

Self-driving Robots for Industrial Automation

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have long caught the attention of futurists and technology enthusiasts, as indicated by constant research and development in autonomous vehicle technologies over the last two decades.

Rapid advancements in robotics, artificial intelligence, computer vision, and edge computing capabilities are culminating in robots that may be able to think, see, hear, and move. AVs in the form of self-driving vehicles have generated both enthusiasm and fierce rivalry among automakers and technology firms.

Self-driving vehicle prototypes outfitted with lidars, radars, cameras, and ultrasonic sensors — as well as hefty computational powers beneath the hood to detect and avoid obstacles — are becoming prevalent in many places. We are now on the verge of fast deployment of advanced autonomous vehicle technologies in industrial applications, and the convergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) and AV technologies is set to re-make and re-imagine industries.

Rapid automation in e-commerce distribution centers and industrial facilities has resulted in a vibrant subset of robotic logistics centered on supply chains and automated material transportation. A combination of variables, including but not limited to a spike in e-commerce, mass customization of items, technological improvements, and shifting economics in supply chains, has resulted in a surge in demand for automation in materials handling.

We offer some products based on the use of technologies such as computer software and robotics to control machinery and processes to perform specific functions. Some of these are described below that can be used to achieve digital factory goals in a time-bound manner.

Autonomous Forklift: An autonomous forklift that is appropriate for material delivery applications in warehouses or manufacturing plants, as well as outdoors. It can move easily on asphalt, concrete, and cemented walkways.

It has a payload capacity of 2 Tonne/ 3 Tonne/ 5 Tonne for various circumstances and can lift goods up to a height of 3 Meter. It is a counterbalanced forklift that performs well on slopes and uneven floor surfaces.

Autonomous Pallet Transfer Robot: We also offer a self-driving industrial-grade pallet transfer robot capable of automatically carrying a payload of 1000 kg/2000 kg. It has dual 3D cameras located in the front and back. The back 3D camera aids with accurate pallet localization and a safe alignment technique for lifting pallets from the ground.

Autonomous Trolley Transporter Robot: With this, we also have an autonomous trolley transporter robot, an industrial-grade model designed for autonomous trolley transportation. It can move carts of various sizes and weights ranging from 100 kg to 2000 kg by attaching to them from beneath. It has 3D camera-based trolley localization and safely align technology, which allows it to accurately fasten the trolleys from beneath. The robot has a fully autonomous guiding system with dynamic obstacle avoidance.

To know more about these solutions and for product demo please write to us at open-innovator@quotients.com

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Innovator's Vista

Warehouse Automation for Quick Commerce

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Innovator's Vista

Warehouse Automation for Quick Commerce

Automation, use of technology to perform tasks with reduced human assistance, is becoming more and more prevalent in the industries such as manufacturing, robotics, and automotives. It offers many benefits like increase in productivity, reduction in risk related to labor.

Warehouse automation i.e. blending of stores and warehouses and the use of warehouse robotics, conveyors and automation technologies in e-commerce, is also seen as having a lot of potential. These systems can eliminate labor-intensive and time-consuming duties hence free workers up to focus on more value-added tasks, like quality control.

Quick commerce, a unique business model where the delivery of goods and services is done within 10-30 minutes of ordering, has expedited need for automation. The complexity of the Indian warehouses given their density, smaller size, and abundantly available cost-effective labor, present another challenge.

— Goods to Person (G2P) warehouse automation holds the potential satisfy the needs of their demanding consumers. G2P robotics are Goods to Person robots such as Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), Automatic Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS) and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs).

— Autonomous Mobile Robots – use on-board sensors and processors to autonomously move materials within a warehouse, without the need for wires, markers, or strips. AMRs can learn their environment and plan the route considering it, other AMRs, blocked pathways, and humans.

— Automated Guided Vehicles – driverless, mobile vehicles guided by wires, magnetic strips, or sensors and restricted to following fixed routes. They can detect other robots, humans, or objects in front of them but must wait until the obstacle has cleared before they can continue.

— Automated storage and retrieval systems: AS/RS, are made of a variation of computer-controlled systems that automatically place and retrieve loads from set storage locations in a facility with precision, accuracy and speed. Some of the systems that are used are: Vertical carousels, horizontal carousels, and Vertical Lift Modules (VLMs), Stacker Cranes, Pallet shuttles, Miniload systems, Cube based storage and Collaborative robots.

Automated Warehouses claim to allow deployment that is on average 10x faster with negligible installation capex and generate 3x higher ROI vs. competition. It also increases productivity by 3X, throughput by up to 50 percent, and space optimisation by up to 30 percent along with ensuring timely delivery of consumer orders.

A startup ecosystem is developing around this use case across the world. Warehouse Automation is one of the interesting new themes which are gaining popularity.

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