In the past, everything in the warehouse was done by hand. Picking, packing, shipping, receiving—you name it. This was efficient back when warehouses only serviced a small area and took on smaller workloads, but nowadays, doing things by hand just doesn’t cut it.
To keep up with the crowd, it’s crucial for warehouses to implement new standards and—you guessed it—new technology. Here are the benefits of automating your warehouse, aka how automation can boost productivity, profits, and more.
Productivity and Accuracy
Humans can be productive and accurate, but they won’t ever be as productive and accurate as machines. Automating your warehouse means improved productivity, with more pallets prepared and shipped per day, and improved accuracy, which means fewer errors that could lead to product damage.
Now, just because machines are better at doing some things, that doesn’t mean they’re amazing at everything. You don’t have to lay off your entire staff in favor of soulless hunks of metal. Instead, you can let machines handle more menial tasks and leave your human workers to focus on important and urgent projects.
Fewer Injuries
Warehousing is back-breaking work—literally. Hauling heavy loads day-in and day-out can put a massive strain on your workers’ backs. Don’t forget their arms, legs, necks, and just about every muscle and bone in the body.
But what if machines could do all the heavy lifting instead? Equipment such as laser-guided vehicles (LGVs) is designed to move things around without human intervention. Tasking machines with the majority of the heavy-duty work means less strain on your employees. This translates into fewer on-the-job injuries, fewer absences, and less injury compensation you have to pay out.
Customer Loyalty
The next benefit of automating your warehouse is a boost in customer loyalty. Machines are faster and more accurate than human hands. The quicker you ship out products, the sooner your client (or your client’s customers) will receive them. And there’s nothing better than having an anticipated package show up at your door a day early!
And because machines are accurate, the likelihood of products being damaged during transit is low. That’s because accuracy means fewer rips, tears, or other imperfections in the packaging. Excellent quality translates into excellent reviews, which—in turn—translates into a better company reputation.
