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Warehousing – Just Automate Everything?
We have come a long way since the Industrial Revolution and the widespread adoption of then new technologies like the steam engine, leading to mass production in factories and increased use of machinery to drive large increases in productivity. In warehousing, impactful automation began with pallet automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) in the 1950s. The most significant advancements occurred between the 1980s and 1990s, when computer-controlled robotics and sensor technologies revolutionized manufacturing and distribution automation. Recent technology advancement is ushering in a new era of automating warehouse material handling promising new levels of efficiency and performance.
Today, automation can be utilized in every functional area of the warehouse, distribution center or manufacturing plant. With that said it is important to confirm any automation’s compatibility for each use case. Keep in mind that automated systems increase the importance of item data such as dimensions and weight, pallet quality, installed rack accuracy, floor levelness and flatness, building power, safety, IT infrastructure, and integration to warehouse systems.
Let’s take a journey through the warehouse—from Receiving to Shipping—and explore how automation can enhance your operation.
Receiving
Manual forklifts remain the dominate equipment for unloading and staging pallet loads, and unloading loose cases from containers remains a labor-intensive process of stacking cases onto pallets. Technology continues to be developed to automate the unloading processes, improving efficiency, safety and reducing reliance on manual labor.
AMR/AGV (pallets) – Automated mobile robots (AMRs) and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) equipped with forks unload trailers and stage pallets on the dock. This application is most feasible when you have consistent, high quality pallets, , and control over the trailer loading process (i.e. from your own plant). Depending on how trailers are loaded some equipment can unload two (2) side by side pallets in one move. If those pallets are double stacked, that increases to four (4) pallets per move.
Conveyors (cases) – Telescoping powered conveyors improve the efficiency and turnaround time when compared to manually unloading cases from trailers and containers. Pallet building is moved out of the trailer and onto the dock making use of conveyor for loading to pallets.
Robotic palletizers (cases) – Unloading conveyor technology feeds a robotic palletizing system to automate pallet building.
Robotic Arms (cases) – Robotic arm technology grabs each case and places it onto a pallet within the trailer or drops the case onto a conveyor for automated pallet building downstream.
Automated truck unloading systems ATLS (pallets) – Automated truck loading systems used by manufacturers for decades when shipping full trailers from their plants to a warehouse. These systems unload (or load) a full truck load with one movement. The first designs required trailers be equipped with roller-bed type technology to connect with the dock unloading systems. But there are companies with ATLS technology that do not require a dedicated fleet equipped with this technology.
Put-Away
The put-away process in traditional warehouses is handled by manual forklifts transporting pallets from the receiving dock to the storage location or a storage pick-up and delivery (P&D) position. This task requires travelling across the warehouse by forklift operators. The advancements and consideration for automating this process is one of the biggest developments as technology improves.
AGVs/AMRs (pallets) – Moves pallets from the dock to storage area or P&D positions. These vehicles can be integrated with a tugger systems to pull multiple pallets per trip. The automated vehicles picks-up the pallet from the dock area either on stands (loaded by a manual forklift operator) or are equipped with forks to lift the pallet from the ground. Depending on which application is used, the pallet is placed in the P&D position onto the floor or pallet stand.
Autonomous Lift Trucks (pallets) – Performs the same functions as a typical forklift, enabling direct put-away into rack positions from the dock. However, the maximum lift height ranges from 15-25 feet depending on the supplier. In addition, not all suppliers have the capability to access every type of racking (e.g., drive-in, push-back). Implementing these systems within an existing storage environment can be challenging, as the installed rack must meet the specific tolerance requirements of the automated vehicles.
Storage System
Distribution centers are largely dedicated to inventory storage, accommodating full pallets, cases, and loose items. To meet diverse storage requirements, various racking solutions are used, including shelving, single-deep, double-deep, push-back, pallet flow, case flow, drive-in racking, and floor storage. Multiple automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) are available to both shrink the size of the storage area and improve the efficiency of warehouse operations.
Unit-Load Crane (pallets) – In use since the 1960s, these systems can be 100+ feet tall and utilize large cranes to store and retrieve pallets from single to two-deep lane storage systems.
Pallet Shuttle (pallets) – Provide a denser solution and is feasible to use in existing, lower height building (~50 feet). Shuttles travel on railing to move pallet loads within a 3-10+ deep lane storage solution.
Pallet Mole (pallets) – Semi-automated storage system, offering deep-lane storage. This system combines forklifts moving moles / shuttles from lane to lane and the automation of handling pallet loads within the system. S. integrate with an autonomous lift truck to increase the automation within this system.
Mini-Load Crane (cases/totes) – Smaller crane-based system used for storing and handling cases or totes. These are also mostly used for forward pick area inventory storage and order fulfillment.
Shuttles (cases/totes) – Newer and developing technology (compared to carousels and mini-loads) to handle cases and totes with many design configurations – linear, roaming, and top-level shuttle. Integrated rack structure for the storage of inventory, with shuttles traveling vertically and horizontally for put-away/retrieval. Used for order storage/buffering, storage to replenish a fulfillment system, or storage of inventory for highly efficient picking and order fulfillment.
Carousels (cases/totes) – Horizontal and vertical carousels and vertical lift systems are used for the storage and handling of cases and loose items. These are mostly used for forward pick area inventory storage and order fulfillment.
Order Picking
The order picking process represents the largest share of labor costs in distribution operations, making it a key target for automation. A variety of solutions are available to increase efficiency, reduce reliance on manual labor, and improve order accuracy.
Goods-to-person (GTP) systems minimize worker travel by bringing inventory directly to operators, while robotic picking solutions leverage AI and machine learning to handle diverse product types. Conveyorized sortation systems streamline order consolidation, and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) dynamically transport goods across the facility.
Choosing the right automation depends on your business, products, customers, order complexity, and other operational factors. In some cases, traditional methods like push carts and pallet jacks may be the right choice. However, even these can be enhanced with technology—such as ‘smart’ carts equipped with integrated lights to improve speed and accuracy. Alternatively, voice-picking systems can further streamline operations by guiding workers hands-free, reducing errors, and increasing pick rates.
If your operation handles higher volumes, conveyor-based technology combined with multi-level pick modules, pick-to-light systems, and sorters can significantly improve efficiency. However, if you’re exploring more advanced automation, there are numerous options available. Below is a brief outline of some of the more automated systems used in order picking applications. Each system offers unique benefits, depending on your business needs, order profiles, and operational constraints. The right solution will align with your specific operational profile, challenges and growth objectives.
Shuttles (cases/pieces) – Goods to person system with multiple configurations, including Linear shuttles where shuttles travel vertically and horizontally down aisles to retrieve totes/cases for delivery to workstations. Roaming shuttles are a newer application where shuttle bots leave the storage system to deliver totes/cases to workstations. Top-level shuttles are another type of roaming shuttle with bots traveling across the top of a cube design to access totes/cases via elevators to deliver to workstations.
AMR-Goods to Person (cases/pieces) – AMR shelf and lift systems both utilize AMR bots to bring product to the pick/pack workstation. With the AMR-shelf system, bots retrieve/lift a shelf with required product and transports the shelf to a workstation for order picking. The AMR-lift system is a taller multi-level shelf that retrieves totes from a rack system and delivers multiple totes to workstations for order processing.
AMR-Pick Assist (cases/pieces) – AMRs that travel to a pick zone where workers are directed to pick items into the totes/cases. The AMR delivers the totes/cases to a workstation for processing.
Robotic Picking (cases/pieces) – AI-driven robotic arms that can pick and place items, often integrated with GTP solutions. Both AMR and shuttle suppliers are designing new systems with integrated robotic arms for picking within the system (vs. at the workstation).
Automated Put Walls (cases/pieces) – Optimize batch picking from traditional pick environments (i.e. pick modules) and induction into the put system for items to be automatically sorted by order tote or shipping box.
Packing
Often termed the “last 100 feet” in a distribution facility, the packaging area presents multiple opportunities for automation. This critical stage is labor-intensive, requiring tasks such as order validation, document printing, dunnage insertion, box or bag forming and sealing, and shipping label application.
Bagging – Not everything ships in a box. Automatic baggers are increasing in usage for speeding up the packing process. There are a variety of options from presenting/opening bags for manual packing to inducting products for automatic bagging/sealing.
Box Forming – Technology has progressed from equipment forming pre-loaded box sizes to automatically custom making the box based on the order size. These advancements speed-up the pack process, save on materials cost, and reduce transportation spend.
Adding Dunnage – Semi-automated dunnage equipment assists packers either at the pack station or consolidated downstream to increase packer efficiency. Most dunnage equipment systems require no equipment investment if you purchase materials through the supplier.
Box Sealing – Semi-automated systems are installed downstream of the pack stations to remove manual taping by the packers. Consolidating/ merging cartons through fewer sealers reduces the investment. Developments in box sealing handle multiple box sizes with the same equipment.
Label Application – Automated print and apply (PANDA) technology continues to develop and highly utilized to streamline the packing process. Integrated with the WMS, and installed downstream of the pack stations labels are automatically printed and applied to shipping boxes. And, related equipment can also be used to insert pack lists, and other collateral.
Shipping
Finally, it is time to load shipping trailers or small parcel vans. This process is largely handled with forklifts (pallet, partial pallets) and manual labor (loose shipping cases). And the automation considered for loading trailers is similar to the receiving process but is impacted by how the orders are picked.
Automated truck loading systems (ATLS)
AMR/AGV
Conveyors
Robotic De-palletizers
Robotic Arms
Since the early days of automation development, the warehousing industry has continuously advanced technologies to reduce reliance on manual labor. From early conveyor systems and AS/RS cranes to today’s sophisticated robotics, AI-driven optimization, and autonomous material handling solutions, the goal has always been to improve efficiency, accuracy, and throughput while minimizing labor-intensive tasks.
With ongoing labor shortages driving labor costs up and increasing e-commerce demands, the push for automation has accelerated. Solutions such as Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), Goods-to-Person (GTP) systems, robotic picking arms, and AI-powered inventory management are now transforming warehouse operations. As technology continues to evolve, businesses must stay ahead by adopting the right mix of automation to meet their operational and customer service goals.
