Increasing numbers of companies with the insight and resources are fully automating their warehouse operations. By embracing technology, those companies are beginning to reap measurable benefits in terms of reduced operating costs and increased productivity. By taking the core functions of a warehouse operation and automating them, the warehouse, as a whole, has transformed. For all intents and purposes, warehouses have become – smarter.

EVOLUTION OF A CONCEPT
   The term “smart warehouse” has been tossed around for the past few years and has been used to represent everything from the use of RFID tags and software to quality assurance. But a true Smart Warehouse is more than a buzzword or manufacturing jargon. When implemented effectively, it is a systematic strategy that can take a traditional operation to the next level.
   A Smart Warehouse implies the total integration of automated technology to carry out day-to-day operations. The components of a Smart Warehouse include the utilization of conveyor systems, Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs), Automatic Trailer Loading (ATL) vehicles, Automated Guided Carts (AGCs), Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS), or a warehouse management system. When used in a concerted effort, these ingredients make for a highly productive warehouse.
   In North America, a typical warehouse operation possesses the following characteristics: it is normally privately run; is less than 250,000 sq. ft. in size; end consumers or another manufacturer are its primary customers; and its most common units handled are pallets with rack storage serving as the primary housing method. According to the First Annual Warehouses Trend Survey conducted by RBI Research, Gross & Associates in 2006, warehouse managers indicated that their chief goals and concerns centred on increasing customer satisfaction, which included delivery of on-time, undamaged and accurate orders, and reduction of costs.

MEASURABLE BENEFITS
   A company taking the necessary steps to invest in and develop its warehouse and distribution centres’ infrastructures now, ultimately saves money later. A Smart Warehouse operation will help a warehouse manager address the goals of improving customer satisfaction and reducing operating costs. Smart Warehouses adhere to the basic principles of “lean” warehousing while creating a safer work environment by cutting down on the probability of human error.
   Smart Warehouses allow a company not only to achieve its desired results, but to add reliability, dependability and, more importantly, predictability to the process. The Smart Warehouse then allows for a “lights out” 24/7 operation if necessary. Companies that used to depend on manpower can reassign key personnel to other areas where needed.
   For more than a decade, materials handling providers have been developing new technology and systems to automate timeconsuming and costly operations typically requiring manpower. As a global leader in the materials handling industry, the Jervis B. Webb Company has invested the necessary resources to produce all the components for a fully functional Smart Warehouse system. Additionally, Webb provides the blueprint for making those pieces work in an integrated and seamless operation.

SMART TECHNOLOGY
SmartCart® AGCs
   The SmartCart AGC is an extremely lowcost, magnetic tape-guided AGV that can transport finished pallets from stretch wrapping operations to AS/RS, rack staging or a floor staging area adjacent to the docks.
   The SmartCart typically costs much less than a conventional AGV and can be utilized as an alternative to performing similar work. It is extremely flexible because all that is needed to change the path is relocating the tape that is attached to the surface of the warehouse floor and modifying an easy-touse Windows-based software called SmartTools®, which allows the customer to program the guide path.
   Furthermore, a SmartCart is perfect for transporting materials from production to the warehouse. It has the ability to deliver pallets onto a powered or gravity buffer conveyor. Once handed off, the pallet may then be taken into high-rise storage, or AS/RS to rack storage, or to the dock for trailer loading.

SMARTLOADER® AUTOMATIC TRAILER LOADING (ATL) VEHICLE
   SmartLoader ATL is able to stack pallets accurately and efficiently. In fact, the unmanned SmartLoader, which is directed by a Vehicle System Manager, demonstrates a higher degree of accuracy than traditional forklift operations.
   Deep lane storage of finished goods on pallets placed by SmartLoader is recognizably one of the most effective warehouse solutions. Because of SmartLoader's flexibility, it does not depend on fixed, rail-guided AS/RS machines that are limited to a single aisle.

Many are realizing that manual processes are reaching their limitations. By way of example, let’s look at the picking process. A manual pick module requires each picker to work sequentially through their pick list, stacking product on dedicated pick belts. Traditionally, pick belts are configured twowide, or sometimes stacked up to three-high.
   When pick rates need to increase, operations can’t add any belts to the existing configuration since that would be unsafe for workers. The only way to expand is to add an entire new pick module, adding to the square footage required.
   Adding SKUs also presents a challenge as more lanes have to be added, which reduces a picker’s productivity by making the employee walk further and pick less of each SKU. Studies have shown that a picker working a standard pick module consisting of 250 SKUs already walks approximately 1.5 km per order picked! (Often on multiple levels.)
   Many warehousing and distribution centres are hitting the point where they will be forced to expand the building and add more modules, or consider a solution like an automated picking and distribution system. Doing nothing is simply not going to be an option.

THE POWER OF ROBOTICS
    An increasingly popular approach is space-saving robotic gantry solutions. These allow operators to boost warehouse productivity and efficiency without having to add modules or increase space usage. This is particularly useful for operations that must deal with high SKU counts and just-in-time delivery demands.
   A robotic gantry is a high-speed robot mounted on rails above the warehouse floor. Its design offers four axes of motion to create a large rectangular work envelope and can be configured to fit into a variety of footprint shapes and sizes for limitless layout options. The benefit of this design is they work from above and consume very little space of their own.
   This system has been used by a number of warehousing operations worldwide. Experience has shown that robotics can eliminate 100% of picking errors and dramatically reduce product damage. Given that industry order picking errors can be as high as 20% and product damage around 2%, the savings become clear. In addition, there are considerable labour savings, which can account for more than half of a warehouse facility’s operating costs.
   A car parts manufacturer we have worked with, for example, uses gantry robotics extensively to address its warehousing distribution needs. The company has installed more than 30 robots at different facilities to streamline delivery of products to customers while improving accuracy.