Top five industries to benefit from warehouse automation

Whatever industry you are in, warehouse automation can provide a competitive edge. In this blog, we highlight the top five industries that can benefit the most.

Customer satisfaction is on everyone’s mind, and so it should be. We know that happy customers are profitable because they come back for more. One way to keep them happy is quickly delivering what they want.

Warehouse automation systems, such as those offered by Element Logic, will increase efficiency and accuracy by reducing human errors and improving overall quality. By handling repetitive tasks, automation leaves more room to focus on higher-level strategic activities that can help drive growth and success.

Thanks to these benefits, warehouse automation has skyrocketed in popularity in various industries. Even though most industries can gain immense benefits from automation, there are a few industries that are more suited for automation than others.

Examples of industries that should consider warehouse automation:

eCommerce
Online pharmacies
eGrocery
3PL
Industrial companies

Now, let’s take a closer look at the benefits each industry can gain from warehouse automation.

eCommerce warehouse automation

In recent years, eCommerce, or online shopping, has been booming. Convenience, a large selection of products, and competitive prices are believed to be part of the reason why. However, the benefits loved by customers also leave high expectations for supplier performance.

Your warehouse needs to handle a large variety of orders and deliver fast. That is the main reason why eCommerce warehouse automation is vital. In addition, it allows for more products in a smaller space, which is especially useful in micro fulfillment centres, better known as pickup points.

eCommerce warehouse automation can include industry-leading robotic piece picking solutions, material flow handling systems, and warehouse automation software to keep track of the entire operation.

Warehouse automation benefits for eCommerce include:

Easier to handle a large variety of orders
Increased control in high season
Easy to scale up or down operations when necessary
Faster delivery to customers
Better space utilization

Learn how Boozt.com has benefitted from implementing ecommerce warehouse automation from Element Logic.

Pharmaceutical warehouse automation

Pharmaceuticals face many of the same challenges as eCommerce, as online pharmacies are becoming increasingly important. The convenience of ordering regular prescription medication and getting it delivered to your house suits people’s busy lives.

In healthcare and pharmaceuticals, automation is becoming more and more prevalent. The advantages of pharmaceutical warehouse automation are many. Firstly, it significantly improves accuracy, perhaps the primary driver for its increasing popularity. On top of that, there are legal requirements to trace goods, track their movements, and maintain control, all of which can be automated. This automation reduces the risk of errors while boosting sales volume, making it another compelling reason for its adoption.

Warehouse automation benefits for online pharmacies include:

Improved accuracy
Easier to meet legal requirements for tracing goods
Better inventory control
Reduced wrong pickings
Increased customer satisfaction

Take inspiration from Apotea, Sweden’s largest online pharmacy, and learn how their implementation of pharmaceutical warehouse automation significantly enhanced their services.

Grocery warehouse automation

Automation can offer significant benefits to grocery suppliers, including online or ‘eGrocery’ companies, such as ensuring the freshness of goods and streamlining the pickup or delivery process.

While having many of the same challenges as other industries, amongst them more customers demanding home delivery, having the correct sequence of goods is crucial before transportation. Accurate sorting of goods can be achieved through grocery warehouse automation, making delivery more efficient while saving time.

An automated warehouse can also handle the critical task of managing temperature zones, essential for groceries. Whether ambient, chilled, or frozen, automation can track what is required for different goods and maintain it within the desired range.

Warehouse automation benefits for eGrocery include:

Easier to ensure the correct sequence of goods
More efficient deliveries
Improved management of temperature zones
Fewer picking errors resulting in more satisfied customers

Find out how to calculate your company’s warehouse automation ROI.

A worker standing at a picking station screen with a tube in his hand — **OPTIMISE PICKING SPEED:** The picking stations contribute to an ergonomic workplace for your employees and speed up the picking process.

3PL warehouse automation

Overall, the most important reason for third-party logistics (3PL) companies to automate is to gain a competitive edge. A key advantage of implementing a 3PL warehouse automation solution lies in the ability to store a larger volume of goods within the same space as a conventional warehouse. For 3PL companies especially, this is key as they often facilitate warehouse services for multiple eCommerce partners.

Third-party logistics companies have also experienced a shortage of qualified warehouse workers. This may have something to do with a manual warehouse’s physical strain on the individual, resulting in people finding other jobs more attractive.

In the face of this shortage, warehouse automation can be the solution. While providing efficiency and accurate handling of goods, it can also attract the interest of potential workers. Introducing 3PL warehouse automation offers an ergonomic workplace and increases warehouse capacity and attractiveness for employees and customers alike.

Warehouse automation benefits for 3PL include:

Better space savings
Increased warehouse storage capacity
More attractive to potential employees
Reduced staff turnover
Increased flexibility and scalability to support multiple customers and changing customer requirements.

Get insight into how automation can be the solution to maximise warehouse capacity in 3PL.

Industrial warehouse automation

When handling high-value items, the importance of each delivery increases. Warehouses supplying the industrial market face losing out on big payments if something goes wrong. Industrial warehouse automation will increase your supply chain’s speed, efficiency, and overall resilience, leaving less room for errors.

Despite having much in common with eCommerce and consumer-directed retail, services and solutions for increased warehouse performance need adapting to suit industrial-size orders. The need for solutions, configuration, and capacity is different.

Warehouse automation benefits for industrial companies include: