Blog Posts Ecommerce Drives Need for Fulfillment Automation
Key Takeaways
- Ecommerce growth poses a significant labor challenge for order fulfillment operations today.
- Many retailers and brands are looking to automation technology to help reduce their labor dependency.
- Robotics technology is particularly promising for fulfillment operations.
For order fulfillment operations overwhelmed by rapid ecommerce growth, technology may be the best defense.
In a new Q&A with Digital Commerce 360, Mike Jennison, Saddle Creek’s vice president of supply chain engineering, discusses how fulfillment automation can add much-needed scalable capacity for retailers and brands.
Following is an excerpt…
Automating Fulfillment to Reduce Labor Dependency
Now more than a year into COVID, what are the biggest fulfillment challenges facing retailers and brands?
Labor is the Number 1 challenge today. Ecommerce fulfillment is much more labor intensive than traditional warehousing operations. Finding and keeping warehouse workers has become extremely challenging in today’s competitive environment.
With ecommerce growth expected to continue at an aggressive pace, retailers and brands need to be prepared for dramatic spikes in online order volume. And of course, peak season is just around the corner. Having the ability to scale to meet demand is critical.
Are automation technologies ready to address these challenges?
We’re seeing massive demand for automation technology in the fulfillment space. Many of the latest developments are focused on helping operations to address the need for greater productivity, reduce labor dependency and flex to accommodate fluctuations.
As competition fuels development and drives cost reductions, automation is getting faster, more effective and more economical – improving the business case for implementation.
The most significant advancements involve robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and vision systems. Robotics technology has become much more sophisticated and promises to deliver real value for fulfillment operations.
To learn what’s making robotics more attractive for fulfillment, read the full article on page 6 of the new special report from Digital Commerce 360.
Related to: Fulfillment Technology, Labor Management, Selling Online