Is supply chain automation right for you?

The efficiency of retailers supply chain efficiency can be make or break, particularly during the crucial Christmas period. Recently both major supermarkets reportedly came under fire for failing to fulfil customer’s grocery orders during Christmas. 

Supply chain automation is proving to be a game changer for Australian e-retailer Catch of the Day as it has been able to increase the orders packed in a day from 6,000 to 10,000.

"Before we automated, we had 60 pickers walking six or seven kilometres every day to pick up to 6,000 orders across 2,000 products… Since automating, we have just four people picking and they are covering a lot less ground. Instead, our robots retrieve the goods, the pickers pick and a team of packers pack. We now pick 10,000 orders across up to 9,000 products with a significant change in labour costs and a halving in order cycle time. We now have the ability to get more products to customers in a much shorter timeframe,” says Jon Northorpe, Head of Logistics, Catch of the Day

Symbion Contract Logistics is also benefitting from supply chain automation, as outlined in a recent report. The technology enables over 10,000 units to be picked every hour, resulting in faster and more accurate processing of orders.

Benefits of automating your supply chain:

Efficiency gains

Technologically drive supply chains enable staff time to be better utilised, by eliminating the administrative burden’s associated with paper based systems.

Lower overheads

While there is a large capital outlay involved in implementing an automated system, the result is a supply chains with significantly lower overheads as the package lifecycle can be handles with minimal human intervention.

Customer satisfaction

The reduction in errors and increased speed of processing and hence delivery associated with automated systems significantly boost customer satisfaction.

Safety benefits

Minimal human intervention results in fewer forklifts and less manual handling. 

Having unfulfilled her childhood dream of becoming an international spy, Ellise is loving her position as Conference Production Manager at Akolade. Her favourite thing about the role is that it allows her to stay abreast of the latest news across a variety of industries while constantly learning from experts in their field.