Logistics automation is the application of

computer software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

or automated machinery to improve the efficiency of

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

operations. Typically this refers to operations within a

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

distribution center A distribution center for a set of products is a warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning, which is stocked with products (goods) to be redistributed to retailers, to wholesalers, or directly to co ...

, with broader tasks undertaken by supply chain engineering systems and

enterprise resource planning Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the integrated management of main business processes, often in real time and mediated by software and technology. ERP is usually referred to as a category of business management software—typically a sui ...

systems. Logistics automation systems can powerfully complement the facilities provided by these higher level

computer systems A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These program ...

. The focus on an individual node within a wider logistics network allows systems to be highly tailored to the requirements of that node.

Components

Factory automation with KUKA industrial robots for palletizing food products like bread and toast at a bakery in Germany Logistics automation systems comprise a variety of hardware and software components: * Fixed machinery ** Automated storage and retrieval systems, including: *** Cranes serve a rack of locations, allowing many levels of stock to be stacked vertically, and allowing for higher storage densities and better space utilization than alternatives. *** In systems produced by Amazon Robotics, automated guided vehicles move items to a human picker. **

Conveyor A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transport of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow ...

s: Containers can enter automated conveyors in one area of the warehouse and, either through hard-coded rules or data input, be moved to a selected destination. *** Vertical carousels based on the

paternoster lift A paternoster (, , or ) or paternoster lift is a passenger elevator which consists of a chain of open compartments (each usually designed for two people) that move slowly in a loop up and down inside a building without stopping. Passengers can ...

system or using space optimization, similar to vending machines, but on a larger scale. ** Sortation systems: similar to conveyors but typically with higher capacity and able to divert containers more quickly. Typically used to distribute high volumes of small cartons to a large set of locations. **

Industrial robot An industrial robot is a robot system used for manufacturing. Industrial robots are automated, programmable and capable of movement on three or more axes. Typical applications of robots include welding, painting, assembly, disassembly, pick ...

s: four- to six-axis industrial robots, e.g. palleting

robots "\n\n\n\n\nThe robots exclusion standard, also known as the robots exclusion protocol or simply robots.txt, is a standard used by websites to indicate to visiting web crawlers and other web robots which portions of the site they are allowed to visi ...

, are used for palleting, depalleting, packaging, commissioning and order picking. ** Typically all of these will automatically identify and track containers using

barcode A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or o ...

s or, increasingly, RFID tags. * Motion

check weigher A checkweigher is an automatic or manual machine for checking the weight of packaged commodities. It is normally found at the offgoing end of a production line, production process and is used to ensure that the weight of a pack of the commodity ...

s may be used to reject cases or individual products that are under or over their specified weight. They are often used in kitting conveyor lines to ensure all pieces belonging in the kit are present. *

Mobile technology Mobile technology is the technology used for cellular communication. Mobile technology has evolved rapidly over the past few years. Since the start of this millennium, a standard mobile device has gone from being no more than a simple two-way pag ...

** Radio data terminals: these are handheld or truck-mounted terminals which connect by

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

to logistics automation software and provide instructions to operators moving throughout the warehouse. Many also have

scanners to allow identification of containers more quickly and accurately than manual keyboard entry. * Software ** Integration software: this provides overall control of the automation machinery and allows cranes to be connected to conveyors for seamless stock movements. ** Operational control software: provides low-level decision-making, such as where to store incoming containers, and where to retrieve them when requested. ** Business control software: provides higher-level functionality, such as identification of incoming deliveries/stock, scheduling

order fulfillment Order fulfillment (in British English: order fulfilment) is in the most general sense the complete process from point of sales inquiry to delivery of a product to the customer. Sometimes, it describes the more narrow act of distribution or the ...

, and assignment of stock to outgoing trailers.

Benefits of logistics automation

A typical warehouse or distribution center will receive stock of a variety of products from suppliers and store these until the receipt of orders from customers, whether individual buyers (e.g. mail order), retail branches (e.g.

chain store A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

s), or other companies (e.g.

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

rs). A logistics automation system may provide the following: * Automated goods in processes: Incoming goods can be marked with

s and the automation system notified of the expected stock. On arrival, the goods can be scanned and thereby identified, and taken via

conveyor A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transport of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow ...

s, sortation systems, and automated cranes into an automatically assigned storage location. * Automated Goods Retrieval for Orders: On receipt of orders, the automation system is able to immediately locate goods and retrieve them to a pick-face location. * Automated dispatch processing: Combining knowledge of all orders placed at the warehouse the automation system can assign picked goods into dispatch units and then into outbound loads. Sortation systems and conveyors can then move these onto the outgoing trailers. * If needed, re packaging to ensure proper protection for further distribution or to change the

package format A package format is a type of archive containing computer programs and additional metadata needed by package managers. While the archive file format itself may be unchanged, package formats bear additional metadata, such as a manifest file or cert ...

for specific retailers/customers. A complete warehouse automation system can drastically reduce the workforce required to run a facility, with human input required only for a few tasks, such as picking units of product from a bulk packed case. Even here, assistance can be provided with equipment such as pick-to-light units. Smaller systems may only be required to handle part of the process. Examples include automated storage and retrieval systems, which simply use cranes to store and retrieve identified cases or pallets, typically into a high-bay storage system which would be unfeasible to access using fork-lift trucks or any other means. The use of Automatic Guided Vehicles maximizes the output compared to humans since they can do repetitive tasks for long hours and with least to no supervision. An AGV is built and programmed for precision and accuracy thereby reducing the chances of errors in a warehouse, especially when dealing with fragile goods.

Automation software

Software or cloud-based SaaS solutions are used for logistics automation which helps the supply chain industry in automating the

workflow A workflow consists of an orchestrated and repeatable pattern of activity, enabled by the systematic organization of resources into processes that transform materials, provide services, or process information. It can be depicted as a sequence o ...

as well as management of the system.Get Your Head Out of the Clouds
/ref> There are few generalized software available in the new market in the said topology. This is because there is no rule to generalize the system as well as work flow even though the practice is more or less the same. Most of the

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

companies do use one or the other of the custom solutions. But there are various software solutions that are being used within the departments of logistics. There are a few departments in Logistics, namely: Conventional Department, Container Department, Warehouse, Marine Engineering, Heavy Haulage, etc. ;Software used in these departments * Conventional department : CVT software / CTMS software. * Container

Trucking Road transport or road transportation is a type of transport using roads. Transport on roads can be roughly grouped into the transportation of goods and transportation of people. In many countries licensing requirements and safety regulations e ...

: CTMS software * Warehouse : WMS/WCS ;Improving Effectiveness of Logistics Management # Logistical Network # Information # Transportation # Sound Inventory Management # Warehousing, Materials Handling & Packaging

References

* Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, {{Packaging Freight transport Automation Packaging machinery

Components

Benefits of logistics automation

Automation software

See also

References