EN 
IT Logistics, and in particular the warehouse, has undergone a strong push to change to adapt to the evolution of production systems and new market demands; on the one hand customers require increasingly higher levels of service (frequent deliveries, small orders, customizations, etc.), on the other the company needs to reduce management costs and increase the efficiency of operations to improve own competitiveness.
“In the next few years, your warehouse worker could work side by side with robots“. At first glance it might seem absurd, but the combination of technological development and rapid changes in the global economy could make it happen This statement is a very real possibility.
The clear reduction in delivery times required (Lead Time of a single day or even, in some cases, a few hours), the need to simultaneously increase the effectiveness and efficiency of order preparation and the significant progress made in the research and development of new automation tools and robots will make it normal, even desirable, for the future to find humans and robots working side by side in warehouses.
Corporate logistics must therefore evolve and innovate, acting on the following levers:
- reorganization of spaces and structures
- review of toolsand equipment
- reorganization of service providers and working methods
Consumer expectations will therefore give a strong boost to investments in reorganization projects, in dedicated software and in material handling technologies, in a scenario that sees both manufacturing and distribution companies in continuous evolution. The advantages of these investments will be multiple: advice, automation And Information technology they could make logistics processes possible with zero errors and significantly increase productivity, service level and surface yield.
The factors that most of all push logistics towards changes in the way of designing, organizing and managing the warehouse are:
- L'increase constant of items managed in registry and the consequent need to keep inventories under control;
- The change radical of order profile of customers (more lines per order, fewer pieces per line)
- attention to productivity and accuracy in preparing orders
- the need to have shorter delivery times and, at the same time, lower shipping costs;
- the need to adapt to new ways of collaboration with suppliers (consignment stock, VMI, strategic outsourcing, etc.);
- the need to better manage i different sales channels (especially e-commerce);
- the increasingly important development of green initiatives (such as the reduction or recycling of the material used for packaging or shipping, containment of volumes shipped, etc.).
The investments for the warehouse, consequently, will have the objective of managing and overcoming these challenges and will mainly be directed towards process reorganization/innovation projects, software tools (WMS and TMS) and material handling technologies. Particular attention will certainly also be given to the analysis and management of "big data". The strong trend towards the centralization of distribution networks (single Ce.Di.) which has manifested itself in recent decades in favor of a greater number of peripheral warehouses which have the aim of serving customers better (above all faster) will also be reversed.
According to important research commissioned by Zebra Technologies and entitled “Warehouse Vision Study“, seven out of ten companies plan to increase investments in logistics by 2020 and the physical distribution of goods it is finally starting to be perceived by companies, we add no longer just as a cost but also as an opportunity. The top management of companies, according to the study in question, is starting to see in modern management of the supply chain, and in particular of the warehouse, strong potential to increase business and differentiate its brand from its competitors.
The situation today, however, is clearly different from what is expected in the future; many researches in the field of the Supply Chain demonstrate that currently in Italy around the 80% warehouses, hubs and distribution centers do not use any form of automation, around the 15% is equipped with simple mechanization (such as conveyor belts and other similar systems) and only the remaining part (5%) uses actual automation.
THIS SITUATION IS DESTINED TO UNDERGO A PRETTY RAPID EVOLUTION AND LOGISTICS MANAGERS MUST PREPARE THEMSELVES TO TAKE UP AND WIN THIS CHALLENGE.
The redesign of logistics and warehouse processes must start from careful research and analysis of the critical points of the existing situation, from a clear definition of objectives and from an in-depth knowledge of what the market can offer.