Robotics: A much needed panacea

Robotics: A much needed panacea

A logistics expert presents some insights into how automation is transforming the instant delivery landscape in India. Ever wondered how a product ordered on a popular e-commerce site reaches you the same day Before arrival, it exchanges several hands and passes through multiple touch points. So, if the packet is on or before time, the credit goes to the logistics management by the seller company. On the other hand, if it is not on time or has wrong items in it, the company may have lost a customer to the competition, forever. This scenario explains the importance of logistics for e-commerce business. However, this is not merely limited to the e-commerce industry. Several other industries as such retail, pharma, healthcare, automobile, and hospitality etc. have been aiming to develop competence in logistics management. Warehouse operations are the first touch point for any logistics service provider and make up about 60 per cent of the entire supply chain management process. Therefore, focussing on efficiency and accuracy on this part is critical for businesses.

A typical warehouse has three broad operations i.e. receiving the incoming goods, storing at the right place, and sending out to the right location. However, the volume and diversity of items, dispatch locations, size of consignments, specific protocols (First in First Out, First Manufactured First Out, and First Expiry First Out etc.) and the pressing need to optimally utilize the expensive real estate makes it extremely important to automate the warehouses. Imagine if a warehouse needs to send out 50,000 packages in a day that carry 1,000 different items (or combinations of it) across 5,000 different regions. Also, these items may be required to be picked up based respective protocols. Apart from the high operational cost, the complexity of operations may bring in errors and slip ups. Hence, it is important to transform this part of the value chain through robotic solutions in order to bring efficiency and accuracy in warehouse operations and to enhance user experience across multiple industries. However, fragmented, unorganised, chaotic, and inefficient are some of the adjectives currently associated with the Indian logistics industry. Warehouses face high cost and lead time due, wrong shipments lead to reverse logistics, and inaccurate documentation. Robotics solutions can eliminate these challenges and bring the Indian logistics industry at par with its global peers. For example, by cutting down the transportation cycle for perishable products, companies can deliver faster, increase penetration, and grow their business exponentially. On the other hand, not automating the warehouses will stagnate the growth of many industries and will hamper the prospects of competing with global players (who leverage automated warehouses). Therefore, automating the warehouses is not a choice but a business need (deploy or perish). Several leading e-commerce and logistics players have transformed their supply chain using advanced robotic

technology by GreyOrange, leading to multiple business benefits. GreyOrange focuses and invests heavily in R&D, designing, and developing its own hardware and software. The indigenously developed robotic systems, the GreyOrange Butler and the GreyOrange Sorter, automate complex warehouse processes, optimise space utilisation, reduce operating expenses, eliminate errors, pilferage and stock damages, and help in real time inventory audit, thereby increasing the overall warehouse efficiency manifold. GreyOrange is headquartered in Singapore and has operations in India, Hong Kong and Japan. Going forward, the company will expand its presence to further regions. Markets like the Middle East, China and Europe have shown interest and demand for warehouse automation and are on GreyOrange's radar. Apart from e-commerce and logistics, GreyOrange is also gearing up to transform industries like automobile, retail, FMCG, pharma etc. In the coming days, as more and more companies understand the importance of automating their warehouses, companies like GreyOrange will play an extremely important role in disrupting supply chains across industries.

Yaduvendra Singh is head of sales & marketing at GreyOrange, a start-up which designs, manufactures and deploys advanced robotics systems for automation at distribution and fulfilment centres.

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