Complete 16 pages APA formatted article: Warehouse Automation Technology. Slack and Lewis (2007) observed that excessive usage of automated functions has made organizations rely on technical procedures. Any sort of stoppage in automated processes also brings the service delivery process to a halt. This paper mainly concentrates on analyzing the risks linked to the computerized functioning of warehouses and producing a contingency plan to deal with these risks for automated warehouses.
Complete 16 pages APA formatted article: Warehouse Automation Technology. Slack and Lewis (2007) observed that excessive usage of automated functions has made organizations rely on technical procedures. Any sort of stoppage in automated processes also brings the service delivery process to a halt. This paper mainly concentrates on analyzing the risks linked to the computerized functioning of warehouses and producing a contingency plan to deal with these risks for automated warehouses.
Warehouse automation is one of the most followed trends in the contemporary operations management process. With the changes in the operational process and the development of the technological aspects, firms are trying to align their supply chain with technological improvements (Kucera, 2012). Aras and Crowther (2012) noted that warehouse automation is mainly implemented in the business processes to reduce the cost of operations and accelerate the production and delivery process. New equipment such as cranes, conveyors, automated shelves and shelf carriers, shuttle cars, and so on can be observed in almost all businesses’ high production centers. Even the necessary activities of a warehouse, such as inventory management, calculation of stock, logistics tracking, and so on, are being performed with bar codes and scanners, Radio Frequency ID (RFID), etc. (Goetsch and Davis, 2010). Lewis et al. (2010) noted that warehouse automation had helped the business houses reduce the space required for their activities. time and resources have also been reduced dramatically with the help of warehouse automation. Apart from this, Barth and Wolff (2009) stated that automated warehouses functioning with digitized equipment had recorded a significant decrease in the release of carbon footprint. Considering the supply chain systems of prominent manufacturers (Gupta and Campbell, 2009), theoretical concepts such as lean or agile functions always concentrate on connecting various functional departments of the warehouse, and automated technology has simplified the process. Warehouse automation has been considered by Aras and Crowther (2012) as an inseparable part of the existing business systems based on the continuous changes in the market forces of demand and supply. Aras and Crowther further stated to quickly adapt to the changing customer demands and behaviors and also respond to the intense competition in the market, business houses are trying to increase the fluency in the warehouse activities, and automated systems such as conveyor belts or robotics have significantly reduced the time and expenses of the concerned process. .
