Have you seen HAL 9000 in the iconic film ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, Sonny in Isaac Asimov’s ‘I Robot’, David in ‘Prometheus’, or ARTI (artificial intelligence system) in the recent film ‘2036 Origin Unknown’?
These films challenge credibility, are fabulous, thrilling and exciting. It is reassuring that these AI robots are works of fiction. Will they remain make-believe, or is this robotic artificial intelligence fantasy becoming a reality, now that we are in the 21st Century?
You will probably watch some of these films on your Smart TV, but will AI (Artificial Intelligence) facilitate Smart warehousing?
Whichwarehouse is aware that in a marketplace that is increasingly globalised and interconnected, the way fresh fruit and vegetables are carried from origin to destination is changing. The expansion of online distribution integrating New Distribution Hubs (temperature controlled warehouses), is at the heart of this food ecommerce innovation.
The supply chain itself is in a continual state of flux, shaped and re-shaped by the emergence of new markets and shifting patterns of consumer demand. Distributors are rising to these challenges and aided by technological advances are improving their efficiency.
As last mile delivery becomes the focus for all retailers, the increasing tendency for warehouse space to be used as dark stores is impacting the warehousing and logistics industries in three main ways:
Every business focuses on various areas of improvement such as cost cutting and customer service, but for order fulfillment organisations these two areas in particular, can be linked to drive greater benefits.
The freight industry has two major expenses, fuel and depreciation – the condition of vehicles (and plant, for order fulfillment companies) has a direct effect on your profit, so maintenance and preventive action are always cheaper and more effective than major repairs or delayed maintenance that creates greater levels of cost.
Moving freight and delivering orders are both essential, and expensive. … Read More
Road haulage has long been at the sharp end of environmental awareness, but warehouse and distribution centres are increasingly focusing on improving their environmental performance for three main reasons:
The world of commerce is in turmoil with everything from prescriptions to new cars being ordered online. Wherever there’s an online order, there’s usually a delivery need. It’s a challenge to every part of a business, but where there’s a challenge there’s also a chance to beat the opposition, and this guide will help you chart your path through the ecommerce fulfilment jungle.
There was a happy dream a few years ago that we’d all collect our online orders from lockers in convenient locations – shops, local libraries, even the gym…so what happened? Well while 74% … Read More
Warehouse productivity depends on a number of elements – not the least of which is the human factor.
Falls, workplace injuries and accidents account for a large percentage of lost productivity in UK warehousing and logistics and addressing this situation can resolve a large problem for small firms in particular. But how can the average business optimise productivity without incurring cost?
We’re always told to ‘measure what matters’ but for warehouse productivity, the slogan should really be, ‘what goes unmeasured remains unproductive’. The beginning of effective tracking is to establish what you’re actually measuring:
Supply chains are an increasingly important part of any business strategy. As the world changes, they are also becoming more complex: transnational regulations, language and currency variations, blockchain issues, the creation and maintenance of local supplier relationships all factor into the decisions that need to be made.
Moving to a third party logistics provider is one way that many organisations resolve their difficulties with the supply chain, but 3PL is not a hands-off experience – working in partnership not only allows you to get the best from this relationship but can also give you the opportunity to plan for the … Read More
China is described as a powerhouse and that’s nothing but the truth. With a population of nearly 1.4 billion and a Gross Domestic Product of $9.2 trillion dollars, it’s the second largest economy in the world. It’s also the most popular manufacturing location worldwide. What does this mean for UK logistics managers?
Simply put, many of the goods that were previously warehoused in the UK to ship around the country are now warehoused elsewhere and shipped in. This puts more pressure on shipping container ports like Felixstowe and shortens the amount of … Read More
Southampton is the UK’s busiest vehicle handling port and Europe’s foremost turnaround cruise port, contributing £2 billion to the UK economy every year. Less that two miles from the M27, and with direct rail links to the UK railway network it is also served by Southampton International Airport.
The port is also a substantial container gateway and its routes to Asia are about to be improved with a new service from Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) that offers a round trip route comprising Pusan-Shanghai-Ningbo-Kaohsiung-Shenzhen-Singapore-Colombo-Rotterdam-Hamburg-Southampton-Singapore-Hong Kong-Pusan. Whilst the service will comprise a mere … Read More