ProMat 2013 was HOT, despite Chicago temperatures which hovered around zero degrees Fahrenheit for the entire week. During our time at the show, we talked with many warehouse automation technology vendors and over 50 prospects and clients in industries ranging from industrial distribution to direct-to-consumer apparel. When I go to an industry event with the size and stature of ProMat, I typically walk away with a confirmation that the situations we encounter in our practice on a daily basis are truly representative of what is happening on a broader scale. This year was no different. I’ve shared in this post a few of our takeaways, combining the perspective we gained from talking with both the users and creators of warehouse automation technology.
1. Voice: Voice-directed warehousing came up in about half of our conversations with prospects and customers. Commonwealth is currently involved with three voice implementations in our work with customers. Although Voice has been around since the 1990s, like many technologies in our industry, its adoption was slow. The use of voice technology is increasing rapidly due to its decreasing price tag, flexibility, and the ability of voice providers to actually enable new workflows and functionality without the need to replace their WMS systems. At ProMat, the voice technology booths were jam-packed.
2. Continuing traction with customizable box assembly: These new packaging machines allow you to customize the size and shape of a box based on the contents destined for it. Instead of being confined to just a few box sizes in an operation, this system gives you an endless number of box size options, saving on dunnage, box storage space requirements, box erecting labor, waste, and transportation costs, to name a few benefits. These machines take an input of flat corrugated paperboard and then they cut, erect and glue sturdy boxes in real time. At the show, we came across two companies in this space, Freebox and Packsize, with two very different business models. With Freebox, you buy the machine upfront, with Packsize, you are given the machine with a contract to purchase the paperboard directly from Packsize.
3. E-Commerce: Everyone was talking about it – from the cart vendors to the AS/RS manufacturers. And, most importantly, it is on the radar of our customers and prospects. Companies that were traditionally in the direct-to-consumer space have invested in warehouse automation technology and will continue to do so to accommodate higher volumes. Many of these companies are re-evaluating their geographic networks, trying to decide if e-commerce should stand-alone in function and geography, or if multi-channel fulfillment centers are more-effective. Some brick-and-mortar retailers who have recently added e-commerce capabilities for the first time are not yet seeing the volumes to warrant huge operational changes. They are watching and waiting.
3B. On a related note, many of our conversations turned to Amazon and their rapid fire strategy for opening distribution centers and what’s happening with the Kiva acquisition. More to come on this…it’s a story of its own.
4. Continuing with the E-commerce theme: Goods-to-picker systems seem to be more relevant to a variety of companies. The Dematic booth was front and center and full of people. Upon arrival we were escorted up three flights of stairs to a cat walk with a plexi-glass floor so that we could get a better look below at their new Multishuttle2 for automated storage and retrieval of cases, totes and trays. This unit featured a new “telescoping width” extractor to grab items of varying widths. We also watched an interesting video in the SSI Schaeffer booth showcasing a unique AS/RS system that was installed in the C&S Wholesale Grocers DC in York, Pennsylvania. The system receives single SKU pallets, strips each layer off, and puts the layer away on a tray into an AS/RS. Then for customer orders, the tray is retrieved, individual cases are picked from the tray (fully automated), and a robotic palletizer builds multi-SKU pallets that seem like they could only be built by a human being. A truly impressive installation of warehouse automation.
5. The software shift: Although it seems like there is always a breaking story in the news about a supply chain software acquisition, we believe two recent acquisitions are changing the landscape. Of course, there was JDA’s acquisition of RedPrairie to create the first mega-company of its kind (read our story: What the JDA-RedPrairie Merger Means to You) and then there was the less publicized, but equally noteworthy acquisition of Knighted by Intelligrated…the first WMS acquisition by a major material handling equipment manufacturer in years. Hopefully this partnership will fulfill the dream that many material handling equipment vendors have had of being able to offer a genuine WMS system with the ability to interface seamlessly with machine level controls.
Tell us about your experience at ProMat 2013. What struck you as groundbreaking or noteworthy in the warehouse automation solutions you encountered? Leave a reply below.