Page 23 - Logistics News - May 2021

L O CATI O N TECHN O L O GY

Warehouses are using location

technology to meet surging

e-commerce demand

By John Wirthlin, courtesy SupplyChainBrain

Real-time location systems (RTLS) give warehouse operators greater visibility into their assets, ranging
from inventory and lift trucks to pick carts and even autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).

t’s official: COVID-19 has changed consumer Tracking assets within warehouse walls, RTLS
shopping habits forever. Last year, e-commerce technology creates systems of reality that help operators
Igrew 42 percent, with $813 billion reportedly determine where their assets are and how efficiently
being spent online. And in the first two months of they’re being managed. In picking operations, for example,
2021, consumers spent $121 billion online, resulting arming workers with a combination of location-based and
in year-over-year growth of 34 percent. wearable technologies allows pickers to fulfil orders faster,
pick multiple orders at once, replenish products in-between
What does this mean for warehouse operators? picks and prioritise urgent orders.
For starters, it shows the urgent need for technology
applications that can help them get products to consumers Wearable heads-up displays that integrate with the
faster and more efficiently. In a survey of small- and warehouse management system (WMS) allow workers
medium-sized warehouse operators, conducted by to fulfil orders faster by giving them step-by-step visual
BizTechInsights on behalf of Zebra, 55 percent of picking instructions that point them directly to the right
respondents said they were planning to transform their bin. When a picker is done picking an order in Bin A, the
operations to gain real-time guidance, improve decision WMS can use the picker’s location to find the next closest
making and ensure that their performance was data-driven. order.
One type of technology helping warehouse operators meet
these new demands is real-time location systems (RTLS). If a nearby order isn’t available, the system can direct
the picker to do a quick cycle count in the next closest bin
RTLS gives warehouse operators greater visibility into or begin replenishing items. The WMS could also send a
their assets, ranging from inventory and lift trucks to pick collaborative robot, or cobot, to the picker’s location to pick
carts and even autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). The up a completed order or deliver returns for restocking in
technology goes further than traditional barcodes, using that aisle.
sensors to collect data without requiring line of sight.
Given that up to 60 percent of a picker’s time is spent
RTLS encompasses a wide range of location walking, such time savings can quickly add up and result in
technologies, from Bluetooth beacons and passive radio a significant increase in the number of orders picked each
frequency identification (RFID) to full-scale systems day.
that support constant communications between tagged L O GI S T I CS NEWS
assets and back-end processes. Many warehouse operators Passive RFID systems offer an affordable way to
are choosing to deploy a combination of location-based automate operations such as inbound and outbound
technologies to meet their needs in a cost-effective manner. processing. RFID systems eliminate the need for

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