From the course: Implementing Supply Chain Management
Automation, robotics, and drones
- There are really exciting innovations emerging in the world of machines. Some people call these advanced manufacturing and distribution technologies, but for me, it's really about creating an advanced supply chain. So let's take a look at how automation is changing supply chain management. With artificial intelligence sensors and wireless communications, we're now able to build machines that know what's happening around them and that can respond quickly. That's enabling more automation, which basically means we're replacing human workers with robots of one sort or another. Robots are now common in large factories and in distribution centers. In many cases, they can lift heavier loads than people and they can work extremely fast. They don't take vacations, they don't change shifts, and they don't take lunch breaks. So robots can increase your efficiency by evening out the flow of your supply chain processes. While some robots work independently, others work side by side with people, basically acting like assistants These are called cobots. For example, there are cobots that will follow a human order picker around so that the person doesn't need to push a cart. Sometimes we still need people to operate the machines, but many robots operate on their own without a human providing guidance. We call these unmanned autonomous vehicles or drones. Drones might soon replace people in lots of jobs where we need to move products on the ground, in the air and over the ocean, and they're already being used for gathering inventory data and inspecting facilities. Any job where it's difficult to find employees with the skills to do a task properly is becoming a target for automation. And automation may be a good option in any supply chain process where your labor cost is a significant percentage of the overall process cost. So for example, if truck drivers are in short supply or if they're expensive to hire, then we'd expect to see companies looking to implement autonomous trucks in their supply chain. While there are lots of things technology can do, businesses generally make decisions to buy technology based on an ROI calculation. So the harder it is to find people with the skills to do a job, the more expensive it is to hire them, and the more dangerous the work, the more likely it is that companies will automate that process. Advanced manufacturing and distribution technologies are becoming more powerful and less expensive all the time. By understanding what they can do and where they can create the most value in your supply chain, you can make smart decisions when it comes to selecting and implementing automation technologies.
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