In the era of e-commerce, digitalization, and sales realms, scalable automation makes sense, because speed, growth, and efficiency are key. When it comes to quick and precise home deliveries, what retailers spring to mind? Just a few years ago, many consumers would point to a particular retailer who consistently offered subscribers two-day delivery.
In a market that is highly competitive, the ‘Amazon Effect’ forces producers to offer more flexible pricing and encourages them to look toward automation as a solution for better customer satisfaction.
Continuing labor shortages and reduced accessibility to manual pickers means warehouses and distribution centers need all the advantages they can get in order to improve the customer experience by providing a rapid, accurate order fulfillment service.
As well as speeding up delivery times, automation can ensure 100% accuracy in order fulfillment, minimizing the possibility of incorrect or incomplete orders, which can be frustrating for both customers and retailers.
The era of e-commerce and smart warehouse
E-commerce is a trend that is not going anywhere, which means providers must adapt their delivery operations to meet the ever-increasing demand. Adobe reports that global e-commerce may exceed $4.2 trillion by 2021, with forecasts for an even greater increase in 2022.
To satisfy this demand, automated warehouses are able to improve efficiency and operate 24/7, making it possible for customers to receive their packages sooner. With the global supply chain challenges, retail delivery services have struggled to keep up with the delivery standards set by pre-pandemic consumer trends.
Even Amazon, the king of expedited delivery, experienced supply chain issues and shortages during Prime Day, the largest sales day of the year. Using advanced material handling systems combined with robot technologies, automation helps simplify the challenges of intralogistics so that customers can receive their orders more rapidly.
Author Derek Rickard
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