Editing Logistics automation

{{Refimprove|date=October 2014}}
{{short description|Application of computer software or automated machinery}}
[[Image:BLW Automated postal sorting equipment (1).jpg|thumb|300px|Mail rotating sorter for ordering arriving mail in a straight line]]

'''Logistics automation''' is the application of [[computer software]] or automated machinery to [[logistics]] operations in order to improve its efficiency. Typically this refers to operations within a [[warehouse]] or [[distribution center]], with broader tasks undertaken by [[supply chain engineering]] systems and [[enterprise resource planning]] systems.

Logistics automation systems can powerfully complement the facilities provided by these higher level [[computer systems]]. The focus on an individual node within a wider logistics network allows systems to be highly tailored to the requirements of that node.

==Components==
[[image:Factory Automation Robotics Palettizing Bread.jpg|thumb|Factory automation with [[KUKA]] industrial robots for palletizing food products like bread and toast at a bakery in Germany]]

[[Image:Mail sorting assembly line.jpg|thumb|Mail sorting line: mail is identified through [[bar-code]] scanning and automatically sorted by destination.]]

[[Image:Enfardadora automatica.jpg|thumb|Automatic wrapping machine for [[unit load]]s]]

[[Image:4051 lpa.jpg|thumb|Automatic box [[labeling]] machine]]
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2019|reason=Lots of generic-sounding terms. Without a cite that shows these are standard classification names, it looks like just a bunch of (pretty obvious) OR.}}
Logistics automation systems comprise a variety of hardware and software components:

* Fixed machinery
** [[Automated storage and retrieval system]]s, including:
*** Cranes serve a rack of locations, allowing many levels of stock to be stacked vertically, and allowing for higher storage densities and better space utilization than alternatives.
*** In systems produced by [[Amazon Robotics]], [[automated guided vehicle]]s move items to a human picker.
** [[Conveyor]]s: Containers can enter automated conveyors in one area of the warehouse and, either through hard-coded rules or data input, be moved to a selected destination.
*** Vertical carousels based on the [[paternoster lift]] system or using space optimization, similar to vending machines, but on a larger scale.
** [[Sortation]] systems: similar to conveyors but typically with higher capacity and able to divert containers more quickly.  Typically used to distribute high volumes of small cartons to a large set of locations.
** [[Industrial robot]]s: four- to six-axis industrial robots, e.g. [[Palletizer|palletizing robots]], are used for palletizing, depalletizing, packaging, commissioning and order picking.
** Typically all of these will automatically identify and track containers using [[barcode]]s or, increasingly, [[RFID]] tags.
* Motion [[check weigher]]s may be used to reject cases or individual products that are under or over their specified weight.  They are often used in [[kitting]] conveyor lines to ensure all pieces belonging in the kit are present.
*[[Mobile technology]]
**[[Mobile data terminal|Radio data terminals]]: these are handheld or truck-mounted terminals which connect by [[radio]] to logistics automation software and provide instructions to operators moving throughout the warehouse. Many also have [[barcode]] scanners to allow identification of containers more quickly and accurately than manual keyboard entry.
* Software
** Integration software: this provides overall control of the automation machinery and allows cranes to be connected to conveyors for seamless stock movements.
** Operational control software: provides low-level decision-making, such as where to store incoming containers, and where to retrieve them when requested.
** Business control software: provides higher-level functionality, such as identification of incoming deliveries/stock, scheduling [[order fulfillment]], and assignment of stock to outgoing trailers.

==Benefits of logistics automation==
A typical warehouse or distribution center will receive stock of a variety of products from suppliers and store these until the receipt of orders from customers, whether individual buyers (e.g. mail order), retail branches (e.g. [[chain store]]s), or other companies (e.g. [[wholesale]]rs).  A logistics automation system may provide the following:

* Automated goods in processes: Incoming goods can be marked with [[barcode]]s and the automation system notified of the expected stock.  On arrival, the goods can be scanned and thereby identified, and taken via [[conveyor]]s, sortation systems, and automated cranes into an automatically assigned storage location.
* Automated Goods Retrieval for Orders: On receipt of orders, the automation system is able to immediately locate goods and retrieve them to a pick-face location.
* Automated [[wikt:dispatch|dispatch]] processing: Combining knowledge of all orders placed at the warehouse the automation system can assign picked goods into dispatch units and then into outbound loads.  Sortation systems and conveyors can then move these onto the outgoing trailers.
* If needed, re[[packaging]] to ensure proper protection for further distribution or to change the [[package format]] for specific retailers/customers.

A complete warehouse automation system can drastically reduce the workforce required to run a facility, with human input required only for a few tasks, such as picking units of product from a bulk packed case.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Benefits of Logistics Warehouse Automation
|url=https://www.aeologic.com/blog/benefits-of-logistics-warehouse-automation/ |access-date=2022-10-27 |website=aeologic.com |date=27 October 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> Even here, assistance can be provided with equipment such as pick-to-light units.  Smaller systems may only be required to handle part of the process.  Examples include automated storage and retrieval systems, which simply use cranes to store and retrieve identified cases or [[Pallet|pallets]], typically into a high-bay storage system which would be unfeasible to access using fork-lift trucks or any other means. The use of [[Automated guided vehicle|Automatic Guided Vehicles]] maximizes the output compared to humans since they can do repetitive tasks for long hours and with least to no supervision. An AGV is built and programmed for precision and accuracy thereby reducing the chances of errors in a warehouse, especially when dealing with fragile goods.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Integrated Technologies for Logistical Efficiency - SIPMM Publications |url=https://publication.sipmm.edu.sg/integrated-technologies-logistical-efficiency/#Automated_Guided_Vehicles |access-date=2022-09-04 |website=publication.sipmm.edu.sg |date=13 July 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Automation software==
Software or [[Cloud computing|cloud]]-based SaaS solutions are used for logistics automation which helps the [[supply chain]] industry in automating the [[workflow]] as well as management of the system.<ref>[http://www.gtnexus.com/blog/cloud-technology-platform/get-your-head-out-of-the-clouds/ Get Your Head Out of the Clouds]</ref> [[Wharton School|Knowledge @ Wharton]] staff writers noted in 2011 that some manufacturers and retailers were weathering the [[Great Recession]] "by signing up for pay-as-you-go logistics services available through the Internet 'cloud'". They identified the benefits and reduced costs which came from sharing information about shipments with suppliers, hauliers and end users.<ref>Knowledge @ Wharton staff writers, [https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/supply-chain-management-growing-global-complexity-drives-companies-into-the-cloud/ Supply-chain Management: Growing Global Complexity Drives Companies into the 'Cloud'], published 12 January 2011, accessed 23 May 2024</ref>

There is little generalized software available in this market. This is because there is no rule to generalize the system as well as work flow even though the practice is more or less the same. Most of the [[commerce|commercial]] companies do use one or the other of the custom solutions.

But there are various software solutions that are being used within the departments of logistics. There are a few departments in Logistics, namely: Conventional Department, Container Department, Warehouse, Marine Engineering, Heavy Haulage, etc.

;Software used in these departments

* Conventional department : CVT software / CTMS software.
* Container [[truck driver|Trucking]]: CTMS software
* Warehouse : [[Warehouse Management System|WMS]]/WCS

;Improving Effectiveness of Logistics Management

# Logistical Network
# Information
# Transportation
# Sound Inventory Management
# Warehousing, Materials Handling & Packaging

==See also==

*[[Automation]]
*[[Autonomous logistics]]
*[[Material handling equipment]]
*[[Self-driving truck]]
*[[Automated storage and retrieval system]]
*[[Automated guided vehicle]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, {{ISBN|978-0-470-08704-6}}

{{Packaging}}

[[Category:Freight transport]]
[[Category:Automation]]
[[Category:Packaging machinery]]
[[Category:Logistics]]