The State of Robotics in Logistics part of supply chain

1. State of Robotics Technology in Logistics part of Supply Chain
Background
Since decades, Robots are being used in
manufacturing side of Supply Chain to enhance
productivity, maintain quality, and control cost.
Robots are also used extensively in warehouse
management and distribution centres. In this
report we will focus on use of robotics beyond
manufacturing and into Logistics side of Supply
Chain.
Need of Robotics in Logistics sector
Forrester Research predicts 10% YoY growth for
online retail in Europe and US. Online Retail will be
much higher in Asia especially in China and India
than western world.
Two issues that will make situation more
compelling in the logistics world:
 Ecommerce boom will require huge number of
additional workforce that needed for parcel
shipments.
 Decline in the size of available workforce due to
shrinking population levels in the western
World
Challenges for Logistics Robots
Until recently, robots have been stationary, blind and relatively unintelligent.
They can perform same function over again and again.
Logistics Robots require much more functionality :
 Need more agility to handle wide array of different parts of various shapes
in various type of combination.
 Intelligent robots that could see, move, and react to its environment
 Need robots that can work in collaboration with humans and safer to use
 Cost effective to be used in large scale operations for logistics sector.
Current state of Logistic Robots
Research shows that 80% of current warehouse are manually operated with no
supporting automation. 15% of current warehouses are mechanized with
material handling automation such as conveyors, goods to picker solution,
Automated sorting and retrieval system, Automated Guided vehicles, etc.
Some of the new technology advancements which are currently available or
under development includes:
 Container Unloading Robots : DHL has developed a prototype ‘Parcel
Robot’. The robot is positioned in front of a container to unload and uses its
laser to scan all the boxes. An integrated computer analyses the various sizes
of parcel and determines the optimal unloading sequence.
 Stationary and Mobile Piece Picking Robots: Stationary piece picking robots
can pick up a shelf of goods and bring entire shelf to picker who stays in one
spot. Mobile robots can move around warehouse shelves and pick items like
a human would. It provides just-in-time object delivery to the workbench
 Robots for Co-packing and Customization works.
 Home Delivery Robots: UK based Starship Technologies have developed a
prototype robot that can drive on sidewalks & deliver directly to consumers.
Technological Drivers
Low cost Touch Sensor Collaborative Robot that can
work alongside workers
5 Finger Gripping Hand
Exo skeleton
Future Prospects
 Mobile and self contained robots which will be
coordinated through advanced WMS and
planning software to track inventory
 Employees can train Robots through simple
interface
 Automated unloading and sorting of parcels
according to final destinations.
 Self driving trucks and drones for last mile
delivery
Source: “A DPDHL perspective on implication and use cases for the logistics industry”, by DHL Trend Research, 2016