How to Reduce Warehouse Waste with Autonomous Mobile Robots
Dec 13, 2022
Unused inventory surplus and waste can diminish the ability to achieve efficient and sustainable warehousing. Leftover materials can clog workflows, but without visibility, workers won’t know what to do with it and costs could rise. Studies show that nearly 8% of surplus stock globally will ultimately end up as waste, with about $163 billion of inventory tossed annually. More companies are adding additional inventory to not risk empty-handed consumers, but this ultimately leads to wasted stock and lost productivity.
Instead, more distributors are shifting their focus to removing waste and creating more sustainable and efficient warehousing to meet consumer demands and control costs. When a warehouse reduces its energy consumption and avoids wasteful energy, it reallocates energy to more important areas to boost operational efficiency. Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) can create supply chain sustainability with
1. Automated recycling and waste removal - When you’re looking at your returns, packing, kitting, manufacturing, or shipping processes, there is a lot of leftover material and clutter that needs to be cleared. Clutter that takes up space in your facility’s revenue-generating areas can slow down workflows and diminish productivity. Many warehouses have dedicated employees who will remove trash and recycle in the appropriate areas, but labor shortages can challenge this.
On the other hand, warehouse automation like AMRs can pick, collect and automatically transport corrugate, dunnage, and recyclables to processing areas away from busy production areas. The right AMR solutions can help support company green initiatives and certifications such as ISO 14001. Easy recyclable pickups and deliveries with robotics free up workers to work on tasks that require knowledgeable insights.
2. Reduced energy and improved functionality - The more energy a warehouse consumes leads to more waste and less efficient workflows. Enterprise robotics operate on low energy consumption and can function in dangerous environments that don’t require air conditioning or environmental protection. Robots increase labor capacity and labor durability while improving warehouse safety jobs of warehouse workers.
3. Save consumables and materials used in shipping - Manual processes and legacy devices lead to more device failures and manual errors. Broken parts and wasted materials in the warehouse process need to be scrapped and generate more waste. AMRs used in the warehouse deliver 99.99% order accuracy and up to 30% fewer labor costs to help reduce costs and errors.
Additionally, AMRs help warehouses with material handling and data collection to improve warehouse and overall supply chain efficiency. Over 620,000 robots are shipped to warehouses worldwide.
- Faster order fulfillment rates
- 3x more productivity
- Prioritized worker's safety
Overall, autonomous mobile robots can automate recycling processes, save consumables, and deliver low energy to reduce waste. Warehouse robots also deliver high accuracy and speed to warehouses to improve efficiency. Find out how automation solutions can create more sustainable warehousing .