Warehouse automation can hold the answer to those challenges, but the experts say it’s important to move carefully and deliberately when embarking on your automation journey.
“Put a lot more planning in the design phase before you buy—more than you think you should,” says Kyle Brock, vice president of engineering for systems integrator S&H Systems. “If you’re trying to buy in a hurry, maybe put it off for a year. Buy at a time when you can [focus on the project].”
So before you jump head-first into that new automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), robotic piece-picking solution, or fleet of scalable autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), consider these three steps that can help put you on the path to a successful project.
FIND A TRUSTED PARTNER
The first step is to choose trusted experts to help you through the process. This often means hiring a systems integrator that will oversee the entire project, from planning and design to installation and go-live. Trust is an essential element of the relationship, according to Brown.
“Whether you’re a startup, a mom-and-pop business venturing into your first automation project, or a seasoned company, make sure that you find an integrator who is looking to be a partner in your automation journey—someone you can rely on and trust as an extension of your business as you grow,” he says. “That’s where we see the most success for our customers—when they let us in and trust us to be [right there] alongside them in their automation journey.”
That also means being transparent about your company’s capabilities, long-term plans, and goals for the project. When considering automation, be sure you are working with accurate peak-volume numbers and growth projections, for example.
“Number one, know your business,” Brown adds. “More often than you’d think, we hear from potential customer partners that don’t know their data. They need to figure out what they know and what they don’t know, and what they are trying to design for in the future—and we can help with that. Sometimes, customers present data as fact when, in reality, it was someone’s best guess at the time.”
In line with that, Brock says it’s important that customers understand and share any fluctuations in their business.
“In the beginning, it’s really important to understand the irregularities in your business throughout the year,” he explains, noting that designing a system to handle average and peak volume isn’t always enough. “Come to find out there are ad campaigns or slight SKU [stock-keeping unit] changes throughout the year that would [not conform with the way the system was designed to be used]. You really have to look at the data in a granular way to make sure the system can handle it.”
Another key point: Engage a partner that can help you “cut through the clutter” in the market, says Nick Patel, vice president of global solution design for systems integrator Fortna.
“Do your research. Don’t jump into the latest hype without the required due diligence,” Patel says. “You want to work with an integrator that is focused on process and solving your business problem. Otherwise, you might end up with a big capital investment in automation that does not get you the ROI you could have realized.”
PLAN—AND BE FLEXIBLE
Flexibility is another important piece of the planning puzzle—because businesses are always experiencing change, whether through acquisition, geographic expansion, product diversification, or otherwise. And no supply chain project is going to derail those larger decisions, Patel says.
“The way that my group approaches that [is to ensure that] every design we put forth is … super flexible and super scalable,” he says. “That generally allows our customers to pivot, within reason, to any changes that occur in the business. To really de-risk the implementation, you have to spend a whole lot of time up front making the design flexible.”
Brown concurs, adding that very few projects these days are “extremely straightforward.”
“When [my team] is feeling that way, I ask them to dig deeper,” he says. “Because there’s normally a ‘gotcha’ that’s going to pose future problems. You have to identify those problems and get ahead of them.”
Another factor to keep in mind: The ongoing costs of maintaining whatever system you ultimately install.
“This often gets missed until it’s too late in the game: really understanding the ongoing costs of the system [and how that affects] your ROI,” Brock says, adding that any robotic or automation solution is going to be software-driven, which requires long-term support. “You have to understand the annual cost of that support and for upgrades over the years.”
TRAIN YOUR “SYSTEM EXPERT”
Last, but not least, make sure you appoint an internal project champion—someone charged with understanding the system and how to run it, inside and out.
“Some of our customer partners don’t fully understand, operationally, how to make the most of the warehouse automation solution that they just purchased—or they don’t fully understand how the system was designed to run,” Brown explains. “Even after months of meetings … there can sometimes be a disconnect between the end-user’s project team and its operations team. Even some really big-name customer partners of ours have fallen victim to this in the past. It can happen to anyone.”
Essentially, your integrator and technology partners will provide training on how to use the system, but your team needs someone who can tie everything together when it’s time to go live.
“We find it most impactful for our customers when they have either an operations team or really just a singular individual whose full-time job is to know everything there is to know about this new automation system,” says Brown. “Customers [can experience] operational challenges if they don’t have that system expert to really champion [and take] ownership of the system from within.”
These issues are becoming more acute as it becomes more affordable for companies to automate their warehouse operations.
“There’s a low barrier to entry now,” Brock adds, noting that small and mid-sized companies have access to solutions they might not have been able to afford a few years ago. “When we’re putting in automation, we make it clear that [if] we’re going to turn this system on in August of 2025, you need to make sure you have the right labor and resources in place to run it.”
For some companies, that means hiring outside experts with experience in running the system who can help develop that internal champion.
But whatever path you choose, collaboration is key.
“The most successful integrations that I’ve been a part of are those where my customers have been fiercely involved in a highly collaborative way to develop an end-to-end solution,” Patel adds. “We don’t do the project **ital{for} you; we do it **ital{with} you.”
