Trends In The E-commerce Parcel Fulfillment Markets

Best practices are changing for fulfillment based on robotics and artificial intelligence.  Today there are only a handful of robotic fulfillment companies and technology resources that make workable robotics for fulfillment but that will change very soon. 

Robotics- Every warehouse has some type of automation but what we are seeing today is that vacuum enhanced gripping with the right type of arm reach is opening the door for some easy pick and pack opportunities.  As these develop into more of a finger based recognition of placement, things will only improve and be faster.  Today's limitations of weight and size will be slowly vaporized into full blown case pick and master case building on a unit pick scale.

Overcoming obstacles to deploy- today the ability to deploy easy fulfillment robotics has been infused with capital and technology to really make this more like plug and play.  Integration is the key to robotic success.   Data security and accuracy is achieved with robotics communicates with clarity of all activity.

Perspective- There are some robotic fulfillment centers like Nimble.ai who are also selling their robotics to other fulfillment companies to press the robotic fulfillment process forward.  The reason is that it is possible to see a greater ROI if a company manages their own fulfillment based on the fact that their items are easily robotic managed.  It is a risk to sell to competitors but in the end, major brands will be lining up to cash in on this value. 

Economies of Scale- eventually the best in class and easiest to plug and play robotics will win the pursuit of mass market appeal.  Today their are many players but really when it comes down to the right robotics for mass fulfillment there are only a few good ones. 

Cost to Serve or Operate- this is the ice cream on the cake.   The end result is a major decline in per pick and per order costs.  Robotics can deliver success 100% error free and every day of the week.  This removes the largest cost which is labor.  It also expands the other cost which is greater visibility.  Today and even more tomorrow, we will see greater visibility into true fulfillment costs along the order life cycle.

Acceptance- as with anything, you have the early adopters and you have the "wait and see" companies.  Today we have gone beyond early adoption and in fact if you are not looking at robotic fulfillment companies you may miss the boat of amazing cost savings.  These companies are highly backed by capital and are painting costs that will tear through the market.   Using the human person to fulfill your goods will soon be very uncommon, unless your goods are heavy, awkward or other unique characteristics. 

Summary-

1. Review your product offering and see how aligned it is with robotics.  Key items are: Weight, units per box, type of item and volume.
2. Review robotics in the market place to determine your best strategy forward.  If you have high volume, you may want to look at subscription robotic options so that you can upgrade as needed.  If you are mid range volume, look for that right robotic fulfillment company like Nimble.ai.  (as an example)
3. Data. Data. Data - Make sure you know what data is important to you and now with robotics, ask for that data to be produced for you vs you producing the reporting.
4. since labor rates will not be going up, be sure to lock in your pick and order rates, storage, etc.

How to start?- Reach out to us and we will help you get started.  Even if we don't work together, we know enough to get you on the right track.