How Material Handling Systems Improve Warehouse Efficiency
Things are always moving in a warehouse. From finished products to the raw materials go on quite a long journey before they are actually packed for the order.
This is why it’s crucial to have a proper material handling system to make sure that the materials are handled in a safe environment.
In fact, it is so essential that the global market for material handling is expected to reach a staggering $445.81 billion by 2034. (Which is huge, by the way)
For those who are still not familiar with what the material handling system is all about, it’s basically an integral part of a solid, reliable supply chain that ensures you’re warehouse in the best operational shape.
So, in this read, we will be diving deeper into all the intricacies of material handling systems along with how they can affect your warehouse operations.
Let’s start!
They Influence Your Expenses
Warehouses rely on automation to improve efficiency in their operations with the goal of decreasing expenses. These can be anything, starting from cutting-edge machines, robots, lightweight material handling equipment, and automated guided vehicles.
If you want to boost your operations, then, for starters, your warehouse should first identify various kinds of material handling equipment, and, concurrently, work on developing a plan that’s going to pinpoint the most effective ones for these purposes.
If your goal is to skimp on costs, then you should leverage the system that coordinates inputs and outputs. According to The Material Handler, material handling systems are going to significantly decrease labour expenses, and, simultaneously, improve safety and lower injury-related costs. The proper material handling systems can decrease expenses in the following ways:
Labour expenses – Material handling operations like picking tend to be very costly, which means that in these instances, your warehouse managers should opt for automated robots to reduce them.
Expenses concerning floor space – Machines like forklifts are capable of optimizing your floor space by employing the facility’s height to store all your inventory vertically. Narrow aisle AGVs, along with the reach truck AGVs completely eliminate the footprint necessary to access and store materials.
Picking expenses – Automation streamlines batch picking, and, at the same time, allows facilities to process group orders with different items, which is a lot more effective than humans.
They also impact workplace injuries – Material handling systems improve safety, meaning that work-related injuries will be drastically reduced. Unlike people, machines can seamlessly work for many hours without taking any breaks.
Do You Know?
According to GMinsights, the global market for material handling equipment was valued at $168 billion in 2023 and it is expected to grow by an average 5.5% CAGR between 2024 and 2032.
Material Handling Systems Can Assist With Sorting Of Different Materials And Goods
Sorting all goods typically involves arranging all the things that are situated in the warehouse by shipment. Dealing with a relatively small amount of goods isn’t too challenging and time-consuming, however, when it comes to larger amounts, it can oftentimes be very difficult.
In these types of situations, human error becomes very common, hence if you want to decrease the risk of it, then you should definitely resort to material handling systems because they are ideal for these purposes.
Numerous Warehouse Processes Are Simplified With These Systems
It’s always a good thing when you have a warehouse that’s perfectly organized because only then everything can function normally (referring to the flow of materials). It would be great if everybody could easily access all the necessary materials in a relatively short period of time.
However, when you do not have the right tools, sometimes, this can be difficult to accomplish. On the other hand, when you use material handling systems, they enable you to simplify your warehouse in various ways:
These systems streamline different processes – It is widely known that reaching the shelves to get what you need isn’t always simple. In fact, it often takes a lot of time, however, if you put your trust in the hands of robots, everything concerning this will be executed much faster and more accurately.
Proper labelling – Proper labelling of all your items within your company is crucial. If you want to identify them, then you should utilize barcode labels. Additionally, AMRs that come with barcode scanners, can spot, track, and identify the movements of your items.
Material handling systems can monitor the movement of materials – When you label materials the right way, it becomes a lot simpler to monitor their movement.
Errors Are Prevented And Work-Related Accidents Are Minimized
One of the best ways to reduce work-related accidents is by relying on these systems. Every company that embraces them will provide their workforce with a lot safer environment, decreasing workplace errors and accidents, which are sadly quite common in places where these systems aren’t used.
Working in a warehouse is frequently very tiring and chaotic, hence it’s always recommended to employ something that’s going to make things simpler. If you’re looking for a perfect solution to help you accomplish this, then it’s time to turn to material handling systems.
