AUTOMATING THE
BEVERAGE INDUSTRY
Automating the
Beverage Industry
How the right level of automation
can keep you profitable
By Robert Sushinski
Marketing Coordinator, Westfalia Technologies, Inc.
A
utomation in the beverage industry is becoming
popular as craft and seasonal beer is in higher de-
mand. The large number of SKUs coupled with the
manufacturing process creates a perfect brew for smart au-
tomation coming out of production and into the warehouse.
If you plan on automating your warehouse, there are a few
key factors to research and to discuss with the integration
company you choose as your partner. racks, also known as “putaway” labor. Using a high density
automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) for this
task can also minimize your building footprint by up to 50
percent versus a conventional warehouse. This means you
may not have to expand or find outside warehousing otions
if you find yourself out of space. The storage and retrieval
machine (S/RM) movements also become shorter, making
pallets more accessible and quicker to exit the system.
Wise Automation Another consideration is to automated the replenishment
of picking areas. Using a warehouse management system
(WMS) that can automatically create a mission to send
more stock to a certain area moves the human portion out
of that job. You can now use labor for elements of the ware-
house that automation has trouble with, like manual picking
of cases or individual items. If your company sells products
Full automation can be capital intensive and may not be
the best fit for your company. The key is to automate your
warehouse wisely. If your company is not ready for a fully
automated system, you can still create efficiencies in your
warehouse by automating the production portion to storage
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The Satellite Review
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