the production line to the shelves
in order to meet customer demand
and minimize returned items.
Automation is attractive to baker-
ies because it requires less human
interaction on the production line,
meaning less product handling
in the overall operation, creating
safer working environments for
employees and reducing labor
risks. As automation continues
to evolve and improve, machines
will become smarter from natural
language processing, resulting in
reduced need for governance and
human operator interaction.
Real-time inventory accuracy pro-
vides insights on how to plan fu-
ture production to meet consumer
demand. Bakeries that implement
warehouse automation technol-
ogies like a WES and AS/RS will
be prepared to meet the growing
consumer demand of bakery prod-
ucts, both at the store level and in
their warehouse operations. When
paired with a WES, an AS/RS helps
fresh food manufacturers and
distributors have better control
over material handling operations,
including more efficient move-
ment, storage, picking and creation
of customer orders. Additionally,
when used correctly, an AS/RS can
improve space utilization within
the warehouse, making it a strong
solution for companies that are
running out of warehousing space.
By utilizing current facilities to
their fullest extent rather than
building additional facilities, com-
panies can save on overhead costs
and reduce their environmental
impact.
Frozen Bakeries
Maximizing storage density is the
key to reducing costs in frozen
bakeries. An automated warehous-
ing system simplifies operations
and provides an increased level of
flexibility to organize products by
their relative inventory character-
istics. By retrofitting a warehouse
with a high-density, multiple-deep
AS/RS, manufacturers and distrib-
utors can make better use of their
space, allowing them to store more
product and save on storage costs.
Organizations that implement an
AS/RS in an existing facility can
increase storage capacity by 30
to 50 percent, on average. With
these space savings, companies
are better poised to accommodate
increased growth.
Additionally, automation can be
useful in decreasing labor risks as
the human body is not designed
to work in sub-zero temperatures.
In the frozen food industry, the
majority of operations need to be
conducted manually, requiring
workers to physically withstand
harsh environments. These prac-
tices are not only risky for workers,
but can jeopardize the operation
due to an increased risk of human
error.
In order to combat these inef-
ficiencies, companies today are
turning to automation technology
to decouple labor from sub-zero
environments. While there are
many benefits of an AS/RS, such
as improving productivity and in-
creasing inventory accuracy, many
companies are hesitant to make
the investment. But, why? Often,
companies deem automation as
too expensive or too large of an
undertaking. Some companies are
putting off the inevitable invest-
ments to achieve short-term goals.
Simply put, they are looking for
the quick fix, rather than the long-
www.WestfaliaUSA.com
term solution that will allow for a
clear competitive advantage.
Just-in-Time Order
Fulfillment
With the short shelf life of fresh
bakery products, managing
inventory efficiently is import-
ant. Combining an AS/RS with a
WES provides greater visibility of
available inventory in a warehouse
along with real-time data of SKUs
to manage and sequence the out-
bound order fulfillment process.
Real–time inventory visibility al-
lows warehouses to accurately plan
for future production, including
ingredient and packaging supply
purchases.
Real-time inventory accuracy
allows warehouses to leverage
insights into operations from an
inventory standpoint to satisfy
orders of all sizes. In addition, au-
tomation software allows bakeries
to control the inventory within the
warehouse along with picking pro-
cesses and order staging processes
to ensure trucks are turned much
faster and products arrive on store
shelves fresh.
It is clear that automated systems
for bakeries have advantages over
conventional systems. Automation
not only saves space for additional
expansion options and companies
to operate on smaller plots of land,
but it also maximizes operational
efficiencies, labor availability and
reliability, and fixed operational
costs. Additionally, automation
offers many long-term benefits,
including space savings, reduced
costs, increased safety and en-
hanced inventory accuracy to meet
demands.
The Satellite Review
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