• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Watch: Balancing the Need for Automation and People in E-Commerce
Video

Watch: Balancing the Need for Automation and People in E-Commerce

June 3, 2020
SupplyChainBrain

Automation is essential to modern-day e-commerce, but humans remain in the picture. Art Eldred, client executive, systems engineering with Vargo, discusses the challenges involved in striking the perfect balance between the two.

SCB: How are companies facing the challenges of e-commerce from a labor perspective?

Eldred: We've done a couple of studies and gone back and done some research with the Census Bureau and statistics on labor. One of the things we've seen in the last six years is unemployment going down, and warehouse labor requirements going up. That presents a heck of a challenge where people are competing more and more for the same warehouse labor. When you couple that with the transition from retail stores to fulfillment centers, we're just trading labor that was working in the back rooms of stores. They're now in the fulfillment centers. And it requires an awful lot of effort to process e-commerce orders.

The days of filling a trailer with pallets and cartons still exist, but they’re diminishing along with the retail footprint. The need to get e-commerce orders out the door is increasing drastically, in line with the growth of the e-commerce marketplace.

SCB: What challenges are involved on the technology side of implementing artificial intelligence into this whole environment?

Eldred: One of the biggest things we're seeing is the explosion of automation. Cloud computing has enabled AI to happen across technologies. AI was really birthed out of the cloud, in my opinion. What’s lacking is the applied side. We don't see the knowledge and the expertise of figuring out how to use automation inside of the fulfillment center and replacing the labor needs that are out there. We're starting simple, with picking place-type units, and robots are beginning to come into that area. But as we grow, more of them will be needed to supplement the labor force that isn't there.

SCB: We really are just at the beginning of using AI, aren't we? It has a long way to go before it realizes its promise.

Eldred: Absolutely. We can apply AI to so many things — to data, to flowing a building. We can take the effort of the human brain and put it into an automated intelligence system, which is gaining great benefits.

SCB: Looking five to 15 years into the future, with the continuing growth of e-commerce, how do you see the fulfillment landscape looking then?

Eldred: It's extremely exciting for everyone who’s in the fulfillment business. This area is just going to continue to grow. But it does go back again to the applied side. Robots, in my opinion, are probably five to 10 years away from being able to provide huge value. Putting them into pick and place-type units, where I identify an object and move it from position A to position B, hasn't been very difficult. However, it's not everything. The one thing we do know is that there will always be an automation element and a human element. It's going to be very difficult for a robot to pick up a couch — much easier to pick an item out of a box.

SCB: Is there a continuing challenge in ensuring that the technology is both flexible and scalable? You don't want a number of specialized units doing individual tasks.

Eldred: That’s an interesting point. How much automation do I put into facilities? E-commerce can have a wide range of demand. If I’m doing 10,000 orders today, that might go up to 140,000 orders during peak season, and that's an extremely difficult challenge for anybody to attack. But putting capital into that is even worse, because you're only going to be utilizing it for two weeks. That's where I come back to the blend of automation and the human element, which will never go away.

Let’s face it, robots are awesome. They're going to be a great tool and weapon for combating the competition in the future. However, they're going to come at a cost, and they're going to be expensive. The other thing to consider is that you’ll have a whole other level of employee needed to operate and maintain the robots. So the average warehouse worker we're using today will probably change in intelligence themselves, because they're working with a highly intelligent device.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Technology Artificial Intelligence Warehouse Management Systems E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
KEYWORDS artificial intelligence E-Commerce/Omnichannel Warehouse Management Systems
  • Related Articles

    Watch: How E-Commerce Is Forcing Automation in Grocery Warehousing

    Watch: Cross-Border Challenges for E-Commerce Sellers

    E-commerce, Omnichannel & The Automation Industry

  • Related Directories

    SnapFulfil

SupplyChainBrain

Slowdown in Warehouse Construction Could Extend Shortfall of Space, Experts Say

More from this author

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • DOCUMENTS BEARING THE INSIGNIA OF US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION LIE ON A TABLE

    New CBP Regs Call for Greater Diligence by Brokers in Reporting Security Breaches

    Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
  • A WORKER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPERIMPOSED WITH GRAPHICS SHOWING SUPPLY NETWORK

    Enabling Intelligent Visibility With Supply Chain Analytics

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • GSCMS-Promo.png

    Watch: Introducing the Global Supply Chain Marketing Summit

    Education & Professional Development
  • A HAND TURNS A LARGE, LIGHTED DIAL WITH THE WORD RISK ON IT iStock-NicoElNino-1364371014.jpg

    Measuring KPIs and KRIs for Comprehensive Supplier Performance Management

    Technology
  • DEEPLY CRACKED EARTH UNDER A BLUE CLOUDY SKY

    Why Maritime Supply Chains Must Adapt to Sustainability Regulations

    Ocean Transportation

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing