In any other year, expectations of strong sales for the upcoming holiday shopping season would be the fulfillment of a dream for retailers. Instead, it’s shaping up to be something of a nightmare.

COVID-19, along with its direct impacts (lockdowns, border closures, etc.), has sent a domino effect of related disruption, including supply shortages and financial distress – but these aren’t the only threats in town.

What AI and machine learning really are and why they matter when it comes to robotic automation for fulfillment operations explained in terms anyone can understand. 

The pandemic economy permanently raised the bar for global supply chains, demanding unprecedented speed, scale and flexibility. Automation and robotics— notably, autonomous mobile robots—will be an essential competitive advantage.

Microlistics, a global provider of warehouse management systems (WMS), points to five common warehousing strategies that organizations need to master if they wish to be successful in a multi-channel world.

Until recently, flexible depalletizing has been particularly challenging for warehouse robots to handle. While humans can easily deal with unstructured and ever-changing tasks like unloading a random assortment of items, robotic programming has taken a while to catch up.

With real-time data, businesses can gain greater visibility and insight into their supply chains and identify where to cut costs, how and when to pivot, and how to make smarter, more informed decisions.

Companies across industries are looking for ways to make their supply chains more sustainable, resilient, and socially responsible. Social enterprises can be valuable partners in achieving these goals.