• 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 » Blogs » Think Tank » How Robotics Process Automation Is Transforming Supply Chains

Think Tank
Think Tank RSS FeedRSS

How Robotics Process Automation Is Transforming Supply Chains

August 1, 2016
Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

Robots already play a significant role in material handling. The modern-day world of e-commerce demands it. Amazon.com demonstrated its commitment to the technology back in 2012, when it paid $775m to acquire Kiva Systems. Renaming the unit Amazon Robotics, the company quickly began deploying robots within its ever-growing network of distribution centers. Amazon continues to invest in research and systems that will shave time off order fulfillment.

So does just about every other major e-commerce player, supported by countless vendors that are turning out robots capable of executing an increasing number of tasks, either working alongside humans or replacing them altogether. Still, the focus up to now has been largely on repetitive, transactional processes, in warehouses as well as on the production line.

More recently, we’ve seen a move toward robotics process automation (RPA), which isn’t just about swapping out humans for machines. It provides the “glue” that integrates multiple systems dedicated to order taking and fulfillment, according to Rodger Howell, principal with PwC’s Strategy& practice. RPA goes beyond physical systems to embrace the underlying software, with the help of artificial intelligence.

The potential market for deployment of RPA and accompanying systems is huge. PwC estimates that as much as 45 percent of current work activities can be automated, saving $2tr in annual wages. “In addition to the cost and efficiency advantages, RPA can take a business to the next level of productivity optimization,” the firm says.

The distribution center is especially ripe territory for use of RPA. The “lights-out” warehouse, where virtually every task is automated, has long been an option wherever labor costs are high, and speed of fulfillment is a priority. The latest technology ensures that those tasks are tightly coordinated, so as to create a smooth transition from placement of the original order to fulfillment and delivery to the customer.

Even where people are still present, RPA can perform a valuable service, says Howell. Four key elements need to be in synch: robots for picking and the movement of product through the facility, sensors that ensure product quality by detecting vibration and humidity, cognitive learning systems, and artificial intelligence, the last to turn processes into algorithms that guide the whole operation.

Putting the pieces together is still a challenge, says Howell. Companies must be able to tie their customer-relationship management systems back to order-management and enterprise resource planning platforms, looping in manual processes wherever they might occur. “It’s an attempt to get transactions automated in a much more structured way,” Howell says.

RPA isn’t something that you can just buy off a shelf. Multiple vendors need to be involved. “It’s a collection of integrators and different assets from the hardware and software sides coming together,” says Howell.

RPA is especially taking hold today in the area of procurement transaction processing, he says. Companies can use it to order discrete materials, without the need for investing in electronic data interchange for the sharing of messages. Other areas ripe for RPA include order management and data quality assurance. Without it, Howell says, companies might find it difficult to draw on product quality data from multiple systems, with some issues falling between the cracks.

The question of lost jobs continues to hang over the robotics debate. Howell believes human workers will transition to more creative jobs, as they have in response to past technological advances. “RPA is focused on automating, speeding up and simplifying transactional processes that many would find mundane,” he says.

Still, there’s a selling job to be done. RPA is a relatively new concept, and many companies continue to engage in debate over how far they should go in the direction of automation.

“RPA language is starting to get out there,” says Howell. “With almost any major business, you’re going to find pockets of this. The question is, are they doing this aggressively or not?”

The human equation has to be addressed. “Businesses are definitely going to take time to think about it, and they should,” says Howell. “It’s important stuff.”

Comment on This Article

Logistics Outsourcing ERP & Enterprise Systems Supply Chain Planning & Optimization Supply Chain Visibility Order Fulfillment Warehouse Management Systems High-Tech/Electronics

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

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