How COVID-19 has increased the demand for automation in intra-logistics and e-commerce platforms
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, through several instances, such as deploying Ultraviolet Disinfection (UVD) robots to assist human staff in disinfecting facilities like hospitals, using autonomous robots for scanning patients with potential symptoms and for delivering medical supplies in hospital environments, and depending on drones for imposing curfews and security surveillance, it has become quite evident that the demand for mobile robotics has significantly increased during the pandemic. It is interesting to note that such a demand was not only observed in the healthcare industry but also in the other fields, especially intra-logistics and e-commerce platforms.
This article aims to highlight how and why the demand for robotics solutions has increased and is likely to increase further across the aforementioned industries.
Impact of the COVID-19 on intra-logistics
According to the Coronavirus Outbreak special survey conducted by National Association of Manufacturers, in February 2020, over 53% of manufacturing firms anticipate a change in their operations in the coming months and more than 78% say that uncertainty around the COVID-19 outbreak is likely to have a negative financial impact on their businesses.
Across the globe, the manufacturers of the automobile, chemical, electronics, and aircraft are facing concerns regarding the availability of raw material. It was found that automotive enterprises are not only encountering the problem of 2–3 months’ loss of production capacity but also supply shortage of components and problems relating to the delivery of orders to both domestic and overseas customers.
However, companies whose workflow is largely automated are found to be coping better with the crisis. Wipro has 7,500 employees that are bots. Rajan Kohli, the Head of Wipro Digital and Consulting, in a lighter note, mentioned that after the nation-wide lockdown was imposed, they’re the only ones still working at Wipro’s offices. Also, several robotics firms, which provide solutions for industrial automation, contributed significantly towards the fight against the pandemic in India. Consumer robotics firm, Milagrow, deployed two robots for the COVID-19 facility set up at AIIMS Trauma Centre. The first robot, Humanoid ELF, has a 3D camera that can record and transmit video from the isolation ward, helping in routine surveillance. The doctors could interact with the patients via the robot. The second robot called iMap 9 is a floor disinfecting robot that can navigate and sanitize the floor without human intervention. Adverb Technologies, a global robotics firm based in Noida, deployed a fleet of robots to hospitals to deliver medicines, minimizing the risk for the healthcare workers. Another set of robots supplied by a Gurgaon based robotics company, Hi Tech Robotic Systemz were employed at AIIMS’ Jhajjar facility, to serve food and medicines to patients.
Understanding the need for automation in intra-logistics
The crisis has highlighted the scope for automation in industrial processes to a greater extent. It has also exposed some problems and risks that already existed in the manufacturing industry, and hence it might evoke redesigning of processes, by incorporating automation and digitalization into them, to mitigate disruptions in the supply chain and workforce.
The pandemic is also boosting investments in automation. At a meeting held by the Chinese government in March 2020, the decision-makers proposed the idea of ‘new infrastructure construction’ which comprised of 7 technological infrastructure pillars: 5G, ultra-high voltage, inter-city high-speed railway and rail transit, new energy vehicle charging, big data centers, artificial intelligence, and the industrial Internet. Although these investments account only for 24% in comparison with traditional infrastructure, they will facilitate the development of pandemic resilient industries in the future.
In a survey conducted by the auditing firm Ernst & Young (EY), 41% of the respondents said that they were investing in automation to prepare for a post-crisis world.
How does intra-logistics benefit from automation?
1. Improved supply chains
Integrating robotic solutions into the processes will enhance the resilience of supply chains. AMRs collect and analyze data, enabling manufacturers to forecast and adjust operations when needed. Key information about materials, logistics, inventory, production, and capital in the supply chain can easily be analyzed and shared to improve overall supply chain management. Also, market demand can be tracked and predicted well in advance, and production cycles can be adjusted accordingly.
“Data is the life’s blood of the emerging digital supply chain. Companies that recognize the value of this data and engineer approaches to collect filter and synthesize it into customer and market insights will flourish. Those who do not will drown in the wave of exponential data proliferation”
— Thomas Boykin, Deloitte Consulting LLP
2. Reduced dependence on humans
Deploying industrial robots can significantly reduce the dependence on the human workforce, improving resilience to future pandemics. For instance, some semiconductor factories in Wuhan, the first epicenter of the pandemic, could maintain relatively normal levels of production due to the high levels of automation, while labor-intensive industries such as 3C manufacturing were almost completely shut down.
3. Better inventory management
Excess inventory gets the capital locked up and also results in inefficient use of storage space. Automated vehicles can provide workers with pre-assembled bags of parts, which are delivered exactly when needed, preventing a buildup of line-side inventory.
4. Simplified Material Movement
Another benefit of AMRs is their ability to move parts around a warehouse without any assistance or infrastructure while decreasing floor space and worker inefficiencies. Many AMRs are being designed to create an internal map of the facility’s environment, which enables the robots to learn the different ‘rules of the road’, including speed limits, stopping at particular intersections, optimal charging, and observing which aisles can be driven down one way only.
Employees at a company that recently deployed autonomous vehicles witnessed a 70% reduction in indirect time spent moving materials around a warehouse floor.
5. Unleashes Human Potential
A major concern with implementing automation is that it will replace human jobs. However, automation technologies are actually designed to enable humans to engage in complex, value-added tasks that Self Driving Vehicles (SDVs) simply cannot perform, while repetitive, monotonous, or dangerous tasks are assigned to the vehicles.
“Robots are only doing the jobs that humans shouldn’t have been working on in the first place. These are known as the dirty, dangerous and dull jobs”
— Robotic Industries Association
Also, in a study conducted by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, it was found that 4.6 million new manufacturing jobs are estimated to be created by 2028, but 2.4 million of them could go unfilled because of a skilled-labor shortage, as the skilled labor want mentally stimulating tasks and not the monotonous, repetitive ones. Hence assigning dull, dirty, and dangerous activities to the mobile robots enable skilled labor to focus on challenging tasks.
The increased demand for robotic solutions was not only observed in intra-logistics but was also felt across e-commerce and retailing platforms.
Role of automation in e-commerce and retailing platforms
The pandemic has made retailers realize the need for incorporating a higher degree of automation into their business as automation technologies can help them deal with the unprecedented demand in a grocery. It was observed that there was a tremendous increase in the number of customers who now rely on online grocery ordering and have shifted to new e-commerce platforms. Experts say that these numbers could possibly mark a permanent shift in consumer behavior.
The sudden hike in online grocery demand has led to penetration of 9% currently and could reach 12% by the end of the year which implies that at the end of this crisis, one in ten people would have become habituated to buying their groceries online.
Some technology groups have already been experimenting with retail outlets that will not require human-run checkouts or cashiers. Amazon Go, which has 26 store locations in Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, and New York City, is offering the customers checkout-free shopping experience, which is made possible by the same technologies used in self-driving cars: computer vision, sensor fusion, and deep learning. The Just Walk Out technology automatically detects when products are taken from or returned to the shelves and keeps track of them in a virtual cart. When the customers are done with shopping, they can just leave the store. Later, they are sent a receipt and their Amazon account is charged.
McDonald’s is shifting to self-ordering kiosks in its restaurants, removing the need for customers to speak to workers at the counter. The most immediate benefit of adopting self-order kiosks is cost-related. McDonald’s self-order kiosks don’t require management. They can be updated effortlessly from a centralized location.
Other instances of automation in retailing platforms are electronic shelf-edge labels, shelf-scanning robots, and partially automated backroom unloading. Artificial-intelligence (AI) technologies can improve both the customer and employee experience. Also, predictive analytics can automate pricing and promotions. Automating time-intensive processes would enable retailers to spend more time on strategic activities, creating value for the enterprise.
The COVID-19 has made many employers rethink their business approach and redesign their business processes. It has also made them realize how automation has become an indispensable tool which helps in cutting costs, improving efficiency, enhancing customer and employee satisfaction, gaining a competitive edge, and most importantly in making the companies resilient against future crisis.
