13 December 2023 In recent years, e-commerce has broken all records and, it seems, is on the right track to dominate and strongly compete with physical retail. With growing demand and projections pointing to the evolution of the digital market and online sales, warehouse managers feel the need to plan and structure service logistics to optimize internal processes, fine-tune workflow, ensure improvements in productivity, customer loyalty, and efficiency in all activities. To tackle this challenge and surpass the competition in the race for success, many companies are heavily betting on advanced technologies, intelligent automation, modern machinery, and collaborative robots, called “cobots.” In this article, we will talk about this technology and explain how it can help you, the manager, optimize warehouse work and reduce operational costs. What are cobots? Cobots are robots designed to work side by side with human workers. Unlike robots, which generally work in special areas and autonomously, cobots have the peculiarity of performing tasks together with company employees. Such machines can be controlled by an external control device or internal software, and one of their great advantages, especially in relation to robots, is that they do not require major modifications to the warehouse infrastructure for their implementation. Cobots allow warehouses to keep many of their processes and infrastructure design intact while benefiting from the optimized workflow guaranteed by automation. Despite their ultra-technological appearance, cobots were developed during the 1990s. At the time, they were designed with the aim of assisting in the work of large industries, mainly performing repetitive tasks. Today, cobots have evolved, presenting lighter formats and better processing of technologies and information. As a result, they have become logistical allies and excellent assistance options for human work. Currently, cobots have advanced intelligence, flexible solutions, and easy automation, requiring minimal or almost no changes to the warehouse infrastructure and easily integrating with the methodology used in the company’s logistical operations. 5 advantages of cobots for your warehouse 1- Reduction of repetitive tasks Whether it’s placing products in the warehouse, organizing shelves, changing product addresses, or even leaving a specific item in the picking area, one thing is certain: the manual work of placing and removing products can be repetitive and tiring for most warehouse staff. This type of work can be demotivating and boring for your team, generating low productivity and errors; therefore, cobots are good alternatives for performing such functions, as they are excellent at carrying out routine tasks that require repetition. The entire function of picking, delivery, and organization can be entrusted to cobots, capable of making the operation faster and optimized. 2- Increased productivity Cobots are great allies in increasing warehouse productivity rates. They can guide employees in every task to be performed, besides keeping the team more focused on activities. In cases where cobots work in picking and stock organization areas, employees have more freedom to pack and ship products correctly and safely, avoiding downtime and errors, as well as optimizing the execution times of each activity. The reduction of manual failures, combined with increased productivity, makes collaborative robots a trend for the coming years in smart and automated warehouses. 3- Increased workplace safety Repetitive activities can cause fatigue, muscle tension, and even serious injuries to employees, leading to workplace accidents and activity interruptions. Risks in the work environment not only directly impact your team’s physical integrity but also the results of your warehouse. With cobots, it is possible to mitigate the physical exhaustion of your employees, meaning fewer employees perform risky activities, reducing the possibility of potential workplace accidents caused by injuries. Collaborative robots reduce human traffic and strenuous activities, as well as increase the warehouse’s production speed. 4- Reduction of manual failures Every warehouse is subject to possible failures; however, frequent errors indicate that something needs attention. Packing the wrong items, organizing inventory inefficiently, product loss, process delays are just some of the many examples of failures that can occur during operation and damage the company’s performance, profits, and reputation. With cobots, error and failure rates due to manual processes are reduced by 99%, as robots are programmed to guide employees or even perform tasks autonomously, following the information programmed in their database. Another advantage is that cobots identify errors and do not perform tasks that have not been previously established. 5- Ease of installation, programming, and operation It is common for some companies to believe that new technologies are complex to learn and use, but in reality, implementing cobots is much simpler than one might imagine. Collaborative warehouse robots are easy to install and program according to the priorities and needs of the company’s logistics strategy. The Cobot management software is simple to use and allows a warehouse to implement robots that take over their activities within a few weeks. Can cobots replace human work? One of the recurring questions when talking about cobots in warehouses is whether they can replace human work, and the answer is no. Collaborative robots, as the name suggests, are developed to enhance the operational capacity of the team. One of the most common examples is robotic arms, used in assembly lines, which allow better performance for employees and increased productivity in production. Cobot: What Are They and How Do They Increase Warehouse Productivity? Deagor WMS per ecommerce può aiutarti!