In this era of digitalisation and smart technologies, the use of autonomous vehicles as a mode of transport is not a question of 'if' but 'when'. Although the moon-shot promise of complete autonomous mobility by 2020 remains elusive, growing investments by the transportation industry into research and development of autonomous technology have shown promising results – results that can be repurposed to more predictable and constrained environments, such as distribution centre operations.

The Need for Upstream Supply Chain Automation

Supply chain operations struggle with many issues that withhold them from achieving their full potential. The drive to reduce operating costs while improving efficiency and productivity is not only difficult, but also poses dangers to employee and inventory health. A survey of warehouse and DC operations revealed that the largest challenges they face include insufficient space (43%), inability to attract qualified employees (39%), outdated storage, picking, and handling equipment (34%), and inadequate information systems support (32%).

The Coronavirus pandemic has complicated the situation further, bringing in unique challenges of social distancing and contactless operation - effectively changing the standard operating procedure to be observed. Organizations are forced to limit their workforce, and deal with the unpredictable nature of workforce availability.

In order to address these challenges, firms are turning to Advanced Robotics, Autonomous technology, and Artificial Intelligence, the building blocks of Industry 4.0. Studies estimate that synergies hence derived can yield savings of up to 40%, by improving safety, flexibility, precision, and productivity, all while decreasing labor costs and redirecting human effort to high-value activities. The new normal demands the adoption of advanced automation in supply chain to avoid the creation of bottlenecks.

Autonomous Technology as an Enabler

Automation in distribution centre operations is about identifying and automating repetitive tasks – from loading/unloading, sorting & inspection, repair & repackaging to data entry and storing of goods by hand. Manual operations go hand in hand with human error, resulting in delays, improper time/resource management, low productivity & margin, damage to inventory and so on. A large part of retail companies’ success lies in their ability to create effective supply chains and cut costs, which is achieved by introducing advanced automation to operations. 

Autonomous Systems also help in better planning, scheduling, and work management by applying smart algorithms and simulations that can help take decisions for efficient utilisation of labor and resources, leading to higher efficiency and throughput in warehouses and supply chain operations.

Traditionally, labor-intensive operations such as Yard Management, Inspection & Sorting, and Warehouse management are prime targets for the introduction of industrial automation.

Figure 1: Autonomous Systems in Distribution Centers

Per a recent study by BCG, approximately 70% of survey participants expect advanced robotics to become a very important productivity driver in production and logistics by 2025, apart from benefits reaped in quality and maintenance. The same survey also estimated that Autonomous Mobile Robots and Drones for the movement of goods would be more important than conventional AGVs by 2025.

Pillars of Autonomous Operations

Contactless operations and advanced automation in supply chain are derived from synergies among the following core autonomous technologies communicating in accordance with Industry 4.0.

1. Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs)

The earliest instances of automation in warehouses involve the use of AGVs, as early as the 1950s. These driverless machines are usually pre-programmed to follow fixed routes to aid in material movement, bringing in unique advantages such as increased efficiency, productivity, and safety while reducing costs manifold. 

Flexibility of operations becomes a limiting factor though, since any expansions in the warehouse or changes in the layout call for a complete halt of operations to reprogram the AGVs.

2. Robots for Autonomous Mobility

Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), in contrast to AGVs, use on-board sensors and processors to autonomously move materials without the need for physical guides or markers. AMRs employ learning algorithms to perceive their environment, remember their location, and dynamically plan their own paths while avoiding obstacles. 

Much like Self Driving cars, AMRs use HD Maps to enable these complex mobility functions. The minimal impact AMRs have on infrastructure make them highly cost-effective, especially with increase in warehouse size.

3. Drones

Drones find application in inventory counting, health check applications, and airborne transport of goods. According to supply chain specialist, Argon Consulting, two drones working in a pair in certain use-cases can do the work of 100 humans over the same period, while drastically reducing errors associated with the traditionally manual process.

4. Industrial Robotics

Advanced robotics including articulated robotic arms are an important element of contactless operations that bring in the capability to pick and place, inspect, sort, package, and palletize items. They can be exceptionally versatile since they can move, turn, lift, and manoeuvre items, making them a robust technology that adapts easily to multiple applications.

5. Computer Vision

Deloitte Consulting recently stated, “Computer vision together with machine learning is going to add the missing sense in our IoT endeavors and we are already seeing this at our industrial IoT clients today.”

Increasing labor costs and decreasing costs of automation have contributed to companies turning to CV to automate a range of labor-intensive tasks, such as quality inspection of supplier parts, stock counting and locating, in-line quality checks, inventory counting, and inspection among others. With improvements in computational capacity, CV solutions are becoming especially effective in catching errors as they happen, thus reducing bottlenecks.

Autonomous Trucks  and the Relevance of Platooning 

Autonomous Trucks (ATs) have seen heavy investment in the past, driven primarily by driver shortage, among other factors. Although the primary focus to date has been on passenger automobiles, buses, yard, and shuttle trucks are slowly carving a niche for themselves in the autonomous realm – primarily because they operate in more controlled environments such as ports, manufacturing plants, and distribution centre yards. In fact, companies have already made fully autonomous beer deliveries and actively struck alliances to operate ATs jointly.

Full autonomy, however, is still a long way off. McKinsey Center for Future Mobility, estimates that the deployment of ATs will happen in 4 stages, the cornerstone in the short to medium term being “platooning” - a technique to connect wirelessly a convoy of trucks to a lead truck, allowing them to operate safely much closer together and realize fuel efficiencies. The report estimates that each wave will lower the operators’ total cost of ownership (TCO) in stages—moderately at first with the bulk of savings expected with implementation of higher autonomy levels.

Figure 2: Adoption of Autonomous Technology  in the Trucking Industry (Source – McKinsey & Company)

The implications this research has on supply chain automation is telling. It heralds the new era of truly autonomous and contact-less Yard operations. With the trucking industry set to adopt platooning in the next decade, yards, say in a typical distribution centre, are expected to cater to the new reality, wherein a single driver handles a platoon of tens of trucks. AMRs/TUGs/Advanced Robotics working in tandem with platoons employing ADAS technologies such as Autonomous Valet Parking, Driver and Cargo Monitoring, Adaptive Cruise Control etc. are essential to handle increased volumes with less people to handle them.

Wipro has a unique advantage of providing an integrated, end-to-end, one-stop suite of offerings using the latest in technology, supported by Wipro’s proven ecosystem of partners and in-house pool of SMEs and skilled engineers. For implementing any such autonomous solution, right from feasibility & approach study to the preparations required like mapping, ground truth generation, scenario analysis using simulators to providing an integrated solution in terms of AGVs, AMRs, Drones, Computer Vison led state-of-the-art monitoring and tracking enablers, all integrated with customers’ existing backend systems like ERP, CRM, etc.

Conclusion

The logistics automation market was valued at USD 55.15 billion in 2019 and is expected to be USD 107.84 billion in 2025, registering a CAGR of 12.1% during the forecast period (2020 – 2025). The drive of the industry to achieve higher velocity of operations and lower risk of injury, damage to goods has prompted companies to look for the application of autonomous technology as part of Industry 4.0. 

Given the recent technological trends and developments in autonomous mobility, adoption in constrained and relatively less unpredictable environments of upstream supply chain (warehouses and distribution centres) is very likely. The advent of the pandemic has only accelerated the need for innovation, since adoption of contactless technology is now a “must-have”, rather than a “good-to-have”.

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Kiran Kishore

Kiran is a Business Consultant at Wipro’s Autonomous Systems and Robotics practice. He leads product management for Wipro’s Auto Annotation Studio – a tool for data annotation and management, which he drives through consulting, go-to-market offerings, product development, and thought leadership initiatives. He holds an MBA from IIM Raipur and is passionate about the world of possibilities using autonomous mobility. He can be reached at kiran.kishore1@wipro.com.

Natrajan Vittal

Natrajan is a part of Wipro’s AS&R (Autonomous Systems & Robotics) practice, which has the distinction of having developed an in-house and complete Autonomous Systems & Robotics product suite, including its flagship Autonomous Shuttle – the “Wipod”. His contributions have been supporting product and business development. Natrajan holds a Master’s degree in Engineering from IISc Bangalore. He is passionate about technology making a difference in people’s lives, and can be reached at natrajan.vittal@wipro.com.