The growth of e-commerce is driving profound changes in the way the warehouses & the several distribution centers operate, and the overall effect is particularly pronounced in the world of conveyors & sortation systems. These systems were specifically designed around fulfilling retail, brick-and-mortar stores with full cases on a line sorter or warehouse conveyor system.
These systems operate in a simulated flow. The design indeed becomes much more difficult in e-commerce where equipment is expected to handle each individual item. There is no shortage of options to address the issue. The certainty of what the future will bring & how best to design solutions accordingly is in much shorter supply.
High-end sortation, fixed conveyors and loop sorters have always been a fixed solution to any moving target, so they carry that stigma to a certain extent. The technology lends itself to more flexibility since this now incorporates the next evolution of communication. In the past years, when you wanted to modify a sorter, you must go put physical things on it to take a certain action at a certain point. This is indeed a game-changer and the customers are coming to understand that there is a huge piece of the puzzle.
Modifications, modules & maintenance of the warehouse conveyor systems:
The materials handling calls for highly configurable equipment is very specific, and no two applications are the same. In fact, a single-stranded warehouse conveyor system could be configured in several ways depending on the speed, length, controls, and motor size.
Now the question arises if it is possible to modify or transform a warehouse conveyor system to some other form? Yes, this is very much possible with the advancement and progress in recent technology. Those methods which are more automated more productive and more timesaving needs to be connected somehow and that with the operation of the warehouse conveyor systems. Because the new supply chain is quite variable, the mechanization also has to be improved with time to keep a pace. If we consider a period about a decade ago, the distribution environment did not change very considerably as much as it is today. So, this is obvious that technology needs to be much upgraded.
For example, an operation might want to turn a warehouse conveyor system from transportation function to accumulation or even vice versa. This might be beneficial to make a roller conveyor into a belt conveyor. Instead of removing the conveyor & installing various machines, the modular components allow the application of a specific belt over the rollers in order to better handle envelopes and bags. These specific changes can indeed occur very swiftly on an off-shift or a weekend.
Quicker maintenance is another benefit and is supported by efforts to increase the overall number of identical parts within each product family. The ‘same spare part’ concept is specifically based on working towards a larger proportion of interchangeable components. Therefore, servicing and maintenance are more efficient for operators.
Modular features offer several benefits even before the system goes live. The processes of pre-installation & de-centralized controls are very crucial for the warehouse conveyor systems. The commissioning phase and installation time can be dramatically shortened & subsequent changes of the material flow are now a matter of “plug & play”.
This read would certainly make you aware of the significant role that the warehouse conveyor systems have in today’s industries especially the booming e-commerce industry. Now, there is constant communication throughout and so you can systemically make all the changes to the sorter on the fly.
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