The evolution of AI (artificial intelligence) affects everyone, and that includes our facilities and order fulfillment technology at Jay Group. AI tools are becoming particularly helpful in streamlining 3PL operations.
By working with a 3PL partner that invests in AI warehouse technology, you can save time, scale your business, streamline your order fulfillment processes, and provide a better customer experience overall.
But first, what is AI warehouse technology?
What Is AI Warehouse Technology?
Simply put, AI warehouse technology is a set of advanced, machine learning algorithms that help to automate and optimize warehouse operations.
With the right system in place, AI warehouse technology can lead to savings and growth opportunities for your business. And it all starts with the automation process.
What Is AI Warehouse Automation?
At the heart of it, AI warehouse automation is a system to manage all of your fulfillment processes by maximizing efficiency, accuracy, timeliness, and profitability.
One of the key benefits of AI warehouse automation is that AI fulfillment technology can collect and analyze data trends quickly, so you and your 3PL partner can forecast order demands on your business.
Another benefit is the removal of human error. Although AI tools aren’t perfect, they do allow for faster and more accurate picking, packing, and shipping than manpower alone can muster.
What Are The Benefits Of Using A 3PL Partner With AI Warehouse Technology?
1. Time Efficiency
Picking and packing can eat up a lot of time if you have a large volume of inventory. Luckily, warehouse automation saves your business time by streamlining the picking and packing process.
Instead of packers taking laps around the warehouse, an advanced AI system (like Manhattan Associates) can predict multiple scenarios and present the best one to the warehouse team for fast and efficient slotting, picking, and packing.
That way, we can spend less time searching the distribution center and more time shipping out orders.
2. Cost Efficiency
Picking can also take up to 70% of your warehouse budget. If you’re going to profit from sales, your provider needs to make sure there are no wasted costs in the fulfillment process.
Because AI warehouse technology reduces labor costs, your business saves time and money by integrating AI tools into your order fulfillment. And you’ll improve your cartonization by reducing waste and ensuring packages are bundled together optimally.
3. Scalability
Maybe you’re a multi-channel retailer, or you’re scaling your business up and need support from a 3PL provider. Either way, AI warehouse technology helps monitor and prioritize your orders in real time, so you can fulfill orders coming in from each channel.
Best of all, AI tools can learn to adjust resources and logic to ensure that their process stays efficient, even if orders are coming in from different touchpoints or you’re simply experiencing rapid growth. However, it’s not just useful for large or more complex business models.
AI can also help make sure your provider doesn’t miss those small rush orders or a one-off, lower-priority order. Never missing an order, regardless of how big or small, ensures your customers have a positive brand experience through the fulfillment process. Which in turn increases the chance they become repeat customers or bring you new business.
4. Improved Customer Experience
Your customers want real-time order status tracking. They also expect their orders to be fulfilled quickly and accurately. AI in warehouse management ensures your customers have a better experience with your brand by streamlining order tracking, shipping, and accuracy across the board.
Don’t let human oversight detract from your business. AI tools are not meant to replace humans, but they are meant to help us improve performance so your customers stay happy.
5. Better Employee Engagement
With the collecting of real-time data, AI warehouse technology can also help gamify DC operations and reward excellent work from the team. The focus of this technology isn’t to replace the person-based relationships between management and employees, but to strengthen them.
AI tools can give employees instant feedback and context to understand the bigger picture. This technology actually encourages employees to celebrate victories as they happen in real time (victories that might go unnoticed without the help of AI).
By providing real-time snapshots and instant gratification for employees’ achievements, AI warehouse technology ensures the people picking, packing, and shipping orders stay happier and more productive.
6. Real-Time Audits
Transparency is one of the most important characteristics for a 3PL partner to have. And with AI warehouse technology, you see the stats in real time to prove your partner is performing to meet your expectations.
On your partner’s end, they can see where employees are located for the day, what department is underperforming based on criteria, or the status of orders to enhance the customer experience.
AI warehouse technology tracks everything happening in the warehouse and puts it in digestible formatting for you and your partner to review.
Best of all, you don’t have to wait for your partner to manually compile this information. Thanks to AI gathering information in real time, it’s always right at your fingertips.
With this automatic data collection, you can do a better job communicating with your provider, setting goals, creating sales forecasting, and tracking orders to ensure customer satisfaction.
7. Enhanced Communication
Warehouse robots are a crucial part of operations. However, they aren’t designed to communicate with each other or the warehouse as whole, especially if your 3PL provider has different kinds. But with the right AI warehouse technology, that can change.
Thanks to AI in warehouse management, 3PL partners can sync their robots and create automations that ensure all equipment is working seamlessly with their people and processes, and your products.
Having this level of coordination will ensure all technology is making your fulfillment process succeed instead of hindering your provider’s team and taking their focus away from your business.
The Future Of 3PL Technology Solutions
What does the future of AI warehouse technology look like? For starters, hopefully greener. AI algorithms are already optimizing warehouse energy consumption. These algorithms take into account heating, cooling, lighting, and equipment usage to reduce overall energy expenditure.
We expect AI tools to continue to help 3PL partners reduce waste and shrink their carbon footprints in the coming years.
And, contrary to popular belief, AI tools are expected to create more jobs. Specialized warehouse roles are expected to grow, as AI will require the creation of new positions that are dedicated to human oversight and strategic thinking.
Though we can’t predict the future with complete certainty, AI technologies seem to be leading us toward environmental progress and new employment opportunities in the 3PL fulfillment space.
How To Choose The Right 3PL Partner With AI Warehouse Technology
When choosing a 3PL partner, you should look at their technology capabilities, industry experience, and scalability. Ultimately, you want a partner who will save you time and money by streamlining your order fulfillment process with advanced AI tools.
At Jay Group, we have over 50 years of industry leadership experience and proudly use Manhattan Associates’ world-class WMS technology to achieve 99% inventory accuracy rates and on-time shipping.
Ready to see what AI warehouse technology can do for your fulfillment? Contact our experts today to take your business to the next level.
This blog was originally published on December 29, 2020 and was updated on April 17, 2024.
