Video Transcript
As technology developments bring businesses to new heights, even the warehouse is getting a makeover — and the biggest names in retail are leading the charge. Forbes recently reported on Walmart’s ambitions to bring full or partial automation to many of its 100+ warehouses.
The first of the bunch will be a central Florida distribution center located in Brooksville which will reportedly be, by 2023, the first Walmart warehouse to handle most products using automation. Specifically, robots will be used for tasks like unloading trucks, and forklifts will be operated autonomously.
When explaining to Forbes the benefits of the retailer’s operational shift, David Guggina, executive vice president of supply chain for Walmart, highlighted many advantages, including increased capacity, load accuracy, and supply chain speed.
Guggina adds that this all comes on top of lowered overall costs, and the shift is taking workers with it — in a good way. Skill development will take existing supply chain professionals into new roles as the non-value-added activity gets replaced with that of managing robotic material handling units and understanding software.
The report says managers stress that the newer functions provide workers with more mental stimulation and less physical stress.
