St. Onge Company’s Norm Saenz recently published an article in Modern Materials Handing about how warehouse automation has evolved from early AS/RS and AGVs into today’s AI-driven, robotics-powered systems. Automation offers major gains in efficiency, accuracy, and throughput, but success depends on aligning the technology with facility conditions, data quality, product profiles, and business needs. As labor shortages and e-commerce demands accelerate adoption, the right mix of automation is becoming a strategic necessity for meeting performance and customer service goals. Use the link below to read the article!

We have come a long way since the Industrial Revolution and the widespread adoption of then new technologies like the steam engine, leading to mass production in factories and increased use of machinery to drive large increases in productivity. In warehousing, impactful automation began with pallet automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) in the 1950s. The most significant advancements occurred between the 1980s and 1990s, when computer-controlled robotics and sensor technologies revolutionized manufacturing and distribution automation. Recent technology advancement is ushering in a new era of automating warehouse material handling promising new levels of efficiency and performance.

 
 
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