Apex’s Automated Solutions Support a “Low-Touch” Warehousing Environment

Q: What are some of the top automation trends you’re seeing in 2020?

A: Companies are stepping up automation to optimize new areas of their businesses, and social distancing rules have increased their sense of urgency. Apex self-serve solutions automate manual processes while keeping them low-touch. In a DC, for example, they give employees self-serve access to the appropriate scanner, RF, or voice-picking equipment. At a wholesale distributor, customers can place their orders by phone or via an app and then pick it up from a locker. It’s fast and easy.

Q: Do these “low-touch” solutions make sense from an economic standpoint?  

A: Absolutely. In DCs, employees often start their shifts by standing in line to get a scanner.  With an automated solution, they just scan their badges and check out that equipment from a locker, in less than 10 seconds. When you multiply that time saved by hundreds of employees, it can add up to tens of thousands of hours annually.

Q: Do you expect demand for low-touch/high-productivity automated solutions to continue?

A: Virtually every business is under pressure to do things faster and smarter. Every minute counts. Add in the critical need for social distancing and self-serve solutions become a tremendous help for minimizing risk. Think of an office environment where employees need their computers and mobile phones, for instance, or an IT staff that uses self-serve solutions to minimize contact with employees while servicing laptops or replacing peripherals. In this highly sensitized environment, we expect more companies to find ways to reduce physical contact in lines or other congested areas while also providing exceptional service.