Warehouse AI - Making your investment count
You’ve done your artificial intelligence (AI) tech research, found use cases for your warehouse, and pulled the trigger on an investment. Now that you’ve spent all that time and money bringing AI into your operations, it’s time to sit back and reap the benefits, right? Not so fast…
AI offers immense benefits to warehouse operations, but there’s more to warehouse implementation than flicking a switch. Getting full value for your investments means having the skills, metrics, and monitoring systems in place after your company powers up its AI solution. Recently, SupplyChain24/7 brought Warren Arnold and Joe Shaw from Dematic together to discuss the common pitfalls companies make following “go live” and how they can lay the groundwork for long-term success.
“Much of the preparation for a project is focused on the ‘Go Live.’ However, the real challenge is building a training plan and methodology that will sustain the life of the system,” says Shaw in the Q&A. “The ownership of that process needs to be a part of the customer’s normal standard operating procedures. This includes maintaining up-to-date materials, involving good trainers, and practicing coaching on a daily basis.”
Moreover, the long-term success of an AI solution hinges on defining what you want to accomplish with your solution and being able to track the results. For example, Shaw adds, "We will always compare the expected throughput rates to the post-implementation actual rates. Since changes to order profiles can impact the overall rates, this needs to be taken as a more holistic review of the system performance."
It also pays to understand that AI solutions require regular reviews and upkeep. Equally important is setting aside money for system optimizations when they are available, especially those that ensure your AI systems are protected against the most current cyber threats.
Granted, all of this AI upkeep relies on a company where all teams are invested in making the solution work. As Arnold notes, "Long-term success means the system delivers the intended benefits as originally planned when it was purchased. This can only be realized with a collaborative work environment between maintenance and operations teams. The maintenance team needs to prove their effectiveness in keeping the equipment running reliably so the operations team views them as the solution to, not the source of, problems."
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