Logistics automation

Logistics automation systems comprise a variety of hardware and software components: A typical warehouse or distribution center will receive stock of a variety of products from suppliers and store these until the receipt of orders from customers, whether individual buyers (e.g. mail order), retail branches (e.g. chain stores), or other companies (e.g. wholesalers).

The use of Automatic Guided Vehicles maximizes the output compared to humans since they can do repetitive tasks for long hours and with least to no supervision.

An AGV is built and programmed for precision and accuracy thereby reducing the chances of errors in a warehouse, especially when dealing with fragile goods.

[3] Knowledge @ Wharton staff writers noted in 2011 that some manufacturers and retailers were weathering the Great Recession "by signing up for pay-as-you-go logistics services available through the Internet 'cloud'".

They identified the benefits and reduced costs which came from sharing information about shipments with suppliers, hauliers and end users.

Mail rotating sorter for ordering arriving mail in a straight line
Factory automation with KUKA industrial robots for palletizing food products like bread and toast at a bakery in Germany
Mail sorting line: mail is identified through bar-code scanning and automatically sorted by destination.
Automatic wrapping machine for unit loads
Automatic box labeling machine