How AMRs Streamline Material Movement and Reduce Bottlenecks in Warehouse Facilities
Your warehouse buzzes with activity and a giant desire to thrive. Yet material movement cannot keep up with the pace.
You wonder:
When did order fulfillment delays become our new normal?
Could workers be stretched thin, manually transporting goods from one end to the other?
Has the space gotten too packed and too poorly organized?
These questions are bell rings keeping you up at night.
Enter autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), the game-changer your warehouse operations have been waiting for!
In this article, we’ll delve into how AMRs can revolutionize material movement in your warehouse. And spare you from dreadful bottlenecks.
Three AMRs hacks for streamlining your warehouse material movement problems and bottlenecks
AMRs are versatile robots built to seamlessly navigate through your warehouse, transporting materials with precision and speed.
By integrating AMRs into your workflow, you can reduce bottlenecks, enhance productivity, and free up your workforce to focus on more value-added tasks.
Here are three ways they can transform your warehouse and help you overcome obstacles:
1. Flexible Navigation for Unstructured Environments
Traditional material-handling methods, such as forklifts, conveyor belts, and AGVs, require predefined paths, which limit warehouse flexibility and create bottlenecks when traffic is high. In contrast, AMRs use LiDAR, cameras, and machine learning algorithms to assess their environment in real-time.
Relevant key benefits for you are:
● Adaptive routing: AMRs find the most efficient path, avoiding congestion and obstacles.
● Seamless scalability: New robots can be easily deployed without changing facility layouts.
● Continuous workflow optimization: AMRs adjust based on real-time warehouse conditions.
2. Reduced Human-Dependent Processes
Manual material handling is prone to delays, fatigue, and errors. Employees tasked with moving goods must navigate large spaces, increasing the risk of bottlenecks during peak hours.
How AMRs solve this predicament:
● 24/7 operation: Robots do not require breaks, reducing idle time.
● Consistent performance: AMRs follow optimized workflows, reducing misplacements.
● Integration with warehouse management systems (WMS): AMRs automatically retrieve, transport, and sort items based on real-time inventory needs.
3. Improved Order Picking and Packing Efficiency
For warehouses dealing with high order volumes, rapid and accurate picking and packing are critical.
AMRs assist warehouse workers by:
● Minimize worker travel time: Autonomous transport of bins and packages to workstations.
● Improve accuracy: Reduce human error in order fulfillment.
● Shorten cycle times: Accelerate order processing.
Warehouses using AMRs report a 20-30% improvement in order fulfillment speed, directly impacting customer satisfaction and retention.
AMRs Bring Cost-saving Opportunities into the Warehouse
Can you lower OPEX when labor, equipment maintenance, and operational supplies are up?
Despite your best efforts, only a dramatic change can deliver results.
Autonomous Mobile Robots are the cost-saving heroes your warehouse needs.
Let’s see the cost-saving potential they introduce into the warehouse:
1. Labor Cost Reduction
Labor costs are one of the most significant expenses for warehouse operations. Hiring, training, and maintaining a workforce to move goods manually can be expensive and inefficient.
Comparison of Manual Labor vs. AMRs:
Warehouses typically reduce labor costs by 30–50% within the first year of AMR deployment.
2. Lower Workplace Injury Costs
Manual material movement often leads to workplace injuries, including strains, slips, and collisions. Injuries result in:
● Medical costs.
● Lost workdays.
● Potential lawsuits
By automating heavy-lifting tasks, AMRs reduce workplace injuries by 70%, minimizing worker compensation claims and improving overall safety.
3. Space Optimization & Facility Savings
Traditional warehouse layouts require wide aisles for forklifts and pallet jacks. Since AMRs are more compact and maneuverable, they enable:
● 20-30% better space utilization.
● Higher storage density without increasing warehouse size.
● Lower infrastructure expansion costs.
By maximizing vertical storage and aisle space, businesses delay or eliminate the need for expensive facility expansions.
ROI & the End Benefits of Adopting AMRs
A typical AMR implementation sees a return on investment (ROI) within 12–24 months. The actual result would depend on:
● lower labor costs,
● reduced errors,
● higher order accuracy,
● and boosted efficiency in picking, sorting, and transportation.
Let’s draft an example based on "XYZ,” an e-commerce fulfillment center located in the US. XYZ targets to manage rapid order growth with limited warehouse space and staff shortages. Their solution is AMR adoption.
These would be the expected XYZ results after adopting AMRs for 6 months:
Fig. 1. Case study comparison of e-commerce fulfillment center before and after AMR adoption.
Key takeaway: By using AMRs, the company XYZ could save up to $1.2 million annually in labor and OPEX while increasing warehouse throughput.
AMRs also Offer Long-term Value in Competitive Advantage and Energy Efficiency
Beyond immediate cost savings from AMR adoption, the warehouse also experiences:
● Increased capacity without additional physical expansion.
● Scalability to adapt to seasonal demand fluctuations.
● Improved customer service due to faster, more accurate fulfillment.
● 80% less energy consumed compared to traditional forklifts and conveyor systems (lower energy usage = reduced carbon footprint and operational costs).
Conclusion
E-commerce, just-in-time inventory management, and supply chain optimization are on the rise. Not counting on a scalable, cost-effective, and efficient solution to address:
● labor shortages,
● improve accuracy,
● and enhance productivity
is no longer an option.
Warehouse automation through AMRs is the future of the industry.
What should be your next step?
Choose Verdusco Automation as your AMR solutions partner.
At Verdusco Automation, we specialize in:
● Custom AMR solutions tailored to your warehouse’s needs.
● End-to-end robotics integration for maximum efficiency.
● Industry-leading automation expertise to future-proof your operations.
Ready to optimize your warehouse with AMRs?
Contact Verdusco Automation today!
📩 Get in touch now: https://www.verduscoautomation.com/contact.
