Automated Solutions: How Palletizing Systems Benefit Your Business
Efficiency and productivity are two areas businesses look at when improving their bottom line and boosting output. But since the pandemic, that paradigm has been thrown on its head. Now the biggest threat hitting these areas is the ongoing labor shortage.
There’s probably never been a better time to be looking for a job in recent history. But as a business owner, you feel the crunch, especially when it comes to warehousing functions. With so much competition, how do you manage to keep products shipping?
Enter the world of automation. Keep reading to see how our palletizing systems can offset the increased labor costs!
What are Robotic Palletizers?
Automated palletizing systems have been around for decades in some form or another. When thinking about them, you might picture the giant and cumbersome systems of old, taking up great swaths of floors space.
However, newer systems need just a fraction of the footprint and are more capable than ever before. Enter the robotic arm palletizer. A smaller footprint, cheaper costs, and reduced errors are all benefits of robotic palletizing equipment.
A hydraulic arm with specialized tools picks a product off a line and places it onto a pallet in these systems. They are equipped to handle a range of sizes and quantities, from smaller cases to large boxes.
Benefits of Palletizing Systems
Automated systems are a good fit anytime your business has a set of primary or secondary packaging workloads. Integrated solutions improve speed and reduce error while freeing employees to do other tasks.
Always Available
While machines need regular maintenance to stay in peak operating capacity, they never leave the floor. With no end yet in sight for a tight labor market, availability continues to be of top importance.
Robotic systems are always available, ready to keep packaging goods. If your packaging department suffers from high turnover and reduced output, it’s time to consider an automated system.
Speed
A robotic system will outperform even your best-performing workers. A robotic arm can grab, place, and secure cases on a pallet far quicker and with better accuracy.
A robotic arm’s palletization speed will vary depending on your setup, case size, and other factors. That said, they’re still much faster than any human. Improving palletizing speed without automation usually comes with errors and repetitive motion injuries.
Load Consistency
Case packing automation systems are consistent. Due to their high level of precision, your products will be evenly loaded across the pallet. You won’t have to worry about misplaced cases or offset load distribution.
When your employees work on palletizing, there’s usually a tradeoff between speed and accuracy. The faster they load the product, the more likely there is to be an error. Errors end up hurting your bottom line, from poor distribution to unsecured goods.
Reduce Bottlenecks
Whether your production setup takes up the whole warehouse or you’re a smaller operation, robotic systems cut out bottlenecks. Palletizing is a crucial workload and can often become a clog between production and shipping.
Traditionally, improving palletization throughput requires hiring more employees. A single palletizing system can keep up with higher throughput, allowing you to meet product demand.
Reduce Damage
Damaged goods cut into your bottom line. Robotic palletizing systems are precise and safe, ensuring your goods are loaded securely. Systems with automated shrinkwrapping further protect your products as they prepare to leave the warehouse.
Damage to cases or products often occurs during palletizing. The precision of automated systems prevents this from happening, boosting your bottom line.
It’s not just essential to get your product from production to shipping. You also need it to arrive at its destination in one piece. Properly palletized loads withstand the rigors of shipping, arriving at the store just as they were shipped.
Flexibility
Your business evolves as time goes on, and with it often comes changes to your products or packaging. Automated systems can keep up with these changes, adapting as needed.
Flexibility is also important if you run multiple product lines. Robotic palletizing equipment can adjust to varying package sizes and stacking patterns to adapt to your business needs.
Automated systems can also adjust to your workload, especially when it comes to increased throughput. In today’s day and age, business is rarely static. Robotic systems can adapt to your workload and meet varying demands.
Reduce Labor Costs
An automated system can run around the clock. They rarely require human intervention, allowing you to reassign workers to other tasks. You can save on labor costs and improve throughput.
Each employee you hire is an important asset, and as such, they require extensive compensation. Machines, on the other hand, do not. They’re always available and only need minimal maintenance to keep running.
Although automated systems cost more upfront, the return on investment becomes evident quickly. The only additional costs are electricity and general maintenance, adding up to far less than a traditional salary.
Save Warehouse Space
Traditional conveyor sorting systems require ample floor space to operate. Although fast and capable, it isn’t always feasible to dedicate that much space to these systems.
Robotic palletizing equipment does take up more space than employee operations, but they consume far less than bulkier conveyor systems. Plus, they use that space far more efficiently, increasing throughput.
Kaitech Solutions
No matter your industry or requirements, we have the solution for you. All our products are holistically designed to meet modern warehousing and shipping demands.
If you need more information about our palletizing systems or how they can work for you, don’t hesitate to contact us today! We’d be glad to discuss your business needs and direct you towards the right solution!