Experts flag blackouts as a deterrent to warehouse automation

SA’s poor infrastructure, unstable power supply and lack of expertise and training, coupled with the resistance from the workforce, are among the key challenges retarding investment in the automation of warehouses.

This was said by panellists at an automation event hosted by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport: SA (Ciltsa) last week. Stakeholders were briefed about key benefits and risks associated with modernising the growing warehousing sector, in a bid to keep up with global trends and to cut costs.

Gerhard van Zyl, group operations director at artificial intelligence (AI) group AsimoTech, said it is becoming harder for warehousing businesses to avoid automation to remain competitive. However, structural issues in SA are making it difficult for local companies to automate, he said, though in the long term it is inevitable.

“Unfortunately, it boils down to the level of labour and education we have,” he said.

Demand for logistics and warehousing facilities has remained high in SA in recent years, driven by the accelerated rise in online retail and supply chain optimisation. And large corporates are consolidating smaller warehouse facilities into large, modern facilities, Nedbank says. 

Yet panellists agreed the technological advancements in warehousing are being integrated slowly in SA due to inappropriate infrastructure, limited know-how and high capital costs.

Munya Husvu, CEO of specialist management consulting firm ISB Optimus, cautioned against a universal approach to mechanising. He said that getting the mix right involves understanding real-time data to source solutions that reduce working capital and simultaneously satisfy customers’ needs.

“There is a lot of working capital that gets tied down in warehouses, either through inventory kept in the warehouses or through the actual warehouse materials and equipment themselves,” he said. “So we want to optimise around our working capital and make sure we have enough cash left to be able to service the other needs of our businesses.”

Mundane processes

Technological advancements in warehouse automation range from robots that move and stack consignments to software and scanners that seamlessly transforms mundane processes such as counting items, which often form part of the work in warehouses.

The founder and owner of logistics company Mamoja Trading & Projects, Annah Ngxeketo, noted that companies have the option to rent, lease or rent-to-buy the various solutions rather than to own the technology, which is ever-changing. 

Husvu said warehouse facilities have to give customers the right convenience at the right premium.

Decrying the fact that IT departments in big companies are often centred on software, computers and general email and networking issues, Van Zyl said that often “they know nothing about robots or autonomous operating vehicles within the warehouse. It’s not in their field of expertise.

“So one must be careful that when you go down that road you must have backup expertise otherwise you are going to be up a creek with no canoe [or] paddle.”   

Additionally, as businesses look abroad to international hubs of mechanisation such as Germany and Asia, they need to do due diligence to ensure that the machinery and solutions they import have been proved to work in the African context, Van Zyl said.

“We are unique,” he said, highlighting that local weather, long distances, congested borders, poor roads and non-existent railway systems are all part of the operating environment.

He said business owners should not be afraid to ask manufacturers to conduct test runs of the technology in their specific firms to avoid making expensive mistakes in purchasing machinery and software.

gumedemi@businesslive.co.za