WE
ELEVATE
YOUR
BUSINESS
www.pflow.com (414) 352-9000 Milwaukee, WIMaterial handlingsolutions formanufacturingand warehousingoperations.
www.dcvelocity.com APRIL 2020 DC VELOCITY 31
with the process; they may not have all
the answers, but they should be able to
help you find them.”
AUTOMATE FOR THE LONG TERMAutomation is quickly becoming atrend in cold storage, and two elementsare driving it: speed and a chroniclabor shortage. Automation can helpimprove both safety and productivityin the warehouse, addressing the needto get products in and out quickly in aclimate that makes it tough to attractworkers. E-commerce is a factor aswell. Recent research points to growing demand for cold storage facilitiesnationwide, in part due to an increasein e-grocery delivery. Online grocerysales are expected to increase 13% by2022, according to research from commercial real estate giant CBRE. Nearlyhalf of U.S. consumers already shopfor packaged food products online, afigure that is expected to rise to 70%by 2022, the company also said. A largeportion of that will likely be perishablefood items, requiring more freezer/cooler space for storage and distribution, CBRE researchers wrote in a late2019 report titled Food on Demand:Cold Storage Logistics Unpacked.
A shift toward AS/RS and otherautomated solutions will help organizations make the best use of thosespaces and keep pace with the growingvolume of products and deliveries.
“In today’s environment, everythingmoves even faster than [it did just afew] years ago, so you have to startlooking into an automation phase,”Eastman explains.
Automation can reduce employ-
ees’ exposure to harsh conditions, for
example, and as a result, speed the
loading and unloading process while
freeing up labor for other warehouse
tasks. Eastman points to AS/RS as a
common solution in cold storage envi-
ronments, noting that such systems
can be fully automated or semi-auto-
mated depending on an organization’s
needs. Kukal adds that the broader
cold storage industry is moving toward
fully automated high-bay rack-sup-
ported structures as a way to accom-
modate demand for more products
and faster delivery—a trend that
also begins with a “back to basics”
approach focused on proper struc-
ture and design.
“With high-bay rack-supported
structures, you have the ability to
maximize the storage density, and
the automation eliminates most, if
not all, damage caused due to rack
strikes by conventional forklifts,” he
explains. “The challenge for most
racking providers has shifted to
including the load requirements for
the structures as well as the pallet
loads being stored.” ;
