The logistics industry is evolving rapidly over the years. Intralogistics is a subset of logistics that moves raw materials and information within a warehouse or manufacturing facility. It includes activities like order picking, packaging, inventory management, etc.
Intralogistics integrates advanced technology like automation and robotics to optimize internal logistics processes and thus reduce the cost of the business. The global intralogistics market is anticipated to reach $79.36 billion by 2030, mainly because of the rise in ecommerce demands.
What is Intralogistics?
Intralogistics is a branch of logistics that focuses on the efficient movement of materials and information within an organization.
Managing internal goods flow and information is a challenging task for most businesses. Slight inefficiencies can lead to stockout or overstocking problems, raise costs, and cause delays in order fulfillment. This dissatisfied customers and decreases brand reputation in the market. Hence, most businesses are adopting intralogistics. It involves moving goods and materials inside an organization, storing them in their designated places, handling equipment, and managing inventory. Streamlining all the internal warehouse operations can make order fulfillment faster and enhance customer satisfaction.
Several industries are reaping the benefits of intralogistics today. For example, if we talk about manufacturing facilities, combine material movement and advanced technology to stay competitive in the market and boost productivity.
Third-party logistics companies adopt intralogistics to optimize warehouse operations and efficiently move clients’ goods and materials. A warehouse and inventory management system is a key component of intralogistics, and most third-party logistics companies in India adopt it.
Difference Between Logistics And Intralogistics
Both logistics and intralogistics are essential aspects of supply chain processes. Logistics is a broader concept that deals with the efficient flow of goods, materials, and information from the origin to the final destination. It involves goods movement between various locations. For example, the movement of goods and products from warehouses to retailers or wholesalers.
However, intralogistics is a subset of logistics and deals with the management of material flow and information within a warehouse or distribution facility of a business. It optimizes all the internal processes of a company to support logistics.
Key Components Of Intralogistics
There are various key components of intralogistics, which are outlined below.
1. Material Handling
Material handling equipment involves machines that lift and place goods and materials in their designated places. The equipment includes forklifts, conveyors, cranes, and automated guided vehicles. Using this equipment reduces the Company’s labor costs and enhances the safety of handling heavy loads inside the warehouse.
2. Warehouse Management System
The warehouse management system is a software that manages various warehouse operations efficiently. The software tracks inventories and avoids overstocking or understocking problems. It even assigns picking and packaging tasks to the respective staff in an organization. The warehouse management system even optimizes the storage space inside the warehouse. Thus, it increases the storage capacity by almost 40%.
3. Automation And Robotics
Today, customers demand that their ordered products arrive faster and more cost-effectively. Hence, more businesses are leveraging automation and robotics, like autonomous mobile robots and robotic arms. It improves productivity and reduces labor costs for a company. Warehouse automation and robotics can even improve accuracy and reduce accidents in workplaces.
4. Order Picking And Fulfillment
The warehouse system will receive customer orders and generate a picking list. The fulfillment center staff will pick up the ordered product from the designated place, do it through packaging, and then hand it to the shipper. Leveraging advanced technology can make order picking and packaging faster and enhance customer satisfaction.
5. Inventory Management
It focuses on tracking and organizing the stock inside the warehouse facility. It ensures the correct quantity of products is always available inside the warehouse to fulfill customer’s orders. The business utilizes barcodes or IOT sensors to track real-time movement and location. They even use ABC analysis to categorize the goods inside the warehouse. Advanced technologies can better manage inventories, improve order accuracy, and reduce the storage costs of a business.
Benefits Of Intralogistics Solutions
The benefits of intralogistics solutions are as follows
1. Fater Order Processing
Intralogistics adopts advanced technology like automation, which fulfills orders faster. This enhances customer satisfaction and improves the brand reputation of the marer.
2. Reduces labor Costs
Intralogistics solutions adopt technology like conveyor systems and robotics, which independently manage warehouse picking and packaging operations. Hence, a business requires less labor for warehouse operations. Thus, it reduces the labor costs of a company.
3. Fewer Errors In Picking And Packing
Intralogistics adopt technology like mobile robots that pick the ordered products and do packaging independently. Thus, there are fewer errors engaged in picking and packaging.
4. Better Inventory Control
Intralogistics adopts a warehouse management system, IOT sensors, and RFID tags, which better manage inventory inside the warehouse. It even reduces problems like overstocking and understocking issues.
Best Practices For Optimising Intralogistics
The best practices for intralogistics management include the following.
1. Lean Inventory management
Businesses need to practice lean inventory management, which means they should hold stock as per customer demand. It can adopt JIT (just-in-time inventory management) or ABC analysis to have the correct amount of stock.
2. Cross Docking And Slotting Techniques
Cross docking involves directly transferring goods from the supplier dock to the outbound dock. The goods are not stored in the warehouse. This will reduce the holding costs of a business. Again, slotting techniques involve product categorization in the form of their size, shape, and order fulfillment. Cross-docking can enhance the space inside the warehouse.
3. Implementing WMS And ERP Systems
Businesses should connect WMS with ERP systems for real-time inventory visibility inside the warehouse. It even allows specific tasks to the warehouse staff.
Final Words
Today, customers want to receive the products they ordered immediately. In such cases, businesses should focus on internal efficiency to stay competitive. Effective intralogistics is essential to maintain smooth supply chain operations. It reduces operational costs and enhances the productivity of a business.
AAJ Supply Chain Company is a leading logistics company in India, and it has embraced intralogistics solutions to stay competitive. All the warehouses of this company are integrated with advanced technology, such as warehouse management systems, to optimize supply chain operations.
They even focus on lean inventory management, real-time data tracking, and ergonomics practices to optimize intralogistics solutions.
AAJ Supply Chain Management
