But meeting the needs of ever-increasing online consumers expecting next day or same day delivery isn’t as easy as it seems. Distribution centers of today and the future must adopt various technological innovations to make the delivery of goods more efficient.

In this post, we discuss a few technological innovations and systems that are tipped to power the distribution centers of the future and how they will affect the delivery of goods to consumers. Knowing and adapting to these changes will give your business a huge advantage in the marketplace.

Increased use of Robots
To increase efficiency and reduce costs, forward-thinking companies like Amazon are already testing and implementing the use of robots in distribution centers. In the future, it’s certain that more robots will be used to select and pack materials than humans.

The use of Artificial Intelligence
Even though the use artificial intelligence is in its nascent stages today, this technology will play a massive role in our day to day lives in the near future. In distribution centers, artificial intelligence (AI) will not only be used to find the fastest delivery routes but also to arrange how good will be picked up efficiently.
Smart distribution centers are already using advanced software like route planning and truckload planning to streamline the supply chain capability. AI will change how we approach warehouse inventory control as well as the pace of delivering customer orders.

Innovative designs
Distribution centers of the future will not only incorporate innovative designs to maximize space and operation efficiency, but they will also be located near city centers. The use of warehouse labels, warehouse striping and marking enhances space maximization and productivity among employees.

The rise of 3D Printing
3D printing technology will alter how goods are manufactured and distributed. In the future, distribution centers will act as mini-plants where customer orders will be printed, assembled and dispatched. As such, these centers will play a major role in manufacturing customer orders rather than just acting as a point of storage.

Autonomous vehicles
As self-driving technology evolves, tech giants like Amazon are coming up with innovations that will change how goods will be distributed in the future. In the near future, goods will be delivered by self-driving delivery trucks with precision. The management and coordination of these vehicles will occur inside distribution centers.

Increased use of Block Chain Technology
The use of blockchain technology for supply chain management will be a game changer. For starters, this type of technology makes the concept of smart contracting possible. Meaning most payments will occur electronically soon as given terms are met.

For instance, logistics companies will be able to collect payment automatically as soon as the delivery of goods is confirmed by the recipient. In short, blockchain and smart contracting technology will increase distribution efficiency and eliminate fraud that’s quite common in the logistics industry.

These are some of the few developments tipped to change how retail logistics and distribution centers will work. Already, some of the technologies are being used while others will be introduced in the near future once more scientific testing is done.

The need for warehouse identification and marking will be a requirement for as long as people play a part in the industry. Investing in the right barcode hanging signs or rack labels will be as important in the future as it is now with RFID integrations becoming the norm maybe, and line striping may play an enhanced role as separation of pedestrian and equipment becomes even more important for safety and operational requirements

Fortunately, ASG Services can help with these and develop their products daily to meet changing demands, so please feel free to ask about your requirements, contact us today.

The post Trends and Technologies that Will Shape Future Distribution Centers appeared first on ASG Services.

But without warehouses, societies would have turned out very differently, had they survived at all. While the basic function of the warehouse hasn’t changed all that much — there have been variations, but they’ve all stemmed from the same purpose — the details have changed tremendously as technology has advanced.

The original purpose: survive lean times

The first known warehouses weren’t so much houses or buildings as they were convenient storage spaces that didn’t promote rot in food. Initially, these storage spaces were meant to store surplus food for lean times. Shipping the food to faraway lands on a private citizen’s order, as might be done now with a pack of protein bars, was unheard of.

Gradually these storage spaces grew to include other goods used in the home, for construction, and for daily life. As civilizations grew and began to increase their commercial reach and technological use, they had more goods to store. Regions such as Venice became known as warehouse and storage hubs because of access to ports and well-trodden land routes for trading. These areas also initiated the use of such tracking procedures as receipts.

The division of warehouse storage into spaces with specific purposes and categories of storage ramped up during the industrial revolution and the decades following it, as companies created rail- and boat-linked hubs that functioned both as warehouse storage and shipping centers. Many of these warehouses were further devolved into specialized locations for specific activities along the supply chain, such as packing goods for shipment.

As automation crept its way into warehousing and shipping, the different warehouses and storage sites were reconsolidated. This centralization allowed automated devices like conveyor belts to connect storage and packing functions.

With computerization and the ability to track items by barcode came the just-in-time supply chain. Instead of having several weeks’ worth of goods stockpiled at a local warehouse, most stored items stayed in a central location — a distribution hub — and were shipped out to different localities as needed. Inventory control through the use of scanners and codes, as well as RFID chips, has allowed stores and other businesses to order more efficiently and promptly, making stockpiling less necessary. Advances in shipping times and connections have also helped companies make this switch.

The central distribution hub with on-demand shipping remains the dominant model, but now computerized algorithms have made the process even faster. In companies like Amazon, for example, an algorithm creates a path for a human picker to follow to grab items in the most efficient way possible. While not every company uses a similar algorithm, other methods are often close; computer systems keep track of where everything is stored and whether something is in stock, and humans can head straight for that item, rather than wandering aisles and relying on memory.

These systems rely on accurate labeling and marking of both the products and the pathways through the warehouse. ASG offers comprehensive warehouse and storage labeling and coding, allowing you to quickly gain control of your inventory and shipping processes. Whether you need only a few barcodes or if you need to have your entire storage space labeled, ASG has a solution for you. Visit our pages for information on Warehouse Signs, Warehouse Barcode Labels and Internal Line Striping.

The post Evolution of the Warehouse appeared first on ASG Services.

As more people needed to go grocery shopping, crowds and lines increased, and shopkeepers needed a way to make the whole process more efficient. Once the codes were in use, the way items were bought and restocked would no longer be the same.

Ahead of Its Time
As the post-World-War-II population of the United States swelled, crowds at grocery stores naturally became bigger. The increased sales and restocking sessions created virtual logjams as people had to wait a long time to get through the store and checkout. At that point, checking out was all manual; there were no scanners.

One market’s manager in Pennsylvania reached the point where he contacted the dean of a nearby university (Drexel) to ask the school to come up with something that would alleviate wait times and help with inventory control. A grad student and alumnus decided to take on the job. It took a couple of dedicated years, but in the winter of 1949, that alumnus, Joe Woodland, drew some lines in the sand on a beach and realized he had found the key.

Woodland knew Morse Code and played around with changing the dots and dashes to thick and thin lines. The idea was to have a machine that would read the pattern of lines and send the information to a register. Woodland and his colleague built a huge working model, but it was nowhere near complete – and it was too big to be practical for markets – because laser scanners weren’t yet a reality. The barcode was literally ahead of its time.

Catching Up
However, the early 1960s brought in a wave of technological changes – including the invention of laser beams. While the man who created the laser thought along the lines of using the invention for scientific purposes, researchers at RCA had different plans. In the mid-1960s, these researchers were working on commercial applications for automated technology, and one of the projects they had focused on automated supermarket checkouts after the Kroger grocery company asked them to try to create a grocery scanner. This led to a few false starts, but once the researchers found the patent for the barcode, they quickly got to work.

Initially, the barcode was round. The logic behind this was that a product with a round code didn’t need to be turned around so the scanner could see the correct code. By 1972, RCA was installing automated checkout systems in stores.

At the same time, another group was working on developing a universal code that all stores could use, called a Universal Product Code. This group met up with RCA’s group and realized that the UPC and the barcode were made for each other. Eventually, the two groups redesigned the code to look like the boxy barred code that you see today. In 1974, the first item — a pack of chewing gum — was rung up using this UPC barcode.

The barcode has become truly universal crossing multiple industries. Shipping companies, warehouses and distribution centers, manufacturing, medical, archives and evening by marketing to provide data on how to buy.

ASG Services is one company which has specialized in producing barcoded products for location identification in distribution centers and manufacturing. Their contribution to the barcodes history is in developing cost effective durable solutions, with designs and configurations that are easy to understand and easily used by all users.

Using codes to track product remains the most efficient method and with the development and adoption of 2-D matrix symbology, also known as QR codes and data matrix. These store much more information and can be used for more detailed requirements. Microsoft’s development of the color matrix barcode takes the information storage even further for niche requirements.

Companies such as ASG Services can create all types of barcodes with label designs to suit the operational purpose, helping you track, locate and ship your products.

Contact ASG Services on (877) 447-9798 or visit our warehouse identification & marking website for your barcode needs and see how we can help your distribution center become more user friendly, efficient and managed with unique barcode equipped products.

The post Brief history of the barcode appeared first on ASG Services.