Automation to continue momentum in 2024

While our brethren in charge of moving freight can’t wait to close the books on 2023, Modern readers are quietly celebrating another year that saw not only the continued evolution of game-changing automation, robotics, software and power options, but witnessed a year in which adoption of these technologies continued to climb.

Much of our reporting and reader surveys this year indicate that even the biggest skeptics are beginning to see the light. This month in Modern, we offer a collection of stories that will push this positive momentum around automation and the elements that make it work into 2024.

Executive editor Bob Trebilcock shares how the world’s largest distributor of alcoholic beverages built one of the most automated facilities in its network; senior editor Roberto Michel tracks the evolution of the infrastructure necessary to power and connect all this automation; and editor at large Gary Forger encapsulates the state of automated storage as well as the totes and bins that complete these systems.

On a list of companies considered materials handling automation pioneers, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits would be somewhere up near the top. In fact, this is the fourth time the distributor has been featured in Modern since 2015, and each time we’ve learned something new about their savvy operations as they continue to build on each previous innovation success.

“In the past, they were one of the first to implement an AS/RS for storage and replenishment,” says Trebilcock, who’s been charting the company’s progress over the years. “In the new Dallas facility, we find a unique case dispensing technology for fast movers and a shuttle system for storing and picking slow movers. It’s an exciting facility, and, as always, it’s fascinating to see where a leader is taking the industry next.”

And as more operations like Southern Glazer’s continue to evolve and deploy more automation, and with even more rolling out multiple mobile automation fleets, the need for updated wireless networks and charging platforms is pressing. As Michel reports, this isn’t going to happen overnight, but there’s a new, much-needed focus on the infrastructure as momentum builds.

“It’s clear that these concerns are just starting to emerge, but the good news is that they’re not five years out from being acted upon,” says Michel. “A few companies are already outfitting sites with private wireless networks, for example, and multiple vendors now offer contactless, inductive charging solutions.”

Michel stresses that’s there’s no need to panic for most operations, but it might be time to rethink infrastructure needs that will follow the shift to intensive use of mobile automation. And speaking of “rethinking,” he also takes a deeper look the growing motive power choices for electric trucks—another area that’s evolving and needs further consideration from fleet managers.

“Lithium, it turns out, is growing most rapidly among motive power choices,” says Michel. “For more users, however, motive power choice boils down to two key outcomes: a more highly productive fleet and less time and cost spent on motive power maintenance. In the end, the choice needs to deliver on outcomes like space savings and uptime.”