With the rise of e-commerce companies and the need for optimizing the supply chain, warehouses are being modernized with the help of technology. Robotics technology is leading this modernization by introducing supply chain automation to solve warehouse challenges and meet customer demand.

Traditional robots did not have the intelligence required to run complex warehouse operations, but that has changed. Now, robots use micro-technology, machine learning, a variety of sensors, and programmable interfaces to make supply chain automation easy, efficient, and cost-effective.

Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are the new generation of robots that use cameras, floor markers, lasers, wires, or magnets to navigate themselves on a floor and between aisles. AGVs can be monitored in real-time and integrated with your ERP or WMS system for centralized control. AGVs streamline warehouse operations and supply chain management by handling materials and performing labor-intensive tasks safely.

Technology advancements in AGVs are focused on automating warehouse forklifts, conveyor belts, pushcarts, and small-vehicle fleets. Using AGVs, warehouse managers can automate the whole supply chain, including inventory management, purchasing orders, manufacturing, sales, and distribution. In addition, AGVs can communicate with different departments and alert them about storage capacity, product mismatch, aisle issues, and much more.

Some common types of AGVs are Automatic Guided Carts, Forklift AGVs, Tugger AGVs, Unit Load handlers, Heavy Burden Carriers, Plinth Lift Systems, Conveyor Deck AGVs.

Following are some common use cases of AGVs-
1. Product Sorting
2. Goods-to-Person Transport
3. Automated storage & retrieval of goods
4. Work-in-process movement
5. Repetitive movement of pallets
6. Trailer loading/unloading

Warehouse modernization has become essential to gain a competitive advantage with cost-optimization and better efficiency. With increasing labor costs and safety inspections, warehouses are adopting AGVs to keep pace with consumer demand

1. Automated Warehousing and Distribution
Warehouses use AGVs to minimize delivery errors and avoid unforeseen accidents by integrating AGVs with their inventory management and delivery workflow. AGVs automate a variety of warehousing tasks such as loading, unloading, sorting, etc.

2. Material Handling for Manufacturing
AGVs are making production-line tasks more efficient by on-time delivery of materials at the required place. AGVs handle raw material and finished goods from and to the production line very efficiently without any error and accident with minimal human intervention.

3. Driverless Forklifts for Product Transport
Forklifting is one of the most labor-intensive tasks with lots of safety concerns in a warehouse. Warehouses use AGVs for forklifting to ensure incoming and outgoing products are moved with utmost safety to their desired place.

AGVs are not limited to warehouses. In fact, these can be used in any scenario where material transportation is required very often in a particular manner. Through easily programmable interfaces, AGVs can be programmed to perform specialized tasks beyond the warehouse.

Following are some of the use-cases where AGVs are witnessing more adoption-

1. Healthcare Facilities- Hospitals and caregiving facilities require scheduled transport of foods, medicines, and other supplies to different locations. Specialized AGVs are an excellent fit to handle this task with utmost safety and sanitization.

2. Airport Baggage- There have been some significant advancements for airport baggage logistics using AGV fleets. We might witness its adoption at airports across the globe for safe transport.

3. Cleaning & Disinfecting- Apart from inherently supporting social distancing, AGVs can be used extensively for cleaning & disinfecting facilities everywhere. This can promote a healthier environment all day long with scheduled and better disinfection using AGVs.

AGVs have become increasingly popular in recent times, and they are clearly the future of material handling & transportation. Along with ready-to-use AGVs, businesses can delegate monotonous tasks to specialized AGVs and cut down their costs while increasing overall efficiency.