Dark Warehouse: The manual warehouse - status quo of intralogistics (part 3).

Before we talk about a highly automated dark warehouse, it is worth taking a look at the foundation of intralogistics: the classic manual warehouse. It is still standard in many companies today and shapes the everyday life of numerous logistics centers.

The manual warehouse

The focus is on the employees, who manage all processes manually. In addition to physical exertion, the work also requires a high level of concentration and experience. This is because usually only a few people know where which goods are located and what needs to be done next. If there is also time pressure because the truck is waiting outside or a customer orders at short notice, things quickly become hectic.

Typical for the manual warehouse:

• Means of transportation such as sack trucks, forklift trucks, pallet trucks (ant) or high-lift trucks to move pallets and boxes from A to B.
• Paper lists or mobile data collection devices (MDC) for recording orders and stock.
• Visual orientation in the warehouse through labeling, shelf labels or floor markings.
• Small parts storage, shelving storage, pallet storage, heavy-duty racking or cantilever racking etc.

People are the key factor here: with experience, an overview and the right decisions, they keep the processes and goods flowing.

The storage areas:

• Incoming goods: Deliveries are checked for correctness, completeness, quality and damage, unpacked or repacked if necessary and recorded in the system (Excel, mini WMS or ERP warehouse tool).
• Storage: Pallets are placed on the shelves by forklift. Cartons or individual parts are brought to the storage locations, stored and booked using a trolley, for example.
• Picking: Employees follow picking routes, scan articles and pack them into containers or onto a trolley.
• Packing and shipping: Cartons are packed manually, closed, labeled and taken to the outgoing goods department.
• Inventory control: Inventories are often carried out manually or with mobile devices.

Companies often mention points like these when it comes to arguments in favor of a manual warehouse:

• Flexibility: People can improvise and react to unforeseeable situations: "The part isn't where the system says it should be - I'll find it."
• Lower investment costs: We don't need an AutoStore, a conveyor system or robots - our employees have always done this by hand and foot.
• Know-how: Many see the experience of employees as an advantage, especially with non-standardized goods or processes.

But if you look at it honestly, these arguments are based more on tradition and gut feeling than on hard facts.

Reasons for a manual warehouse and why they no longer apply today:

1st argument: A manual warehouse is more flexible.

Flexibility used to be a clear human advantage - but not anymore. A modern WMS (Warehouse Management System) can prioritize order flows in real time, dynamically re-sort stocks, optimize routes and even schedule special orders automatically.

2nd argument: Automation costs too much money.

Yes, the investment is high - but that's only half the story. A manual warehouse has high personnel and error costs as well as costs due to accidents and downtime, etc. An automated warehouse pays for itself after a few years and is then more profitable.

3rd argument: People make fewer mistakes in special cases.

Today's systems are sensor-supported, self-learning (e.g. AI recognizes patterns and deviations), fully networked with ERP, AGVs, robots and conveyor technology. The error rate is almost zero. And if something does go wrong, the system recognizes the error immediately. A human usually only notices the error when the customer makes a complaint.

4th argument: Our employees are more experienced.

A WMS stores knowledge based on experience - centrally, accessible at any time and scalable. If an experienced employee resigns or retires, their knowledge remains in the system.

What a human has (still) ahead of the WMS:

• Exceptional situations: If the power goes out, the internet has a fault, unplanned maintenance/problems occur at the automated warehouse or the truck driver says "I need this now", people are excellent at improvising. They can react flexibly to the situation even without a predefined process.
• Emotional intelligence: Employees can motivate other colleagues, resolve conflicts and reassure customers.
• Very small warehouses with a low throughput of goods: Here, the investment in automation may simply be oversized. The employees can still manage this themselves.

So: A manual warehouse feels more flexible, but as soon as it reaches a certain size or complexity, a WMS combined with automation is simply superior. The real advantage lies in the combination of WMS plus employees. The software brings structure and the human manages maintenance or breakdowns.

Challenges of the manual warehouse

With increasing competitive pressure and growing customer requirements, manual warehouses are increasingly reaching their limits.

• Skilled labor shortage: Qualified personnel for warehouse work is hard to find. There is simply a lack of employees who are willing to work physically in shifts.
• Susceptibility to errors: Manual processes are naturally more susceptible to errors or misunderstandings. Despite experience, picking errors occur, labels are misread or stock is counted inaccurately.
• Exploding costs: Wages, energy prices and land costs are rising continuously and increasing the pressure on profitability. This is a problem when the business is mainly dependent on human labor.
• Performance limits: People cannot work 24/7 and need breaks. Weekend work and night shifts are expensive, tiring and error-prone.
  Ergonomic strain: Constant lifting, bending and carrying leads to health problems, absenteeism and high sickness rates.
• Scalability: If the order volume grows rapidly, manual processes quickly reach their limits.

These factors are causing many companies to consider alternatives - be it partial automation or the move towards a dark warehouse.

We are at a turning point. Many companies are currently in a transition phase. They are still relying on human labor, but at the same time are testing robotic solutions to automate individual processes. The key question is: how long can the manual warehouse withstand the increasing demands - and when will automation become inevitable? One thing is clear: the familiar warehouses with forklift trucks and employees will not simply disappear. But they will change, especially the role of people.

You haven't read part 1 and part 2 yet? Then click here.

Dark Warehouse: Is this the future of the warehouse? (Part 1)

Dark Warehouse: What's behind it? (Part 2)

In part 4, we take a closer look at the direct comparison between the manual warehouse and the dark warehouse.