NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The logistics industry gears up for its busiest time of the year in the coming weeks, with the eCommerce sector continuing to show strong growth and set new records. Logistics firms are facing growing pressure to streamline their processes to drive greater efficiencies, and are turning to Robotic Process Automation as a solution.
A survey conducted by Logistics Management showed that forty-two percent of companies said they still relied on mostly manual approaches for their order fulfilment operation last year.1
With players like Amazon on the brink of major advances in drones, robotics, and other autonomous vehicles, retailers and freight forwarders are pressured to meet rapidly changing expectations for next-generation supply chain management. According to a survey posted by IndustryWeek, many retailers seem uncertain as to how to improve their processes - as 68% of surveyed retailers agreed that returns for online orders are a challenge, with two out of 10 seeing it as a significant challenge.2
In response to rising competition from the ‘Amazon effect,’ digital solutions and RPA are levers helping companies to reduce costs, improve time to market, comply with regulations, and provide accurate & fast information to customers on their freight - through automation of manual data entry processes.
Businesses are partnering with technology companies to integrate Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) and robotics tools as a solution to these pressing issues, in addition to data management services.
For example, Intelenet® Global Services has developed iLoadTM, a machine-learning based tool which eliminates manual uploading and verification of information by automating a major portion of the activities involved, resulting in huge savings in time and resource availability.
Abhinav Singh, Senior Director of Business Transformation at Intelenet® Global Services, comments: “As competition in the industry intensifies and remaining manual processes continue to drag down efficiency, some of the largest businesses in the sector are up against more nimble players, who were born in the cloud. The pressure to fast-track processes, streamline operations and automate is greater this year than ever before. Over 30 percent of company profits are made in the busy Holiday season and with almost half of the industry still operating on manual systems, they have the most to lose when it comes to dealing with large volumes, and every second counts.
Heavy reliance on paper can be time consuming and result in human errors, which can lead to huge losses. This data needs to be updated, indexed and organized for effective processing and overall end-customer satisfaction, especially as the holiday season approaches - when an inevitable increase in demand is on the horizon, and companies have the most to gain.
iLoad, a next-generation bolt-on automation solution, is capable of reading data off any source (pdf, tiff, jpg) and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to process business rules, capture relevant information, accurately upload it to core processing systems and make information available for timely processing. This can positively impact cost and time-to-market, driving an on-average 25 percent improvement in productivity, while practically eliminating the errors that result in losses.”
Mr. Singh continues: “Industry players under pressure to survive can manage these technologies across the many entities of the supply chain for an effective omnichannel approach, while implementing them to operate seamlessly with existing legacy systems.
In an ‘always-connected’ world, customers expect fast and accurate shipment, tracking and delivery, making for an overall smooth and streamlined transaction - which is impacted as manual processes linger. Through automation, companies can ensure that they provide the highest level of service, using the most reliable and cost-competitive data available. In a brand agnostic age, especially during increased e-commerce periods, attention to customer care is more important than ever to ensure customer longevity.”
ENDS
1 https://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/dont_sleep_on_the_inventory_to_sales_ratio
