Describing the Advantages and Disadvantages to Supply Chain Management of Robotics, Drones, and Driverless

Posted: August 27th, 2021

Describing the Advantages and Disadvantages to Supply Chain Management of Robotics, Drones, and Driverless

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Describing the Advantages and Disadvantages to Supply Chain Management of Robotics, Drones, and Driverless

Autonomous robots found within the device category have been programmed to perform duties with slight to no human intervention. Particularly, these automatons vary significantly according to size, their functionality and mobility as well as agility and application of artificial intelligence (Companik, Gravier, & Farris, 2018). These variations determine the overall cost of the machine. The automation process may include flying vehicles possessing powerful images and high capabilities to capture data (Romaine, 2019). Thus, autonomous robots are programmed using artificial intelligence, giving them capability to discern and detect the environment and make independent decisions almost like human brain.

Indeed, the application of autonomous robots has now brought about innovation to the supply chain, thus impacting significant value. The use of robotics, driverless, and drones in the management of the supply chain helps improve the speed and accuracy of routine operations, especially in warehousing and the manufacturing sectors (Companik, Gravier, & Farris, 2018). More so, the incorporation of automatons assists in adding efficiency through the combined work of humans. Therefore, the paper discusses both the advantages and disadvantages of robotics, drones, and driverless to the entire supply chain management.

Advantages of Robotics, Drones, and Driverless to Supply Chain Management

            The application of robotics, drones, and driverless helps improve efficiency and further increase productivity. Imperatively, autonomous robotics’ application wouldprincipally drive up value by decreasingboth the direct and indirect operating costs (Romaine, 2019). Instead, they use of robotics upsurges revenue potential.Certainly, automatons’ integration in the supply chaincan distribute ordersto their destinations quickly. For example, an order’s delivery might take less than an hour from placing the order (Romaine, 2019). Therefore, it implies that the use of robotics brings forth substantial reductions in costs,ultimately bore by the customer. 

            Undoubtedly, the integration of robotics in supply chain management helps reduce errors, re-work activities, and many risk rates as follows. Specifically, autonomous robotics help lower the costs of labor(Savelsbergh & van Woensel, 2016). Equally, these automatons seek to raise the work outputas machines constantly work around the clock without fatiguecases (Savelsbergh & van Woensel, 2016). Apart from that, the use of automatons encourages all employees’ safety, especially in the highly hazardous surrounding. As a result, the whole network of supply chain benefits since reduced costs are associated with insurance and injury leave. More so, there is delivery on challenging terrains, such as mountains and jungles, otherwise limited to road infrastructure (Savelsbergh & van Woensel, 2016). Thus, for that reason, the capacity to offer supply chain services, therefore, occurs on an ongoing basis, like twenty-four hours a day without delays.

            Furthermore, the use of robotics is associated with enhancing all workers’ safety, especially in high-risk workplaces (Skrinjar, Skorput, & Jakara, 2019). As a result, the application of robotics, driverless, and drones helps positively impact supply chain management. For instance, with the incorporation of cooperative robots, the chances that fenced-off machines would interact independently gradually decline, leading to low exposure to human perils (Skrinjar, Skorput, & Jakara, 2019). Introduction of the autonomous robotics in assembling and warehousing in factories has played a critical role in enhance safety and the human interaction in the supply chain(Skrinjar, Skorput, & Jakara, 2019).There are attached measurable welfares to health and the workplace, especially with the decline in emissions from motor vehicles used in delivering products (Yaacoub, et al., 2020).Also, other potential intangible advantages are derived from workplaces when workers successively learn and understand how to use these automatons in physically intensive tasks and duties. Nonetheless, the shift in perilous roles in respect to autonomous robotics helps advance employees’ safety in the sense thatpeople can be removed from harmful situations where they get hurt (Skrinjar, Skorput, & Jakara, 2019). Therefore, the use of automatons in the supply chain lessens strain and unease.

            Imperatively, the incorporation of robotics in supply chain management has helped attain lower performance values and critical tasks. Humans work collaboratively with the automatons in a bid to direct their strategic efforts towards pursued value centrally(Toorajipour et al., 2021). For example, workers can combine with collaborative robots, where theyeffortlessly train them throughout the programmable movements. As a result, workers can handle materialsand sorting packages in collaboration with machines (Toorajipour et al., 2021). Besides, autonomous robots can impact repetitive androutine manual tasks, whichincreases employees’ satisfaction. Equally, the use of robotics has the advantage of shifting satisfaction to more tacticaland emotionally stimulating work. For instance, in material transportation situations,robots can faultlesslymove past each other with no cases of advanced collision (Toorajipour et al., 2021). Therefore, batch order processing happensquickly, hence avoiding accidental run-ins usually occasioned by human interactions at workplaces.

Moreover, the use of robotics has merits in supply chain management as it seeks to enhance revenue. The reason is that the application of automatons tends to improve the perfect order fulfillment rates and speed of delivering orders (Kassai, Azmat, & Kummer, 2020). Machines have the capability to sort, package and inspect besides conveying materials in different sizes at a faster rate than ever(Kassai, Azmat, & Kummer, 2020). For example, there are drones utilized in the manufacturing of hazardous areas to advance operations and further achieve labor demands (Kassai, Azmat, & Kummer, 2020). During the 2016 holiday season, most warehouses in the US utilized robots for training temporary workers on the addition of value. Thus, as a result, the use of automatons in the supply chain has impacted the value of revenue.

Furthermore, the incorporation of robotics in managing the supply chain has saved time associated with transporting and delivering orders. Notably, a drone would rarely run into a traffic jam as compared to the transportation of products on the ground(Leblanc, 2020). Ideally, supply chain missions that necessitate critical time delivery of products are best performed by the most reliable and far more time-saving drones. Therefore, human-crewed helicopters can be compared to how time-saving drones and driverless can deliver orders (Leblanc, 2020). Apart from that, the use of drones, especially by Amazon, has helped impart a positive public perception about the integration of automatons in managing the supply chain. Amazon is now considered the face of the commercial drone industry because it has clean up the stigma attached to driverless operations (Leblanc, 2020). Hence, robotics has received a positive review among the public for the time-saving delivery of orders.

Disadvantages of Robotics, Drones, and Driverless to Supply Chain Management

On the other hand, there are disadvantages associated with using driverless and drones in e-commerce logistics in the following ways. The use of robotics, driverless, and drones results in “Childhood Diseases,”which are linked to newer technology and the inability of many businesses to utilizelarge-scale equipment (Sobb, Turnbull, & Mousafa, 2020). For instance, there are presently no advanced systems that would potentially avert airborne collisions.The application of robotics entails the high cost of training the person liable for navigating driverless aerial vehicles and adapting the valuable infrastructure for equipping and delivering the supply chain units.Promoting drones and driverless aircraft necessitates significant construction efforts, which would help house all the needed supply chain units(Sobb, Turnbull, & Mousafa, 2020). All these construction requirements are expensive on the financial statements of a company. For example, Amazon has recently incurred high costs of reconstructing the warehouses and delivery units, which are relevant in defining its take-off places for the drones. Therefore, the whole multi-level fulfillment center for housing the automatons would compel many logistics companies to invest heavily, thus sustaining negative marks on the balance sheet.

Moreover, there is a series ofintricateand complex logistics when using drones and driverless to transport and distribute batches to different destinations like homes and commercial properties. The reason is that these drones use high-performance lithium polymer batteries, which do not last for long. Therefore, it implies that the drones cannot deliver and distribute products over a long flight time (He, Chan & Guizani, 2017). Moreover, the entire supply chain operations might seem challenging to utilize wireless drones and driverless as they are usually affected by adverse weather conditions like heavy rains and strong winds. For instance, driverless and drones during severe weather conditions might cause property damage and sustain injuries on nearby persons when they lose electronic control (Minh, 2020). Also, there is the challenge of applying the use of automatons in specific cities and states in the US after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations ban the commercial operations of drones and driverless (He, Chan & Guizani, 2017). The reason is that driverless and drones have recently caused the death of more than a thousand people in the US. Indeed, drones’ use has mishaps in the way these automatons move in public spaces at 40 feet high, thus interfering with the established FAA regulation in various US states.

Conclusion

Autonomous robots assist define the future management of supply chain as it aids corporations in decreasing long-term costs. Also, they enhance the stability of both labor and utilization, thus increasing the productivity of workers. Additionally, they facilitate the reduction rates of errors and the frequency at which inventory is checked. The use of robotics has improved access to difficult locations by optimizing picking, sorting, and storage times. Apart from that, the use of robotics, driverless, and drones tends to encourage “Childhood Diseases,” which are linked to newer technology and companies’ inability to utilize large-scale equipment. In brief, there are presently no advanced systems that would potentially avert airborne collisions.

References

Companik, E., Gravier, M., & Farris, M. (2018). Feasibility of warehouse drone adoption and implementation.” Journal of Transportation Management, 2, 24-53.DOI: 10.22237/jotm/1541030640.

He, D., Chan S., & Guizani, M. (2017). Drone-assisted public safety networks: The security aspect. IEEE Commun. Mag., 55(8), 218–223. 

Kassai, E., Azmat, M., & Kummer, S. (2020). Scope of using autonomous trucks and lorries for parcel deliveries in urban settings. Logistics, 2(1), 23-44.

Leblanc, R. (2020). How Amazon is changing supply chain management: The online retailer has quickly innovated its way to the top. Supply Chain Management. https://www.thebalancesmb.com/how-amazon-is-changing-supply-chain-management-4155324

Minh, D. H. (2020). The revolution of warehouse inventory management by using artificial intelligence case company: Warehouse of company x in Finland.

Romaine, E. (2019). Pros and cons of AS/RS for warehouse automation. Disadvantages of Driverless and Drones.https://www.conveyco.com/pros-cons-asrs-warehouse-automation/

Savelsbergh, M., & van Woensel, T. (2016). City logistics: Challenges and opportunities. Transp. Sci., 50, 579-590.

Skrinjar, J., Skorput, P., & Jakara, M. (2019). Application of unmanned aerial vehicles in logistic processes. New Technologies, Development, and Application, 359-366.https://www.doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-90893-9_43

Sobb, T., Turnbull, B., & Mousafa, N. (2020). Supply chain 4.0: A survey of cybersecurity challenges, solutions, and future directions. MDPI Electronics, 1-31.

Toorajipour, J., et al. (2021). Artificial intelligence in supply chain management: A systematic literature review. Journal of Business Research, 122(1), 502-517.

 Yaacoub, J. P., Noura, H., Salman,O., & Chehab, A. (2020). Security analysis of drone systems: Attacks, limitations, and recommendations. Internet of Things, 2, 1-5. https://www.doi: 10.1016/j.iot.2020.100218.