Harnessing Automation to Increase Bakery Efficiency and Profitability
As operating costs rise and the labor shortage worsens, many bakery owners have started accelerating their automation plans. While the upfront costs are considerable, implementing industrial automation solutions helps bakes reduce overhead costs while increasing sales and productivity.
Most large-scale food production plants have already transitioned to fully automated facilities. Yet, the ongoing worker shortage has prompted an increasing number of small to medium-sized bakeries to take their warehouse automation initiatives off the back burner so they can deliver fresh foods faster to keep up with their short shelf life.
Food manufacturers that, for whatever reason, decided to delay their automation projects have quickly realized that they can reduce their labor overhead and improve product accuracy and consistency with the help of automated technology.
Bakeries that successfully adapt automaton drastically increase their sales, as well. Their products are getting to retailers quicker, well before their expiration dates. There is far less concern about the goods being discarded at the store because they expired on shelves before they are ever sold.
Once you implement industrial automation solutions to your warehouse, your bakery makes more efficient use of its available resources for greater throughput. Through access to real-time data, automated storage and retrieval systems paired with the right warehouse execution system bring enhanced visibility into your operations for better strategic planning and improved inventory control.
This newfound transparency into your operations helps bakeries achieve optimal efficiency while easing several resource-intensive tasks like production forecasting and supply chain strategizing.
Automated solutions for perishable goods
Bakers seeking to automate their facilities aim to lower their labor expenses, maximize order accuracy and efficiency, and reduce the time it takes for their perishable goods to get from the production line to store shelves. The quicker baked goods get to retail shelves, the less likely you’ll have to accept returned items because they’ve exceeded their expiration dates.
Bakery owners favor automation during labor shortages because they’re less dependent on human operators to manage their production lines. You’re not only assured a more stable workforce with automation, but you’re also creating a safer production environment by reducing exposure to common warehouse safety hazards and risks.
Recent advancements in automation technology show that machines have evolved to become more intelligent from natural language processing. These developments reveal a pattern that ensures a future of less human governance and operator interaction at your facility as you grow with automated technology.
Optimizing Bakery Operations: Real-Time Data and Automated Storage Solutions
As your bakery expands, the access to real-time data drastically improves inventory management for fresh goods without bringing on additional procurement and labor resources. Bakers are more equipped to meet growing customer demand after implementing industrial warehouse automation technologies. Automation lets you streamline both your manufacturing and distribution processes after installing a manufacturing execution system.
When implemented correctly, an automated storage and retrieval system gives bakeries more control over the handling of their fresh goods. At the same time, it helps expedite product movement while enhancing storage, picking, and customer order creation procedures.
Automated storage and retrieval systems improve space utilization within your warehouse, as well, making them essential for businesses that struggle with space optimization. When you increase the available space at your plant, you optimize your potential to introduce additional facilities and functions, helping you cut overhead costs by maintaining a small footprint.
Maximized storage density for frozen products
If your bakery deals in frozen goods, you know that optimizing your storage capacity is crucial. Automated warehouse management systems help to streamline your operations by providing greater flexibility when it comes to arranging your products by their relative inventory characteristics.
When manufacturers and distributors introduce high-density automated storage and retrieval systems to their facilities, they improve the use of their existing space to store more inventory while cutting their costs to warehouse their goods at the same time. Companies that leverage automated industrial solutions increase their warehouse storage capacity by as much as 50%. These valuable savings can be allocated to other important areas like long-term strategic growth initiatives.
If you’re struggling to find adequate staffing for your bakery, automation is a great solution. Automating accounts for your lack of access to production support, but it also decreases workplace risks, particularly if heavily refrigerated warehouses where temperatures fall below zero. Increasing safety at your facility must play an interregnal part or your long-term planning to keep your company competitive for years to come.
Just-In-Time Delivery
The recent e-commerce revolution has upped the ante when it comes to the speed of delivery requirements. Moreover, the fast short life of fresh baked goods means that efficient inventory management is critical. Automation provides greater visibility into and better traceability of your warehouse stock.
You can utilize SKUs to leverage real-time data to organize and manage your outbound order fulfillment process. Good transparency in your warehouse ensures you’ll always have the right ingredients and the appropriate amount of packing supplies on hand. The live-time insights into your inventory mean you’re always prepared for increasing customer demands and you can manage the additional throughput with ease.
Automation software provides more control over your inventory, as well. You’ll have more insight into your picking processes with the ability to identify several key performance metrics. Automated management systems guarantee the most efficient order staging process and ensure trucks turn faster at your loading docks, so your goods always arrive at the store fresh.
Get the most of your automation
Well automated facilities carry distinct advantages over those that depend on conventional systems and manual operators. Automation technology provides the opportunity to save space while optimizing operational efficiencies and reducing labor costs. If you’re concerned about the ongoing worker shortage, industrial automation solutions are the best way to leverage your workforce and safeguard your business against future disruptions.
If you’re new to automation and wondering, “where can I find industrial automation companies near me?” Consider partnering with EZSoft in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Our team of experts has been serving the local manufacturing community since 1999. For more information about the long-term benefits of automating your food and beverage production plant, call EZSoft today at (484) 568-5040.
