It makes my head spin how quickly technology changes our industry. Everything is more digital, more sophisticated, and more automated. Why does it feel like warehouses have stood still? Workers still go about the place like soldier ants scurrying to and from rows of stock, stacked high to the ceiling. Climbing ladders to grab the required stock. Too much inaccurate or out of date stock information. It makes stock control and ordering a headache.
And then I discovered a solution: the Agilon® Solution by Konecranes, I was sceptical when it claimed to solve all of my problems and more. But as you can probably tell by the title, it’s blown all my expectations out of the water. So much so that we have two units installed permanently.
But what is Agilon?
The easiest way to explain Agilon is to say it’s a giant vending machine for your warehouse. Though that doesn’t really do it justice. Rather than rows and rows of stock piled high, only accessible by ladder, Agilon gives you access to a hatch and a touchscreen. If you need a part or a tool you just log in with your fingerprint, order it with the touchscreen, and a few seconds later the item comes through the hatch straight to you.
How does it help?
Agilon has eradicated all three of these challenges:
Unreliability of stock
No more inventory-taking! The thing continually monitors and updates stock, so all information is accurate and up to date. And I can access it all wirelessly, 24/7 (I even called their bluff and stayed up late to check it was still online. It was).
Disorganisation
Behind that big metal wall is all of your stock. Agilon's robotic arm finds what you need and brings it to you. Not only that, it tells you on screen how much stock is remaining and logs the withdrawal for monitoring.
Ordering
When stock is low, Agilon® can send orders automatically to suppliers. In other words, the warehouse will always be properly stocked without anyone having to lift a finger. If robots do ever take over, they will have earned it.'
