Starting Small with Warehouse Automation

Practical First Steps for Growing Operations

These days, if you were to say “warehouse automation,” most people would picture a building full of robots and a pretty large price tag to match. For many growing operations, that may be the end goal, but the first step can look more modest. And even if that’s where you’re headed, starting small isn’t just a more economical way to begin, it’ll also help you learn along the way before you make the much bigger investment in warehouse automation solutions.

Your first warehouse automation project doesn't need to be a massive fleet of robots. Focus on your everyday, consistent work and leave the complex exceptions to your team.

 

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Warehouse Automation Doesn’t Have to be All or Nothing

A great way to think about where your operation could start is to take a look at one process, one bottleneck, one workflow or one area within your warehouse. Narrowing your focus makes it easier to see where automation will actually help, and you can avoid two mistakes we see often.

What to Avoid in Your First Automation Phase

The first is trying to automate the exceptions, that small 10% of things that end up causing 90% of the headaches. These might be odd-sized products, damages or special orders. Because every exception is a little different, they’re hard to optimize, and people tend to handle those oddball situations better than machines do. That’s where your staff’s time is best spent. Instead, focus automation on the consistent, everyday work that makes up the other 90% of your operation.

The second mistake is buying into more complex automation than what you currently need. Automating for volume you don’t have yet can mean over-engineering. Often, a simpler solution that addresses your current volume gets a better return on investment (ROI), and if you talk with us about your future growth plans, we can still leave room for that growth.

So most often, the right first warehouse automation solution fits the volume you have now and focuses on getting one area right.

 

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Start with Repetitive but Labor-Intensive Work

Here are some ways to think about what your first warehouse automation project might be, depending on what bottleneck or issue you’re facing.

Problem: Too Much Walking & Carrying

• Conveyor Systems: Move cartons, totes or boxes between picking, packing, shipping and receiving or even mezzanine areas. This way, your people don't have to carry or walk with the product. The products move themselves.
• Powered Flexible or Extendable Conveyors: Improve trailer loading and unloading with portable conveyors that reach into trucks—keeping workers from carrying boxes up and down ramps. This includes specialized solutions like the Destuff-It, a portable ergonomic conveyor designed specifically for floor-loaded trailers.

Problem: Strain & Fatigue

• Ergonomic Lift Tables & Pallet Positioners: Adjust automatically—rising, lowering, rotating—as loads change so workers avoid bending to the floor or reaching overhead, maintaining a comfortable height for palletizing, depalletizing, packing or assembling.
• Stretch Wrapping: Let an automated machine wrap the pallet the same way your team does—consistent every time—and allow people to stop walking circles around those pallets. It'll improve consistency as well as labor utilization and ergonomics for those manning the wrapper.

Problem: Errors & Inconsistent Data

• Dimensioning & Weighing: Measure and weigh every box accurately without tape measures to ensure precise carrier charges, automatically connecting dimensions to your shipping or warehouse management system (WMS).
• Pick-to-Light & Put-to-Light: Add lighted signals on your shelving or racks for where to pick or put the product. That way, workers know exactly where to go with it. This type of automation can improve picking—offering an ideal first phase of automated picking before investing in a fully automated system.

 

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Choose a Project That Can Prove Value

Think about your operation. Where is a place that one of these types of projects is going to provide immediate value, whether in time, safety or efficiency? Pick something where you’ll be able to see that ROI quickly, like staff taking fewer steps or having to manage fewer mispicks, or where you can spend less time per pallet. 

Automating for volume you don't have yet can mean over-engineering. A simpler solution that addresses your current volume gets a better return on investment.

 

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Think About the Next Phase Before You Start the First One

As an operations leader, you likely have a bigger picture in mind for where your warehouse could go. So it’s probably easy for you to think about what that next phase might be before you start the first one, which is exactly what you should do. 

While we encourage starting small so that you can learn what works and what doesn’t along the way, starting small doesn’t mean not having a bigger vision. As mentioned above, pick-to-light is a great way to start before going fully automated with a picking system. Make sure that first project doesn’t box you in. Leave room in your warehouse footprint and layout, and choose the equipment that connects with your next phase.

 

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Build From One Win to the Next

Once you get your first small automation project under your belt, you’ll start seeing opportunities for automation all around your warehouse. And you’ll have a better idea of how automation fits with your workforce, your layout and your goals.

For example, picture a growing operation. When it was smaller, shipping happened twice per week, so walking cartons from packing to shipping wasn’t a big deal. Now, with daily shipping and higher demand, associates spend a large portion of their shift walking. 

A first phase might be as simple as adding conveyor between those two areas. Once the team is taking fewer steps and product is flowing more smoothly to the dock, the next bottleneck becomes easier to spot. Maybe it’s trailer loading? So an extendable conveyor comes next. Or maybe picking accuracy is what’s slowing things down, and pick-to-light becomes phase two. 

Each project builds on the last, and because the first one was planned with the next phase in mind, the pieces fit together instead of competing for space.

 

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the easiest warehouse process to automate first?

Usually, it’s a specific, repetitive and labor-intensive process, such as moving product between areas, wrapping pallets or packing at a fixed station. Conveyor, automated stretch wrapping and ergonomic lift tables are common first projects because they solve a clear problem without requiring a complete system overhaul.

Can warehouse automation be done in phases?

Yes. Many growing operations start by automating one process, bottleneck, workflow or area, then expand once that first project proves its value. A phased approach spreads out the investment and gives your team time to learn what works before taking the next step.

Do I need a warehouse management system before automating?

Not always. It depends on the project. Standalone equipment like stretch wrappers, lift tables and basic conveyor can often work on its own. Projects like pick-to-light or dimensioning and weighing equipment typically need to connect with a warehouse management system (WMS) or shipping software to deliver their full value. Talking through your current systems with your integrator like RSC before you start will help clarify what your first project requires.

How can I start small without limiting future automation options?

Start with a project that solves today’s problem but fits into a longer-term plan. Before you commit, think through how that first piece of equipment will connect to future phases and where additional automation could go in your facility. That way, your first win becomes a foundation instead of a dead end.

 

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Next Steps for Your Warehouse Automation Solutions

Starting small with automation is often the best way to go, but that doesn’t mean not having the bigger picture in mind as well. Even your first practical warehouse automation solution, the ones that fit your operation today, should leave room for you to grow and expand your automation opportunities in the future. Talking this through with the Raymond Storage Concepts team can help connect the dots and open up the bottlenecks.