SAP Robotics

What is Robotics?

Robots are machines designed to either automate manual tasks or assist humans to perform their tasks more effectively or efficiently. At a high level, there are two key components of robots. One part is the actual hardware, or the machine, and the other is the software that controls the machine. Generally, robots are designed to perform specific tasks, and they can be static or mobile.

What is Robotics?

Robots are machines designed to either automate manual tasks or assist humans to perform their tasks more effectively or efficiently. At a high level, there are two key components of robots. One part is the actual hardware, or the machine, and the other is the software that controls the machine. Generally, robots are designed to perform specific tasks, and they can be static or mobile.

What is SAP Warehouse Robotics Solutions?

The remaining sections focus on SAP’s warehouse robotics solutions. The plethora of robots on the warehouse floors obviously need to be managed. Just like warehouse execution systems (WES) help manage conventional warehouse automation solutions (like conveyor belts), it is imperative to have a system in place to centralize and manage these robots. Solutions like warehouse robotics at SAP make integrating these robots easy in the SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) application. This feature allows users to quickly integrate almost any warehouse robot and mix robots from multiple vendors, leveraging the same software stack.

Key Considerations for SAPinsiders

Define your warehouse robotics strategy first. While solutions like the one from SAP help you manage your fleet in a centralized way, the key is to understand what type of robotics you need for your unique operating nuances. This is critical in an age where efficient warehouse operations are considered a competitive advantage by providing capabilities to enhance customer experience. An example of aligning business objectives with warehouse automation can be found here.

Look for solutions that are easy to set up and scale. Other than SAP, there are solutions that allow you to manage your robotics fleet. However, there needs to be a careful evaluation to understand which solution will align best with your needs. Two key criteria you should look for are the deployment time and the ability to scale quickly to a heterogenous fleet.

Explore smart robots. As mentioned earlier, software plays a key role in robots’ architecture. With the advent of AI and ML, you have the option to explore “smart” robots that are not only automating manual tasks or performing some tasks repeatedly but are making decisions on which task to perform and how. An example is a smart robot that decides the optimal method to pick orders for e-commerce.