282: Inside a Warehouse Automation Project: How Sumitomo Drive Technologies Is Transforming Logistics and Reshoring Operations

Running out of warehouse space doesn’t always mean you need more of it. For Sumitomo Drive Technologies, it meant rethinking the whole operation from the ground up.

In this episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, Chris sits down remotely with Tony Barlett and Shawn Lambert from Sumitomo Drive Technologies for an inside look at a live warehouse automation project underway at their Chesapeake, Virginia headquarters.

The project combines AutoStore, an automated storage and retrieval system, with automated guided vehicles to compress 30,000 square feet of high-bay racking into a 7,500 square foot footprint, with robots handling the picking and every transaction flowing through a single digital interface.

The conversation runs from the 2021 decision all the way through to where the project stands today. The business case, the technology choices, and what it takes to bring automation into a facility that has run on pen and paper for years.

They get into the workforce question too. What this means for the people on the floor, how Sumitomo plans to grow 50 percent over the next five years without scaling headcount at the same rate, and why the digital foundation they're building now is what makes AI integration possible later.

In this episode, find out:

• How a customer demo in 2021 sparked the decision to stop expanding Sumitomo Drive Technologies' warehouse footprint and automate instead, and what it took to get from that first look to a live project
• What the AutoStore system does at a practical level, and how a simple analogy made the technology immediately understandable for anyone who hasn’t seen it
• How condensing 30,000 square feet of high-bay racking into a 7,500 square foot cube changes what growth looks like for the business
• How moving from pen-and-paper operations to a single digital interface changes day-to-day work for every person on the warehouse floor
• The company’s plan for its existing workforce, and how it expects to grow 50 percent over the next five years with roughly the same headcount it has today
• Why the AI boom has not changed the scope of this project, and why building connected digital infrastructure now is the precondition for AI integration down the road
• The three pieces of advice Tony and Shawn would pass on to any manufacturer considering an automation project of this scale

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Tweetable Quotes:

• "If you're not doing this from an automation standpoint, you're missing the boat. It is the wave of the future, the labor force shortages are not going away, and they're only going to get more difficult." - Tony Barlett
• "You can't start looking into this soon enough. The more prepared you are for a project of this scale, the better off you're going to be, not just plugging in the automation, but how it connects to your ERP, your processes, your AGVs." - Shawn Lambert
• "AI doesn't do anything for you when you're dealing with pen and paper. Get into a more technological age first, get your software systems in place, and then you can integrate AI to turn static decisions into dynamic ones." - Shawn Lambert

Links & mentions:

• Sumitomo Drive Technologies, dedicated to providing the highest quality power transmission products, gearboxes, gearmotors, and services to industrial companies
• AutoStore, automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) that uses the power of warehouse robots for 24/7 order fulfillment within a cubic layout
• Swisslog, logistics automation; they design, manufacture, and optimize automated logistics solutions across the supply chain
• Nansemond Brewing, craft brewery in downtown Suffolk, VA
• Allgood Lounge, premiere bar and party spot in Athens, GA

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