”trends of logistics automation in japan” · 2020. 9. 30. · type company product pros cons...

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”Trends of logistics automation in Japan”

Nittsu Research Institute & Consulting, Inc. (NRIC)

September 2020

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NRIC: Who we are

• 50-year old research institute specialized in logistics

• Subsidiary of Nippon Express, Japan’s largest 3PL

• Contribute and help improvement in logistics industry

• Employees: 75

Copyright (C) 2020 Nittsu Research Institute and Consulting, Inc. Proprietary & Confidential 2

ü 3PL employeeü Managementü Trade terms, operation

ü Cargo volume forecastingü MHE research & adviceü Emerging markets research

ü Inside warehouse improvementü Inventory reductionü Delivery network optimizationü Warehouse location optimizationü Cross border trade trialü Market entry research & advice

ü Shock, temp./humidity testsü Carbon dioxide reduction

Research

Consulting

Education

Engineering

“L”ogisticsGoods needed, amount needed, place neededNetwork (node and link)

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• Power-assist suits that help workers carry heavy things.• Three companies have introduced products.• Seen only in Japan yet.

Trial test of engineering equipment


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Relationship between North Rhine-Westphalia and us


NIPPON EXPRESS (DEUTSCHLAND) GMBH Head Office（Moenchengladbach）

NIPPON EXPRESS EUROPE GMBHHead Office（Dusseldorf） Logistics Research

Internship(2016)

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Demands for more labor force

Ø Same day, Pin-point time delivery, RedeliveryØ Shortening lead-timeØ Need for additional servicesØ Increasing demand for high quality

Ø Avoid the industry due to lots of overtime workØ Low pay compared to other industriesØ Harsh work environmentØ Stricter driving licensing policy implemented

Environment: Conflicting forces in logistics industry


Wage of Road freight business

Average Wages

￥314,054/month

￥297,233/month

97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13

×10,000Yen

Low and decreasing pay in logistics industry

Increasing unpopularity/obstacles

Population aging rate(above 65 years old)

Total population

︓between 65 and 74 years old︓75 years of age or older ︓between 15 and 64 years old ︓between 0 and 14 years old

Results Estimation×10,000（Population）

ß Declining and aging population

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Standardization – Change needed for Japan

Copyright (C) 2020 Nittsu Research Institute and Consulting, Inc. Proprietary & Confidential

Machine worksHuman supports

<Pros>l Easy to standardizel Experience not important for

operatorsl Easy to educate operatorl Easy to reduce laborl Easy to collect data

<Cons>l Not flexiblel Not able to change operation

procedurel High initial investment

Human worksMachine supports

<Pros>l Very flexible – can handle

various types of goodsl Easy to change operation

procedurel Low initial investment

<Cons>l Operatorsʼ experience and

capability decide productivityl Difficult to standardizel Work load gets smaller but

never becomes zero.

Labor shortage? Japanʼs one cannot be sustained…Longer-term view is needed

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<Fail Safe>Machine/System WILL fail. (100% impossible) Prepare back-up plan for such failure.

Fail Safe

Fool Proof

Standardization – Change needed for Japan


<Fool Proof>People make mistakes. Minimize such mistakes. (Target closer to 100% as much as possible.)

＜KPI:99% Then, what would you do?>1. Spend a million to try to reach closer to 100%?2. Spend a thousand to back up the 1% mistake?

Change in mindset needed for JPN

(Standardization)

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Diminishing Japanese-way of Design and Operations


JP OP Western OPAsia

EU/US

JPN

Western OP

Japanese OP West.OP

Logistics 4.0 Western-based

• Japanese Operations may not completely disappear. But how much does it remain? Can we live with it?

＜Japanese OP＞• No clear SLA• Customization• Individual (separate)

improvement• Bottom-up• Deep customer

involvement

＜Western OP＞• Clear SLA• Platformed• Improvement in whole

supply chain• Top-down• Less customer

involvement

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Features of logistics automation in Japan

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p In Japan, customers prefer customization and idea of cooperation or sharing is limited.

Shared warehousing exists, but not widely used for now.(Customers require individuality, unwilling to cooperate with competitors etc.)

→ Standardization is slow → Obstacle in automation

p Among industries, EC business is a mainstay in logistic automation. ( This is because of a number of SKU, small lot, priority on speed. Upstream logistics can be more easily automated, because of linkage with factories.)

p Automated picking is very challenging. It is left until last.

p Among the logistics operations, carrying is automated a lot, followed by carrying+storage. We started automation from what we can easily do, rather than planning to build a fully automated logistics center. Need to keep the budget, achieve ROI and avoid the risk of failure.

We are actually working on・・・

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Type Company Product Comment

Shelf-moveRobot

Grey Orange Butler Indian made. In Japan, used at Furniture Chain EC. New with pallet carry.

Hitachi Racrew It is one of Japan's leading general electronics manufacturers.

Geek Plus Eve Beijing, China. Adopted by Chinese EC provider and Japanʼs apparel EC.

Bin-moveRobot

Fetch Robotics Freight Silicon Valley. Targets existing players and factories, not EC. Heavy carry.

Locus Robotics Locus Bot Boston. Targets EC. DHL is testing.

Rapyuta Robotics AMR Development of robot platform in addition to AMR

AS/RS

Jakob Hatteland Autostore Norway. Flexible. Can start from small and expand. No AI.

Dematic Rapid Pick Typical horizontal auto storage. Picker gets necessary units from the bin.

Daifuku Pick ＆ Stocker Carousel type stocker. Brings bin to picker. Vertical.

Moving and Picking – Robots and Automation

Eve Freight Locus Bot Auto Store

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※Figures and photos are quoted from each manufacturer's homepage.

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Type Company Product Pros Cons

Shelf-moveRobot

Grey Orange Butler • Complete independent area for robots, separate from pickers. Safe.

• Flexible layout change by AI based on frequency of picking items.

• No walk by pickers (almost zero).

• Height is dead space. Shelf cannot be too high because of balance.

• Move not-picking items.• Stop all robots and picking activities

when trouble happens. (item drop, etc.)

Hitachi Racrew

Geek+ Eve

Bin-moveRobot

Fetch Robotics Freight • High energy efficiency as it only moves picking items.

• Can install in existing layout.• No construction needed.

• Pickers and robots share the same space. Accident may happen.

• Pickersʼ walk does not become zero.• Not clear if productivity goes up.

Locus Robotics Locus Bot

Hitachi Racrew

AS/RS

Jakob Hatteland Autostore • Can use height. High ratio of storage efficiency.

• Separate areas for storage and picking. Safe.

• No walk by pickers (almost zero).

• Construction needed.• Cannot change layout easily.• Bin size is fixed.Dematic Rapid Pick

Daifuku Pick ＆Stocker

Butler Rapid Pick

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AMR(RapyutaRobotics) Pick＆Stocker

Moving and Picking – Robots and Automation


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Operation Flow in Warehouse and Automation solution

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Unloading Check/Inspection Carrying Allocation/

Shelving

Storage

PickingCarryingCheck &PackagingLoading

Loading/Unloading Machine

Scanner/Image recognition

system

Automatic packaging machine

AGV/SDV

GTP１（Shelf-move Type）

GTP2（AS/RS+Robot）

GTP3（Bin-move Type: AMR)

Robot Arm +3D Vision

■GTP︓Goods To Person■AGV︓Automated Guided Vehicle■SDV︓Self Driving Vehicle ■AMR︓Autonomous Mobile Robot

■ AS/RS ︓Automated Storage Retrieval System

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The needs for logistics automation in Japan

Started with Autostore．．．

uFirst, We need to reduce the movement of many people in the warehouse

uGiven the limited space in Japan, we need to improve storage efficiency per unit area as much as possible

Then, various GTP systems have been released and implemented.

As there have been various needs;pTo shorten preparatory period before go-livepTo implement the system without changing layoutpTo replace only carrying operation

we have worked on a number of systems to automate warehouses.


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GTP１（Shelf-move Type）

Case Study︓Acca International(3PL)

EVESupplier︓Geek Plus

RacrewSupplier︓Hitachi RacrewCase Study︓Monotaro


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhJslGghLeU

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GTP2（AS/RS+Robot）

Supplier︓ Alert InnovationsDistributer in Japan︓Murata MachineryCase Study︓ ALPEN(sports goods)

Alpha Bot

SkypodSupplier︓ Exotec SolutionsCase Study︓ First Retailing(apparel)

The movement of the robot is not only in the two-dimensional , but also in the three-dimensional.


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GTP3（ Bin-move Type: AMR ）

Supplier︓ Rapyuta RoboticsCase Study︓Nippon Express(3PL)

Rapyuta Robotics AMR

Omron LD Mobile RobotSupplier︓ OmronCase Study︓Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC)


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What is happening in logistics automation


In recent years, logistics automation has been in transition phase - from development of new technologies to design and build operations with new technologies.

Increasing number of integrators

Importance of WES

Consigners & start-ups coming into logistic industry

(acquisition/alliance)

Utilize DATA for Predictive

Operation phase

Emergence of robot arm for logistics

Rise of GTP systems

Development of WCS

Advancement of 3D & image recognition

development phase

~2018 2019~

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Contact

Fumihiko InoueSenior ConsultantResearch ＆ Consulting Unit 4NITTSU Research & Consulting, Inc. (NRIC)E-Mail: [email protected]: https://www.nittsu-soken.co.jp/

mailto:[email protected]

https://www.nittsu-soken.co.jp/

”trends of logistics automation in japan” · 2020. 9. 30. · type company product pros cons...

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