Baxter has been designed in such a way that whenever it gets near to a human, it slows itself down in an attempt to reduce down the impact. This has been opposite to what has been happening in previous decades when the robots were isolated from humans. The separation was mainly due to the reason that the robotic technology was not up to the safety standards. The added advantage that was brought in by Baxter, was the fact that it could easily be programmed even by a regular factory worker. With this, it also drastically reduced the fixed cost of small manufacturers across New Zealand. Previously it would cost USD 50,000 to buy a robotic machine but comparing to that, the cost has fallen down to USD 20,000. This clearly suggests that Baxter has a huge cost benefit to the small enterprises around New Zealand. The experts believe that manufacturers should really look forward to adopt the latest robotic technology to bring much needed solutions to their supply chain problems. (Ryan, 2014 )
The experts believe that robotics and supply chain have an everlasting relationship. Transporting items from one corner of the warehouse to other requires minute skills but has its importance. Amazon has been at the forefront at utilizing robotics in all of its warehouses; enabling them to reduce their cost and improve efficiency.
Recently, Amazon has bought Kiva system for an approx. $774 million which is being implemented in its various warehouses. The robotic system can transfer the big boxes from one part of the warehouse to another part without human assistance. (See exhibit 3)The company has allowed itself to lay off workers’ help in its operations, enabling it to cut down the labour cost. The minimum level workforce has brightened up Amazon’s bottom line quite significantly. (conor-o-neil, n.d.)
Conclusion
The introduction of robotics has complemented the supply chain in such a way that it has allowed the firms to lower down their overall cost. It has been a sheer game changer as it has assisted the large scale producers to become highly efficient in their production. Along with reduced cost, robots’ continuous working ability has attracted different manufacturers to implement the robotic system to their supply chain. The robotic system makes sure that there is no stoppage to the work, keeping the productivity to the maximum level. Companies like Amazon are some of the prominent examples which have employed the robotic system into their warehouses and factories to make sure that all the products are being transferred to their specific locations under the given time. All of these benefits provide enough evidence to maintain a strong stance that robotics has actually provided a great assistance to the supply chain and has been the real game changer for the manufacturing industry........
This is just a sample partical work. Please place the order on the website to get your own originally done case solution.