Future-proofing 3PL Warehouse Operations with AI-Powered Automation

A riddle: What do you get when you cross the 60% labor turnover with increasing volumes, dynamic customer preferences, and out-of-date 3PL warehouse technologies? Answer: angry staff, angry clients, and business stagnation. Warehouses, specifically the people who run them, need a lot more throughput than manual paper processes and out-of-date solutions can handle. The fix? AI-powered automation combined with a flexible WMS that scales seamlessly.

During a recent webinar, Deposco polled customers on their use of AI to enhance business operations and found that 68% are exploring the use of AI in the supply chain. Of this group, 61% said they need AI for their staff and automated 3PL solutions.

Get there faster with Ox + Deposco

I spoke with Joe Henderson, Deposco’s senior director of Technology Alliances about a game-changing collaboration between Deposco and Ox — which stands for “Operator Experience” — that pairs AI-powered automation for frontlines with a top 3PL WMS system to quickly add scale, value, and confidence to the operator experience.

Key takeaways

Below are key highlights from our interview, where we delved deep into the innovative, AI-powered automation solutions and 3PL warehouse management best practices driving this collaboration forward.

• AI-powered automation for frontlines isn’t just a new technology. It is ultimately a generational skip that will fundamentally impact a 3PL’s P&L and how its business grows for years to come.

• Ox with Deposco’s WMS provides real-time visibility of your entire network: The highest order accuracy, and a platform that’s designed for growth. Ox puts your operators right in the middle, empowering frontline operators with wearable devices that allow them to work hands-free and let the work come to them.

• This reduces the amount of decisions they have to make, gets them up to speed faster, and warehouse management metrics and KPIs that help businesses grow smarter.

• If you go out to one of the legacy Tier 1 WMS providers, they’re not going to look at the solution as a partnering opportunity but build it in-house. They’ll charge $3 million and the customer may get it in 4 years. By that time, the technology has moved on to the next generation.

• The value of onboarding in less than 30 minutes (think peak season!)

• Who needs this? Companies that are dealing with high levels of attrition and are struggling to retain their employees. When you get your operators up and running, you need to make sure operators are not held back by manual processes.

• Considering 3PL’s 40-50% churn rate, businesses need to execute as well as keep the user informed with minimal decision points. That would be cumbersome and unmaintainable without WMS and AI automation technologies in place.

• Ox is a proven wearable device experience that not only increases productivity for your operators, but also delivers proven capabilities around AI, the allocation of work, and understanding and modeling what your warehouse looks like in real time.

WMS meets AI automation

The quest for efficiency and productivity is a never-ending journey in the rapidly evolving landscape of supply chains. Now, imagine a synergy between two innovative forces: Deposco’s modern WMS software and Ox’s cutting-edge AI-powered automation solution that revolutionizes frontline worker experience and warehouse efficiency.

This dynamic collaboration promises labor fixes alongside unprecedented warehouse efficiency and effectiveness through AI and 3PL automation.

Addressing the underserved 3PL mid-market

During the interview, we explored the critical role of 3PL WMS and OMS technologies in addressing labor challenges and other barriers to growth.

As Joe explains, this is particularly useful to the underserved mid-market, which needs help orchestrating the growth curve and all the execution variables. That includes facility space, the ability to adopt product lines and add features quickly, and the ramp-up and continuous education of seasonal workers.

By providing real-time visibility into inventory, automating manual processes including billing, and enabling customizable 3PL services tailored to the unique needs of each client, Deposco’s 3PL fulfillment applications empower third-party logistics warehouses to:

• Operate at peak performance all year long
• Simplify complex or varying client needs that overload teams
• Unlock immediate operational savings
• Offer custom services more easily
• Streamline order tracking
• Mitigate overselling, chargebacks, and sales loss in omnichannel, multichannel, or DTC fulfillment models

Ox: redefining user experience for frontline workers

Next, we turned our attention to Ox, known for our groundbreaking advancements in human-centered automation technology that seamlessly integrates with Deposco’s 3PL WMS, automating manual tasks and streamlining work instructions. Leading customers, including Fortune 500 enterprises, have recognized a 20-75% increase in operational efficiency.

Ox’s platform and devices connect effortlessly with existing workflows, offering hands-free operation, intuitive interfaces, and real-time data insights to frontline workers. Applications include:

• Vision Picking: hands-free workflows
• Directed Inventory: automated workflows
• Task Interleaving: eliminate empty fork time
• AI Slotting: optimize product layout

The transformative potential of these AI-enabled applications empowers warehouse operators by equipping them with instant, mobile access to task instructions, inventory information, and performance metrics. Operators can navigate tasks more efficiently, reduce errors, and enhance overall productivity.

The power of collaboration

What makes this partnership truly game-changing is the seamless integration of WMS and Ox technologies. By combining the precision of WMS with the mobility and accessibility of AI-powered automation devices, this collaboration promises to alleviate labor challenges in 3PL warehouses like never before.

It’s all about creating a future where frontline workers are empowered with the tools they need to excel in their roles. With hands-free work and seamless, unified interaction, 3PLs can realize unparalleled performance, lightning-fast 3PL integrations , onboarding in under 30 minutes, and quick adaptability to customers’ ever-evolving requirements.

Not only does this partnership open up advanced capabilities and technologies for the mid-market, but hopefully for companies entertaining a new WMS and looking at ways to invest in their operators.