The Robot Revolution

How Replacing Humans with Robots Improves Efficiencies, Decreases Fulfillment Times, and Provides Better Customer Service

For many years, we’ve heard predictions about robots taking over almost any job you can think of—from factory workers to attorneys. But whether it’s an automated assembly line or artificial intelligence (AI) insights, robots can also help human workers be more efficient. Here’s a look at how replacing humans with robots improves efficiencies, decreases fulfillment times, and provides better customer service.

Improving Efficiencies

The efficiency of workers and their environment can be improved by automation. This doesn’t necessarily mean replacing humans with robots; instead, they can be used to optimize various processes. For example, automation can remove bottlenecks in a production process.

One creative way robots can help keep humans working involves the use of a robotic exoskeleton, which can help a user lift and haul heavy loads in order to work longer than someone without such assistance. It’s an option that helps the worker use less strength to do the job, and can also help prevent pain and injury.

Decreasing Fulfillment Times

Although we aren’t receiving our Amazon orders by drones yet, autonomous robots already bring innovation to the supply chain, delivering significant value. By replacing humans with robots, warehousing and manufacturing operations see improved speed and accuracy as well as reductions in employee injury.

Order fulfillment is one area where time literally means money. The faster workers can complete assigned tasks like picking, packing, and replenishing, the more profitable the organization becomes. When a worker walks from one place to another while selecting the items for an order, they decrease the number of units they’re able to handle. Even partial automation can reduce that travel time to increase overall productivity and decrease fulfillment times.

Providing Better Customer Service

Now that you know a bit more about how robots organize the movement of retail goods, let’s think about customer service. Smart AI bots are increasingly performing low-skill or repetitive tasks in customer service. For example, checking the status of a payment or order, scheduling appointments, or providing balance information can all be quickly and efficiently handled through automation. This frees up customer service agents to use skills like sales or cognitive problem-solving to work with consumers who need assistance.

In some cases, an intelligent virtual assistant can help in areas where language is a barrier. Whether it’s a multilingual robot in a home improvement store helping customers locate products and keeping tabs on inventory levels or helping airport travelers navigate check-in counters and baggage claim, using such technology is efficient. After all, it could be challenging to find one person who speaks many languages—as well as less expensive than hiring an entire translation team.

Conclusion

In general, the more repetitive the job, the more likely it is to be replaced by automation. From touch screens that take food orders to robots that cut pieces of fabric to be sewn into clothing, the services robots perform save a lot of time for staff, allowing them to focus on more important tasks. Until robots can communicate with humans in a more natural way, we’re not likely to see replacing humans with robots for every job any time soon.