Grasping and placing. Those are two rather basic tasks for humans, who constantly and unthinkingly pick up items and move them elsewhere. But they are remarkably challenging tasks for robots, such that for now, the technological advances that are transforming warehouses into vast spaces filled with robotic equipment still cannot quite eliminate human helpers from their floors altogether. But that does appear to be the goal. Cutting-edge robotic and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies being developed, implemented, and used by companies such as Amazon, Ocado, Netflix, and Walmart promise that in the near future, the delivery process will require no human intervention. Let’s consider both the current state of affairs and the likely future conditions.
Today, leading companies such as Amazon have already invested heavily in automating much of their supply chain. Robots in Amazon warehouses perform incredibly sophisticated operations. Some robots keep track of where millions of individual items are located in the vast warehouses, then others scurry down the length of the warehouse to obtain the needed product and deliver it to the packaging line. At this point, a human is needed, to pluck the item from the bin carried by this robot and put it into a box. But a robot helps in this step too, indicating which box size is most efficient and
taping the box shut.
Ocado, a British online grocer, has similarly impressive warehouses, in which the complex systems suck selected products from their storage bins into robots’ housing, then move them onto conveyor belts that terminate with a human packer. But in addition to robotics, Ocado relies heavily on AI to optimize its operations. Algorithms specify where to store each product, how to pack them in bags, which delivery trucks to use and what route they should take, and so forth. Noting that some best practices can conflict (e.g., loading a truck more quickly might mean a less efficient use of its space), Ocado keeps reapplying its AI to its operations to get them better and better—and those operations already are good enough that it can deliver groceries to individual consumers’ doors for about the same price as brick-and-mortar grocers charge to customers who visit them in stores. Nor are the existing innovations limited to consumer goods. Workers in some warehouses can now simply call out their needs, such as printing a shipping label, and a voice-enabled assistant, using the same technology as in-home Alexa devices, will perform the task. Rather than having to stop and check the shipping rates, employees can keep working, while the digital assistant takes care of the details.
In all these cases then, there are still roles for human workers—grasping, placing, and overseeing the operations. But according to one robotics expert, the technology needed to completely replace workers in warehouses is about five years from being operational. Although Amazon insists that it wants to maintain or even increase its employment ranks (and has hired more people to facilitate its warehouse operations in recent years), other firms such as JD.com have admitted that their goal is a completely automated warehouse and delivery system.
Outside the warehouse, delivery operations also promise to grow more automated, as driverless vehicles inch closer and closer to reality. Some experiments with drone delivery have taken place in remote locations, but considering federal regulations and safety considerations, deliveries to most U.S. consumers likely will involve wheeled vehicles, rather than flying drones. These innovations are continuing apace; Mercedes-Benz has created a chassis that looks something like a big skateboard that could be changed out and used to support a variety of bodies, from massive trailers to buses to mobile homes.
Furthermore, patent applications suggest that a lot of companies think that the limitations on drone deliveries will be resolved eventually. Both Walmart and Amazon have proposed ideas for a delivery blimp, which would hover nearby and deliver products, literally dropping them from the sky (though in a controlled manner, of course). And IBM wants to patent a drone that can deliver a single cup of coffee to a customer walking down the street. With these potential functions, the robots can do far more than a human worker ever could. Are grasping and placing still so critical in such a future?

Discussion Question:

1. What tasks have robots and drones usurped from humans working in retail supply chains?
2. What tasks do humans still have to do in retail supply chains?
3. From a societal perspective, how do you feel about replacing humans with machines?

Source: Christopher Mims, The Wall Street Journal, October 15, 2018; see also Erica E. Phillips, “Alexa Heads to the Warehouse,” The Wall Street Journal, October 8, 2018