General Mills is increasing its use of automation to further optimize its warehouse and logistics network, the company confirmed to Supply Chain Dive.
So far, General Mills has installed warehouse automation features in four locations with several other projects in the works, spokesperson Mollie Wulff said in an email. The projects include adding “cutting edge unique layer picking” technology to facilities, which allows companies to leverage mixed-SKU pallets in their operations.
Warehouse automation has been widely adopted across various sectors such as the grocery retail space. Associated Foods teamed up with Symbotic to add a warehouse automated system and fleet of vision-enabled, autonomic robots to pick and pack products. Earlier this year, Sam’s Club announced it was expanding its use of automated fulfillment and distribution centers using robotics.
For General Mills, the increased operations come as Chairman and CEO Jeff Harmening said in a June earnings call the company's warehouse and logistics networks were "sub-optimized to service the business."
In addition to warehouse automation, Wulff said the company has increased digitization in its supply chain to provide real-time guidance for product deployment and increased truckload utilization as service levels have rebounded.
General Mills is evaluating its logistics network on an ongoing basis to "ensure the network remains optimized in a rapidly changing environment with several projects underway,” Wulff said.
The improvements in General Mills' operations also come after years of supply chain disruptions, which Harmening said eased significantly in Q4.
