Airport Material Handling and Storage Systems' Automation

Company ALS Logistic Solutions
Date 11.08.2015

Walid Khoury
Managing Director
ALS Logistic Solutions

Walid Khoury joined ALS in 2001 as a Regional Manager for the Middle East and after 6 years of successful performance, he took over the entire company management.

Mr Khoury has over 15 years of experience in the aviation industry, including Project Management and Equipment Fabrication, airport systems and design consultancy for Automation Projects.

Mr. Khoury has been involved in air cargo terminal projects worldwide and has in the past managed several large International air cargo terminal projects with ALS.

Apart from being the Managing Director in ALS, Walid is also the Senior WHS Consultant.

To Automate or not to Automate? That is the question.
“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.”
Bill Gates

And we are absolutely agree with this thought. Thinking about company development, every player in the logistics market at least once came up with idea of automation. Taking a strategically important decision, warehouse management should weigh the pros and cons. With the help of internet, people start to learn different case studies and evaluate similarities and differences with their particular needs. However, we highly recommend any business manager to consult a proper consulting firm prior to embarking on process automation.

With open borders and global economic developments, business is always changing and looking for innovative solutions to stay up-to-date and competitive on the market. Warehouse automation with its sophisticated technologies such as ASRS, variety of conveyor systems, transfer vehicles and modern IT-solutions is one of the attributes of the successfully operating distribution & production centres.

Automation in logistic centres mainly bring benefits to operational processes including space savings, lower building costs, improved productivity, more efficient material flow, less manpower, safer operations, reductions in inventory, increased reliability, reduced running costs, better ROI and lower lifecycle cost etc…

Talking about advantages, we need to mention that automation implementation is a very costly process, and the financial aspect is usually the main concern. That’s where an experienced and reputed consultant would offer the proper advice.

By working closer with our clients, we are often consulting them to look into their capacity, which is mainly ignored or mis-measured, assuming that their facility has enough capacity; but often that is not the case. One of the main aims of ALS advice is the reverse logistics which include optimization of aftermarket activity, such as customer service, quality inspection and storage warehousing, which can produce a new revenue stream to our clients, improve customer satisfaction and help the environment.

ALS Logistic Solutions is active in the market since many years with installations in nearly all airports in the Middle East. Our clients are Government bodies, Airlines, Logistics groups and distribution centres, architects & Real Estate Companies & Consultants & Hotel Chains etc… everywhere where automation and logistics solutions are required with local support and professional approach, you can find our name.

Timely delivery and customer satisfaction is what has led ALS to evolve in to one of the top most Material Handling contractors/service providers in the Gulf Region, with its well renowned clients such as Emirates Airline, Dubai Duty Free, DNATA, Abu Dhabi International Airport, Qatar Airways, Sharjah International Airport, Kuwait Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Baku International Airport, DANZAS, Panalpina etc… to name a few.

Automation requires holistic approach, that’s why the decision should be found based on individual requirements. Our practice shows that preliminary evaluation and research build a basis for successful development, planning and design of automated solutions Logistics and Distribution centers and 3P logistics groups.

Based on our local experience, there is common practice that client divide implementation of automation into two phases believing that such strategy first of all allows the proper distribution of their budget. Secondly, the operation team will get used to new technology and will be more familiar and have better participation in the next extension phase. We always advise to look at the material flow and estimate the final outcome prior to making this split decision.

To sum up, automation is not an easy and yet not such a complicated process. It is a joint cooperation and hard work of all participants. ALS rule is simple: each project is like a puzzle – it consists of different pieces, but only consecutive work will lead to successful results.

To Automate or not to Automate? That is the question. Having experience with more than 25 years, we definitely say that automation has lots of benefits and increase your efficiency; however, it is only recommended in the right place and with the right process.

Contact

Head Office Middle East & Africa - ALS Logistic Solutions LLC, JLT, Cluster X, Jumeirah Bay X2, 1106 – Dubai, UAE P.O. Box 36414
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Head Office Malaysia - ALS Logistic Solutions Sdn Bhd (795591-K), 37-2, Jalan Puteri 1/4, Bandar Puteri, 47100 Puchong, Selangor, Malaysia
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Head Office South East Asia - ALS Logistic Solutions Pte Ltd, 18 Roberts Lane, #04-01 Goodland Building, Singapore, 218297
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Head Office Europe - ALS Logistic Solutions GmbH, Hagenauer Straβe 59, 65203 Wiesbaden, Germany
United Arab Emirates
  • +971 4 286 9617 - Middle East & Africa
  • +60 3 8063 8878 - Malaysia
  • +65 63 92 18 77 - Singapore
  • +49 611 97 86 90 59 - Germany