Applied Materials automates warehouse ops as AI accelerates chip demand

The company’s modernized LCS eliminates the need for workers to walk around multiple warehouses to locate parts and place them in correct bins. Its innovative factory automation, RFID scanning, and consolidation of seven warehouses into one building has vastly improved the efficiency of components distribution and has sped up delivery to the company’s manufacturing division.

Among LCS’ major innovations is its Goods to Person (GTP) capability, also known as the Automated Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS). The system uses robotics technology to improve scalability and cycle times for material delivery to manufacturing. Seamlessly integrating GTP with custom SAP software, which provides the backbone of Applied Materials’ project, ensures accurate and up-to-date information on inventory levels, stock movements, and order fulfillment, says Hari Lakshminarayanan, who, as managing director of IT solutions management at Applied Materials, led the LCS project.

Automating warehouse operations

The robots involved with LCS do not manufacture components; instead, their job is transporting bins and totes that contain a variety of parts, stacking them in a neat, logical way based on how often they are needed. This way, the robots can easily pick and deliver the most in-demand totes to the workstation, where human workers pick or put away the parts from a single work port, the company explains.