For those of us working in the distribution and manufacturing industry, these advancements are no surprise. For years, engineers and computer scientists have been seeking ways to streamline production methods or optimize assembly-line processes through automation and machine learning.

Still, while this is “old news” for companies like Quintec, these advances are worth paying attention to.

The latest developments in AI are likely to have a significant effect on warehouse systems, controls, and storage, as well as countless other supply chain processes.

As of 2021, several major automakers including Tesla, General Motors, and Ford have announced plans to build new EV plants or expand existing ones in the United States as demand for electric vehicles increases. Additionally, smaller companies and startups relatively unknown to the American public are entering the EV market and establishing production facilities in the US.

Currently, there are numerous, diverse subfields within engineering—industrial, civil, chemical, electrical, software, aerospace, and more—which can complicate our grasp of what type of engineering is needed to accomplish certain tasks.

Two of these subfields (manufacturing and industrial) are so closely aligned that it can be difficult to distinguish their purposes. As experts who daily perform these two services, Quintec is happy to provide a basic explanation of each.

These terms are frequently tossed around quite in most discussions about industry, production, and retail, and more often than not, they’re used interchangeably. However, the supply chain and material handling are not the same, and a clearer understanding of each is useful when business owners and management discuss how to address and fix pain points in their operations and workflow.

First, rest assured that the robot revolution is not like the zombie apocalypse conspiracies that have been turned into countless movies and TV shows. The robot revolution is related entirely to the advancements in automation that are beginning to dramatically affect (we won’t say “infect”) corporate America.

Currently, in the world of manufacturing, material handling, and logistics there are companies that are actively embracing automation and there are those who eventually will be forced to in order to survive.