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A recent new global warehousing study conducted abroad reveals that warehouse operators are making substantial investments to better meet the needs of customers and workers, and to more easily fill vacant positions.
Nearly nine-tenths of warehouse operators worldwide agree they must implement new technologies to remain competitive in the on-demand economy, with 80% confirming that the pandemic has prompted them to accelerate development and modernization.
Particularly in Europe, more than three-quarters of operators have accelerated their efforts. They are turning attention toward technologies that support workforce augmentation and workflow automation, investing heavily. For example, the use of wearables, mobile printers, and ruggedized tablets will increase over the coming years, along with mobile dimensioning software that automatically measures packages and cartons. Additionally, today 23% of European warehouse operators have deployed some form of Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR), which aligns with the global trend (27%). Within five years, this number is expected to grow to 88% in Europe and 90% globally.
Most decision-makers are increasingly willing to integrate various new technologies into their current operations and infrastructure. Warehouse employees are also becoming more accustomed to businesses using advanced technology. Globally (45%) and in Europe (47%), surveyed personnel indicate their employers have raised wages or offered bonuses during labor shortages. Companies are improving working conditions in other ways, such as allowing more technology use at work and leveraging technology to create more flexible work shifts. Indeed, 90% of warehouse employees somewhat agree that technological advances will make warehouse environments more attractive to workers, even amid increasing pressure from supply chain tensions, surging demand, and meeting more urgent deadlines.
Compared to three years ago, decision-makers find it harder to deliver customer orders on time, and they are struggling to maintain inventory accuracy and visibility. They also acknowledge they will need to deliver orders faster than ever before to keep pace with the on-demand economy, rising shipping costs have caused losses for over 40% of warehouse operators, affecting manufacturing, shipping, wholesale distribution, logistics, and retail. Respondents indicate their shipping volumes have grown over 20% on average over the past two years.
However, like employees, warehouse operators also view these challenges as catalysts for transformation and growth. From now until 2025, more than eight-tenths expect to increase the number of stock keeping units (SKUs) they carry and the volume of items shipped. They also plan to expand return management business, offer more value-added services, and increase their physical footprint while expanding both the number and size of warehouses.
While 60% of global warehouse operators also hope to increase staff numbers next year to adjust their workforce scale, approximately half acknowledge that timely recruitment (55%) and training (54%) of workers remain significant challenges. This is especially true in Europe, where 48% say it's difficult to find workers and 50% say training is challenging. Therefore, approximately eight-tenths of decision-makers agree they will have to rely more heavily on automation in the future.
Although the majority of warehouse operators in Europe (88%) and globally (90%) will deploy AMRs for person-to-goods picking, material movement, and other automated inventory movements, 92% in Europe and 94% globally will invest in software that helps automate analysis and decision-making. They hope to improve worker efficiency and reduce labor costs.
As operational pace accelerates and workflows become more complex, warehouse operators consider the most important workforce initiative to be reducing unnecessary tasks so employees can focus on more customer-centered work. If warehouse operators achieve automation through AMRs and workflow optimization software, scaling operations and meeting service level agreements will become easier as customer demands and labor availability fluctuate.
As warehouse operators plan to increase automation, some might say jobs will be lost. However, study respondents believe automation may help keep more people working and fill vacancies. More than three-quarters of warehouse employees in Europe (75%) and globally (78%) indicate that even if they must pick or handle more items, reduced walking distances would make their jobs more enjoyable, and 81% firmly believe AMRs can reduce stress in warehouse work.
Survey results show that 35% in Europe and 41% globally completely agree that implementing warehouse technologies such as robots and equipment helps attract and retain employees, despite the fact that most employees:
People who work with AMRs confirm they help increase productivity, reduce walking time (83%), reduce errors (73%), and promote new roles or opportunities (65%). They are more likely to work for employers who provide modern equipment for tasks compared to those who provide old equipment or no equipment (83% globally, 87% in Europe).
85% of decision-makers indicate they have implemented mobility, allowing frontline staff to capture every inventory movement they make, and most believe they are optimizing equipment usage to suit tasks, safety, and ergonomics. However, over 80% of warehouse employees and about three-quarters of warehouse decision-makers in Europe and globally worry that unless more technology investments are made to improve operations, they will not achieve business objectives, with shipping employees (92%) and logistics (88%) sectors feeling this need most strongly. Therefore, over six-tenths of decision-makers indicate they will invest in technologies that improve inventory and asset visibility within warehouses and overall supply chain visibility over the next five years.
90% expect their use of sensor-based technologies such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), computer vision, fixed industrial scanning, and machine vision systems to become more widespread over the next five years. As companies invest in advanced technologies that enable higher visibility, real-time guidance, and data-driven performance, focusing on improving team productivity and better utilization of assets, equipment, and personnel, this equates to improved employee welfare and overall market competitiveness.
Global Survey Results:
Asia-Pacific Region: Nine-tenths of Asia-Pacific decision-makers agree that machine vision and/or fixed industrial scanning technologies in key areas can save time and eliminate errors, though currently only one-quarter are using them.
European Region: European warehouse employees: They would view employers more positively (85%) if provided with mobile devices and technology.
Latin America Region: 96% of Latin American employees believe implementing warehouse technologies such as robots and equipment will help attract and retain employees, the highest among all regions.
North America Region: 86% of North American decision-makers indicate the COVID-19 pandemic prompted them to develop and modernize faster than any other region.
