Zebra Technologies, a global leader in digitising and automating frontline workflows, has released the findings of its latest Warehousing Vision Study, highlighting the benefits of automating warehouse operations – and the risks of not automating fast enough.
The study titled, “Elevating Every Move: The Formula for High-Performance Warehousing,” gathered insights from over 1700 associates and decision-makers across manufacturing, retail, transportation, logistics, and wholesale distribution.
It found that 63% of global warehouse leaders plan to implement both artificial intelligence (AI) software (63% in APAC) and augmented reality (AR) (65% in APAC) within five years. In addition, 64% surveyed globally plan to increase spending on warehouse modernisation in the next five years, with APAC leaders at 63%. Meanwhile, 63% plan to accelerate their modernisation timelines by 2029, similar to 64% in APAC.
Support needed to meet goals
From an industry point of view, Interact Analysis projects global warehouse square footage will increase by 27% to 42 billion square feet in 2030 from 33 billion square feet in 2023. Warehouse labour spend is also expected to show long-term expansion projected at a compound annual growth rate of 7% through 2030.
As this expansion continues and daily order volumes increase, feedback shared by global frontline workers as part of Zebra’s Warehousing Vision Study suggests that warehouse leaders will need to move a bit faster to expand workforce capacity:
- 85% of associates (88% in APAC) report that if employers do not invest in technology to improve warehouse operations, they will not meet business objectives.
- 74% of associates (77% in APAC) are concerned they are spending too much time on tasks that could be automated.
- 69% of associates (73% in APAC) reported there is a lack of qualified staff on the warehouse floor and expressed concerns about fatigue and physical exhaustion (69% globally, 76% in APAC).
Even warehouse leaders admit they find it challenging to maintain the fill rates (51% globally, 45% in APAC) and prepare orders (47% globally, 51% in APAC) outlined in their service level agreements (SLAs), with order accuracy (41% globally, 43% in APAC) and outbound processes (41% globally, 40% in APAC) cited as the top two operational challenges in the Zebra study. Increased e-commerce activity is also making “faster delivery to the end-customer” (37% globally, 36% APAC) a top challenge for warehouse teams, even as technology use is on the rise.
Given the disparity between customers’ growing expectations and warehouse operators’ limited hiring capacity, warehouse associates say it’s important that collaborative robots (88% globally, 91% in APAC), ergonomic mobile devices (88% globally, 90% in APAC), communications applications (87% globally, 90% APAC), and task management tools (91% globally, 94% in APAC) are used to help solve workplace issues.
More than 9 in 10 associates (93% globally, 92% in APAC) also believe the increased availability of automation and mobile technologies would help attract and retain more warehouse associates, especially given they personally feel more valued (89% globally, 90% in APAC) by their employers when provided with technology tools and automation designed to help them.
Operational efficiency and safety
Tom Christodoulou, Sales Vice President for Australia and New Zealand & India and Sub-Continent at Zebra Technologies says its customers prioritise operational efficiency and safety in warehouse operations
‘“At Zebra Technologies, we empower frontline warehouse workers by eliminating repetitive tasks, enhancing productivity, and improving work quality. Amid labour shortages, rising costs, and growing customer expectations, we drive innovation to help our customers do more with their existing resources,” he said.