We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • ProMat 2023
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • ProMat 2023
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Mobility, partial automation dominate in the warehouse
newsworthy

Mobility, partial automation dominate in the warehouse

June 19, 2019
Victoria Kickham
No Comments

Warehouses and distribution centers will focus on worker mobility and partial automation strategies as they work to enhance facility efficiency over the next five years, according to a Zebra Technologies Warehousing Vision Study released this week.

Three-quarters of the logistics IT and operations professionals the technology firm surveyed said that human interaction remains a key part of their "optimal operation balance," noting that automation strategies that require some human involvement or that augment worker performance by equipping them with mobile devices is the preferred way forward.

Mark Wheeler, Zebra's director of supply chain solutions, pointed to the use of robotics and automation to reduce transportation and non-value-added walk time in the warehouse as one example, adding that the use of sensor technology and intelligent automation to enhance worker performance will also grow in the years ahead.

"The hard stuff, for the most part, is still being done by human labor," Wheeler said, emphasizing the need for flexible, scalable technology that can help accomplish complex warehousing and distribution tasks. "It's more critical than ever [that workers] have the right technology to do those jobs."

Although the study revealed a clear understanding of the need to automate in the warehouse and DC, it also showed that many professionals in manufacturing, transportation and logistics, retail, post and parcel delivery, and wholesale distribution markets don't know where to begin. Study findings showed that:

  • More than three-quarters (77 percent) of respondents agree that augmenting workers with technology is the best way to introduce automation in the warehouse, but only 35 percent said they have a clear understanding of where to start automating;
  • By 2024, 61 percent of decision makers plan to enable partial automation or labor augmentation with technology in the warehouse;
  • Three-quarters of respondents said they believe human interaction is part of their optimal operational balance, with 39 percent citing partial automation (some human involvement) and 34 percent citing augmentation (equipping workers with devices) as their preference;
  • Decision makers said they anticipate using robotics/bots for inbound inventory management (24 percent), outbound packing (22 packing), and goods in/receiving (20 percent) by 2024.

Respondents also emphasized the need to modernize and rethink their warehouse fulfillment strategies, with most saying they will expand their facilities and their facility network over the next five years. Study findings showed that:

  • Eighty-seven percent of decision makers said they are currently in the process of or planning to expand the size of their warehouses by 2024, with 82 percent anticipating an increase in the number of warehouses during this timeframe;
  • Fifty-nine percent of respondents cited capacity utilization as a significant expected challenge and said they plan to address it by expanding the size of their warehouse;
  • Sixty percent of organizations cited labor recruitment and/or labor efficiency and productivity among their top challenges, with 63 percent noting an immediate focus on individual or team productivity outcomes;
  • IT/technology utilization was identified both as the most anticipated operational challenge (61 percent) of the next five years and a desired long-term outcome for increased asset visibility, real-time guidance, and data-driven performance.

Zebra Technologies surveyed 1,400 IT and operations professionals globally across the manufacturing, transportation and logistics, retail, post and parcel delivery, and wholesale distribution markets for its Warehousing Vision Study.

Technology Robotics Warehousing (WMS & WCS & WES) Business Management & Finance
KEYWORDS Zebra Technologies
    • Related Articles

      Sponsored By
      inVia Robotics

      THE NEW WAY TO WAREHOUSE: 4 Innovations in Automation & Robotics to Boost Warehouse Productivity

      Softeon acquires GetUsROI in move to build more links to warehouse automation

      The Logistics Matters podcast: Yossi Sheffi on the future of logistics; growing demand for warehouse automation; the next generations of supply chain pros | Season 1 Episode 28

    Victoria kickham headshot
    Victoria Kickham started her career as a newspaper reporter in the Boston area before moving into B2B journalism. She has covered manufacturing, distribution and supply chain issues for a variety of publications in the industrial and electronics sectors, and now writes about everything from forklift batteries to omnichannel business trends for DC Velocity.

    Recent Articles by Victoria Kickham

    Logistics Managers Index contracts in May

    WERC releases 2023 DC Measures report

    How to turn around failing warehouse operations

    You must login or register in order to post a comment.

    Report Abusive Comment

    Most Popular Articles

    • Union Pacific agrees to provide more predictable schedules for union rail workers

    • Schneider National opens innovation center at Wisconsin headquarters

    • DHL Supply Chain will expand Locus Robotics fleet to 5,000 AMRs

    • Parcel carriers, shippers steer into choppy waters as a perfect storm of challenges approaches

    • Trucking companies face “modestly unfavorable” outlook heading into 2024

    Now Playing on DCV-TV

    B0d646ac 1d71 44f7 9c47 80a0858638b7

    Improve Overhead Access with Custom VRCs

    DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    Tackling high-reach storage challenges is easy with Autoquip Lifts. We offer a wide variety of design features for Vertical Reciprocating Conveyors, or VRCs, to safely transfer materials from multiple levels based on the client’s specific needs. Don’t know where to start? We can create the perfect hydraulic or...

    FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

    • How to Use Economic Uncertainty to Gain Competitive Ground with Automation

    • Exploring Customized Forklift Solutions

    • Exploring the Future of Labor Management With Capacity Planning

    • Three layers of forklift safety: Promoting operating best practices

    View More

    Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

    GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • NEWSLETTERS
    • ADVERTISING
    • CUSTOMER CARE
    • CONTACT
    • ABOUT
    • STAFF
    • PRIVACY POLICY

    Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing