Zebra Technologies Corporation, the leading provider of technology for automating frontline workflows, has released the findings of its latest Warehousing Vision Study, which highlights the importance of automation in running the involved operations and managing security challenges.
Zebra Technologies commissioned this global research study to explore the trends and technologies shaping warehouse and distribution center operations. The study, conducted by Azure Knowledge Corporation, gathers insights from over 1,700 associates and decision-makers across manufacturing, retail, transportation, logistics, and wholesale distribution.
In 2024, India’s total warehousing stock has reportedly surpassed 500 million square feet, making the safety of frontline employees a critical focus alongside operational efficiency. As safety emerges as a top priority, automation tools are increasingly recognized as essential not only for optimizing operations but also for safeguarding workers.
In the study titled, ‘Elevating Every Move: The Formula for High-Performance Warehousing’, the frontline workers clearly communicated the benefits of automating warehouse operations – and the risks of not automating fast enough.
“It’s a clear sign to enhance warehousing solutions when associates worldwide note that their lives would improve with more thoughtfully integrated automation in their workflows,” said Subramaniam Thiruppathi, Director of India Sub-continent Business, Zebra Technologies.
“Automating material movement, data collection, and information management benefits everyone. It makes warehouses safer, helps teams meet SLAs more effectively, and ensures a steady flow of quality goods to the market, boosting customer satisfaction and worker engagement,” added Thiruppathi.
Automation of involved operations
According to the study, 63 percent of global warehouse leaders plan to implement both artificial intelligence (AI) software (63 percent in APAC including India) and augmented reality (AR) (65 percent in APAC including India) within five years.
In addition, 64 percent surveyed globally plan to increase spending on warehouse modernization in the next five years, with APAC leaders including India at 63percent. Meanwhile, 63 percent plan to accelerate their modernization timelines by 2029, similar to 64 percent in APAC including India.
From an industry point of view, Interact Analysis projects global warehouse square footage will increase by 27percent 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 percent 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:
Some 85 percent of associates (88 percent in APAC including India) report that if employers do not invest in technology to improve warehouse operations, they will not meet business objectives.
Over 74 percent of associates (77 percent in APAC including India) are concerned they are spending too much time on tasks that could be automated.
About 72 percent of associates (79 percent in APAC including India) are concerned about safety on the (increasingly busy) warehouse floor, with 70 percent (72 percent in APAC including India) specifically worried about injuries.
Close to 69 percent of associates (73percent in APAC including India) reported there is a lack of qualified staff on the warehouse floor and express concerns about fatigue and physical exhaustion (69percent globally, 76percent in APAC including India).
Even warehouse leaders admit they find it challenging to maintain the fill rates (51 percent globally, 45 percent in APAC including India) and prepare orders (47percent globally, 51 percent in APAC including India) outlined in their service level agreements (SLAs), with order accuracy (41 percent globally, 43 percent in APAC including India) and outbound processes (41 percent globally, 40 percent in APAC including India) 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 percent globally, 36 percent APAC including India) 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 percent globally, 91 percent in APAC including India), ergonomic mobile devices (88 percent globally, 90 percent in APAC including India), communications applications (87 percent globally, 90 percent APAC including India), and task management tools (91 percent globally, 94 percent in APAC including India) are used to help solve workplace issues.
More than nine in 10 associates (93 percent globally, 92 percent in APAC including India) 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 (89percent globally, 90 percent in APAC including India) by their employers when provided with technology tools and automation designed to help them.
Key Regional Findings
· Asia-Pacific (including India): Missed SLAs are a tremendous financial burden for 88 percent of decision-makers (83 percent globally), underscoring the need to swiftly address inefficiencies.
· Europe: Workplace safety remains a concern, with 73percent of associates (70 percent globally, 72 percent in APAC including India) worried about injuries on the warehouse floor.
· Latin America: 70 percent of decision-makers (71 percent globally, 70 percent in APAC including India) who plan to automate or have done so already say the biggest driver for automation is the need to mitigate errors.
· North America: 88 percent of decision-makers (84 percent globally, 83 percent in APAC including India) agree adopting new technology is essential to remain competitive in the fast-paced, on-demand economy.
Qaisar
