INTELLIGENT MOBILE TECHNOLOGY
Warehouse providers believe impact of AI applications will centre on worker safety finds Zebra
Z ebra Technologies, a global provider in digitising and automating frontline workflows, released the findings of its latest Warehousing Vision Study. In the study titled, Elevating Every Move: The Formula for High-Performance Warehousing, frontline workers clearly communicated the benefits of automating warehouse operations – and the risks of not automating fast enough.
According to the study, 60 % of warehouse providers in Europe, 63 % globally plan to implement Artificial Intelligence, AI software and augmented reality, AR, 64 % in Europe, 63 % globally within five years. In addition, 61 % in Europe, 64 % globally plan to increase spending on warehouse modernisation in the next five years, and 62 % in Europe, 63 % globally plan to accelerate their modernisation timelines by 2029.
Interact Analysis projects global warehouse square footage will increase by 27 % to 3.9 billion square metres in 2030 from 3.06 billion square metres 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 frontline workers as part of Zebra’ s Warehousing Vision Study suggests that warehouse providers will need to move a bit faster to expand workforce capacity:
• 84 % of associates in Europe, 85 % globally say, if my employer does not invest in technology to improve warehouse operations, we will not meet business objectives.
• 73 % of associates in Europe, 74 % globally are concerned they are spending too much time on tasks that could be automated.
• 73 % of associates in Europe, 72 % globally are concerned about safety on the, increasingly busy warehouse floor with 73 %, 70 % globally specifically worried about injuries.
• 67 % of associates in Europe, 69 % globally reported there is a lack of qualified staff on the warehouse floor and 66 %, 69 % globally express concerns about fatigue and physical exhaustion.
Even warehouse providers admit they find it challenging to maintain the fill rates, 55 % in Europe, 51 % globally and prepare orders, 51 % in Europe, 47 % globally outlined in their service level agreements, SLAs, with order accuracy, 48 % in Europe, 41 % globally and outbound processes, 44 % in Europe, 41 % globally cited as the top two operational challenges in the Zebra study.
Increased e-commerce activity is also making faster delivery to the end-customer a top challenge for warehouse teams, 40 % in Europe, 37 % globally, 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, 92 % in Europe, 88 % globally, ergonomic mobile devices, 92 % in Europe, 88 % globally, communications applications, 89 % in Europe, 87 % globally, and task management tools, 90 % in Europe, 91 % globally are used to help solve workplace issues.
“ Warehouse associates are telling us they feel their lives would be better if their employers thoughtfully integrated more automation solutions into their workflows,” said Andres Boullosa, Global Warehouse Vertical Strategy Provider, Zebra Technologies. •
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