Senior leaders from large firms across continents shared perspectives on automation and workflow operations in three industries.

Based on a survey  (around mid-2025) of 1,000 senior decision-makers across retail (400), manufacturing (200), and transportation and logistics sectors (200)* on workflow automation and its impact on business performance, a manufacturer of smart data capture systems has shared several findings were shared with the media.

First, surveyed retailers indicated a 21% improvement in customer satisfaction, attributed to automation and workflow optimization initiatives.

Second, surveyed manufacturers cited an increase in employee productivity of 19% following improvements in their workflow processes.

Other findings
Third, decision-makers in transportation and logistics reported a 21% productivity increase that they associated with enhanced workflows. Also:

  • Retail respondents had indicated that prioritizing inventory management workflows correlated with an up-to-1.8 percentage point increase in both revenue growth and profitability.
  • Manufacturing respondents optimizing quality control and assurance workflows had cited revenue growth uplifts by 2.4% and profitability improvements of 1.4%.
  • Transportation and logistics respondents who reported workflow improvements in delivery and inventory had cited a revenue growth increase of up to 3.4% with a similar gain in profitability.
  • Survey participants had indicated that over two-thirds of transportation and logistics organizations and nearly half of manufacturers reported deploying AI solutions for inventory management, demand forecasting, and predictive analytics at the time of the survey.
  • Retailers responding to the survey indicated ongoing pilot programs for AI-driven loss prevention, risk detection, and inventory optimization; the use of advanced tools like RFID and machine vision was also frequently cited across industries to enhance operational visibility and efficiency.
  • According to the firm that commissioned the survey, spokesperson comments about the potential for technology and connected solutions to impact everyday work were provided, but have been paraphrased as [general remarks regarding the firm’s view on continuous process improvement and adaptation to changing conditions]. All other sponsor commentary has been omitted or flagged as opinion, as is standard editorial practice for survey-driven reporting.
  • According to Christanto Suryadarma, Sales Vice President (Southeast Asia, South Korea, and Channel APJeC), Zebra Technologies, the firm that commissioned the survey: “By integrating advanced technologies like AI, automation, and machine vision with human expertise, intelligent operations [can enable] organizations to simplify complex processes…” to thrive in today’s competitive markets.
  • *respondents were from parts of the US, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, India, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Respondents’ organization sizes varied, with 30% reporting annual revenues between US$100m and US$499.9m, and 70% reporting US$500m

According to the firm that commissioned the survey, spokesperson comments about the potential for technology and connected solutions to impact everyday work were provided, but have been paraphrased as [general remarks regarding the firm’s view on continuous process improvement and adaptation to changing conditions]. All other sponsor commentary has been omitted or flagged as opinion, as is standard editorial practice for survey-driven reporting.

According to Christanto Suryadarma, Sales Vice President (Southeast Asia, South Korea, and Channel APJeC), Zebra Technologies, the firm that commissioned the survey: “By integrating advanced technologies like AI, automation, and machine vision with human expertise, intelligent operations [can enable] organizations to simplify complex processes…” to thrive in today’s competitive markets.

*respondents were from parts of the US, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, India, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. Respondents’ organization sizes varied, with 30% reporting annual revenues between US$100m and US$499.9m, and 70% reporting US$500m