Warehouse workers are also stressed about meeting business goals if warehouse leaders don’t embrace intelligent automation.

Market research company Interact Analysis has projected global warehouse square footage will increase by 27% to 42 billion square feet in 2030 from 33 billion square feet in 2023. Warehouse labor spend is also expected to show long-term expansion projected at a compound annual growth rate of 7% through 2030.

Zebra Technologies‘ latest Warehousing Vision Study, titled “Elevating Every Move: The Formula for High-Performance Warehousing,” highlights frontline workers clearly communicating the benefits of automating warehouse operations – and the risks of not automating fast enough.

According to the study conducted by Azure Knowledge Corporation, 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% of respondents globally plan to increase spending on warehouse modernization.

The evolving challenges

As warehouse expansion continues and daily order volumes increase, feedback shared by global frontline workers as part of the 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.
  • 72% of associates (79% in APAC) are concerned about safety on the (increasingly busy) warehouse floor, with 70% (72% in APAC) specifically worried about injuries.
  • 69% of associates (73% in APAC) reported there is a lack of qualified staff on the warehouse floor and express 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. 

93% globally, and 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.

How (and how much) automation is really expected to help 

Warehouse leaders believe the biggest impact of mobile device-based AI applications will center on worker safety, quality control, and inventory management. While 79% say AI will positively impact their ability to detect potential hazards and issue alerts for prevention, 78% think AI would make an impact on their ability to detect issues or anomalies using AI – this sentiment is echoed by 82% and 81% of APAC warehouse leaders respectively. In addition, 77% (78% in APAC) feel AI applications would impact their ability to forecast needs, streamline stock levels, and maximize space using AI applications.

Many global warehouse leaders who plan to augment/automate or have already done so say their goal is to mitigate errors (71%) and meet SLAs (70%). They hope automation will increase worker efficiency and productivity (54% globally, 56% in APAC) as well as reduce order errors and manual picking (53% globally and in APAC). Plus, 82% of warehouse leaders (84% in APAC) agree that giving warehouse workers more technology tools will help them exceed productivity goals while reducing physical strain and preventing injuries. Eighty-one percent of the leaders also admit that automation improves morale, similarly reflected by 80% in APAC.

Ultimately, warehouse leaders say their biggest supply chain network challenges are “innovating with technology and intelligent automation” and “meeting changing customer service expectations.” Yet, the latter will not prove possible until warehouse leaders figure out a clear path forward with technology.

“Frontline workers often find themselves juggling multiple tasks, many of which can and should be automated,” said Vivien Tay, APAC Vertical Marketing Solutions Lead for Warehousing, Transport & Logistics, Zebra Technologies. “With the Asia Pacific warehousing market experiencing rapid growth, the need for warehouse leaders to embrace digitalization, automation, and intelligent solutions has never been greater.”