All the Statistics Warehouse Automation You Need to Know
If you think warehousing in the 21st century is complicated, wait till you hear about what it used to be like a few years ago. Everything was dependent on manual, paper-based systems, and the workforce employed in the warehouse where responsible for every menial task you can possibly think of.
Of course, all of this was a thing before warehouse automation became a part of the picture.
In case you are wondering what warehouse automation is, it is simply a term used to describe the process of automating various processes taking place within a warehouse or a fulfilment centre. As such, it is one of the best ways to make your fulfilment processes more efficient. Not only does warehouse automation speed up various elements of the logistical experience, but it also takes a burden off of your workforce, allowing them to focus on more complex tasks.
For businesses that are looking to bring productivity to their back end processes, warehouse automation is the ultimate solution.
However, it can be hard to get a clear idea of what the current state of warehouse automation is, and how it can be seamlessly integrated into your business properly. Which is why on this page, you will find the best warehouse automation statistics.
There is no better way to familiarise yourself with warehouse automation than these statistics – so let’s get into it straight away.
Contents
- General Warehouse Automation Statistics
- Warehouse Automation Statistics for Efficiency
- Warehouse Automation Statistics for Labour Management
- Warehouse Automation Implementation Statistics
- Warehouse Automation Statistics: What Does the Future Look Like?
- Key Takeaway
General Warehouse Automation Statistics
These general warehouse automation statistics will help you understand what exactly we are talking about:
79% of companies with “superior supply chain” functionalities achieve more revenue growth than the average within their industries (Deloitte)
This is because only companies that utilise the right warehouse automation technology can be considered high-functioning.
The fact that these companies do better than their counterparts shows that warehouse automation does actually count for a lot, and can make a genuine impact on your growth as a business.
If you are hoping to supersede all your competitors, the best way would be to invest in warehouse automation that can help drive your efforts in that direction.
Warehouse automation can lead up to 25% increase in productivity, 20% gain in space usage, and 30% improvement in stock use efficiency (EasyPost)
Warehouse automation is the only way to go forward. Not because we say so, but because it genuinely does present a better alternative than manual processes. Where as manual processes are slow and require a lot of hard work and effort from your end, warehouse automation can bring efficiency, productivity, and general improvement to your warehouse.
And that is exactly what this warehouse automation statistic tells us. Many businesses yearn to boost their productivity levels, optimise their space, and speed up their deliveries, but don’t know where to start.
Luckily, warehouse automation is the answer to all your struggles in this regard.
The Global Logistics Automation Market has a CGR of 12.4%, which is the highest predicted rate for any supply chain market (Zippia)
To us, this makes a lot of sense. After all, the current framework of global logistics would not be the same if it wasn’t for technology and automation. Technology and automation really drives growth in this sector and hence makes it feasible for many businesses to conveniently meet the ever-expanding consumer demands in the current market.
This also means that more people are realising the importance of warehouse automation, and hence are more willing and open to invest in the market. Naturally, this shows that we will be able to see a lot more dependence on warehouse automation in upcoming years, and it would be interesting to find out what impact it has on the logistics industry as well as businesses all over the world.
According to 72% respondents, warehouse management systems are the premier warehouse automation software (Supply Chain Management Review)
We think that warehouse management systems are quite truly the best, and we are glad that we have this particular statistic to back us up. A warehouse management system does not only manage your warehouse, but it also helps you streamline multiple other facets of your business including inventory management, order management, and labour management.
All you need to expand your success in the logistics area is a good warehouse management system, and it will really help you in inconceivable ways. So, yes, warehouse management systems are truly the premier warehouse automation software.
Global warehouse automation market stands for more than $10 million in spending every year, and is expected to grow in the future (Forbes)
Again, the fact that this industry is backed with such a large investment shows that warehouse automation is truly a game changer. People have recognised its ability to bring about good change in the logistics industry and make some tangible contributions, which is precisely why it already has such huge investments and will likely grow in the future as well.
The amount of convenience warehouse automation provides to businesses means it is an integral, indispensable element of the warehouse automation industry.
Warehouse Automation Statistics for Efficiency
Calling out to all the businesses that are looking to make their processes more efficient – this is how warehouse automation can help you:
For warehouse workers, order picking takes up at least 50% of their total time spent (Sciendo)
Picking is truly a time-consuming process. This is because even with complete warehouse automation, picking is the one procedure that is entirely dependent on your workforce. Firstly, this is reflective of the fact that wherever an organisation has to depend on manual completion of tasks, it should prepare itself for slow, inefficient processing.
Secondly, it also shows that if the picking process is not streamlined with the help of warehouse automation, your pickers have no option but to spend a lot of time completing the tasks assigned to them.
This highlights the importance of warehouse automation, and tells us how integrating it into warehouse operations can result in increased efficiency.
Warehouse automation systems can increase picking accuracy by 99.99% (MHI)
It’s not just the fact that picking is time-consuming; it can also be prone to a lot of errors and mistakes. Because again, it depends on humans and no matter how advanced and dedicated you workforce is, you can expect a bunch of errors that will definitely be made.
According to this statistic, warehouse automation systems like a warehouse management system can be the solution to your problems. Warehouse automation systems increase picking accuracy – by streamlining and automating certain elements of the picking process, it makes sure that mistakes and errors are minimised to a great extent.
Warehouse management systems and pick-to-light systems usually cost between $500,000 and $2 million – with a payback period of 0.5 to two years (Westernacher)
The investment is actually quite heavy – of course. Technology on a commercial level will always be expensive to implement. However, when it comes to warehouse management systems, the good thing is that you can get a payback on your investment in a relatively shorter period of time!
So, warehouse automation does not only allow you to be efficient, it also allows you to be cost-efficient. This means that it is the ultimate option for businesses that are working on saving money, improving their cash flow, and taking their margins up a notch.
The impact of robotics on logistics till 2025 could result in up to 40% reduction of logistics costs and a 25% to 70% increase in productivity (Roland Berger via Sales Layer)
It is great to see that the use of robotics, which is a type of warehouse automation solution, is predicted to be of even better use in upcoming years. Robotics really help businesses take a load off their warehouse staff, which makes them available for better, more challenging work.
Not only that, but employing robotics can help you meet customer demands and make sure that your back end processes align with consumer expectations throughout. This will help you create a better standing for yourself in the industry, and hence is a future-proof way of securing success for your ventures.
31% of businesses have fully automated their workflows at least once (SelectHub)
The automation of workflows is a rather attractive prospect for many businesses, as this statistic shows. Again, this is primarily because warehouse automation makes even the most difficult challenges easy to overcome and hence, is crucial for businesses who want to overcome all your problems.
Where businesses don’t invest in warehouse automation, it is mainly because of financial limitations because otherwise, almost all businesses realise the importance of managing the warehouse effectively and would prefer to invest in solutions that can help them grow.
Also, it is important to remember that the number of businesses that will fully automate their warehouse workflows.
Warehouse Automation Statistics for Labour Management
Wondering if warehouse automation can help with labour management? Well, let’s have a look:
Labour makes up for at least 50% of a company’s warehousing budget (Kane is Able)
No matter how much you rely on warehouse automation solutions, you will have to utilise your workforce in order to achieve maximum efficiency. However, the drawback, as reflected by this statistic is that labour makes up for at least 50% of a company’s budget. This means that being too dependent on your manual workforce will be costly.
On the other hand, warehouse automation can help you save up on money and make the right financial decisions, while making you less dependent on labour. Not only that, but warehouse automation also makes changes that make the job a lot less demanding for your labour, which means they don’t have to work as much.
Warehouses have about 1 in 20 injury rate, which is pretty high (US Bureau of Labour Statistics)
Warehousing is dangerous for human beings. Handling heavy goods as well as operating high-risk equipment means that warehouse workers are constantly jeopardised in one way or the other. This makes their work more valuable.
If you are looking to minimise the risk of injury, warehouse automation can help. This is because warehouse automation brings safety and security to a lot of your processes, and therefore ensures that in any instance your workers are not vulnerable to serious injuries and other kinds of harm.
In short, warehouse automation can help you avoid physical harm that may occur during warehousing activities.
A typical warehouse with 100 employees can cost more than $3.5 million in labour expenses (Westnacher)
Again, this shows that warehouse workforce’s are expensive to recruit and maintain. You spend so much money to build a large workforce, and then even more money on dealing with the defects and errors that are produced as a result relying on paper-based systems.
A better alternative is warehouse automation, which is not only a smaller investment, but is also more reliable than complete dependence on human workers. Therefore, a good strategy for businesses looking to transform their operations would be to focus more on warehouse automation.
73% of warehouse operators can’t attract enough labour (Instawork)
We said that businesses should focus more on warehouse automation than human labour. The truth is, there isn’t much choice left to them when it comes to this. After all, there is a labour shortage going on in the logistics industry for a very long time, and it is now more or less an inherent part of the industry.
What does this mean for you? Well, for starters, the less dependent you are on your workforce, the less you will be affected by their absence. So a good way to prepare for the labour shortage getting worse in the next few years is to completely automate your work flows.
54% organisations are looking forward to provide supply chain and technical training to retain more labourers (Logistics Management)
The best part, as we can tell from this statistic, is that even to retain your employees, you need technology! Providing supply chain and technical training is a great way to retain labourers. This is because workers today really value contributions to their skill set. Where they feel like they are growing professionally and gaining more skills, they will stay and work more readily.
Not only that, but warehouse automation can also take off a burden off your employees shoulders, which will make the job more pleasant for them and in turn, boost your employee retention rates.
Warehouse Automation Implementation Statistics
Warehouse automation is incredibly popular with businesses, and we say that because of the following facts and figures:
Over the next three years, about 60% companies expect to invest in conveyor systems and sortation systems (Parcel Industry)
That is more than half of the companies surveyed! And this is only in relation to conveyor systems and sortation systems, which means that the results will be even more eye-opening when we take into consideration other forms of warehouse automation as well.
The truth is, businesses have quite confidently realised that warehouse automation is necessary for smooth and seamless fulfilment, which is why they are not hesitating to invest in it and make their jobs easier and at the same time more lucrative.
If, as a business, you are not already automated, then now is the time you start thinking about it – especially if you want to stay at par with your competitors.
About 620,000 or more shipments of various warehouse automation technologies will be made worldwide by the end of 2022 (Omdia)
Again, this just shows that more and more businesses are bringing warehouse automation technology to their fulfillment centres. The best part is that this statistic offers a global insight; which means that the value and importance of warehouse automation is being understood all over the world, and is hence reflected in the shipment of these technologies.
This also means that as warehouse automation technology is adopted all over the world, it is more likely to completely replace manual systems and hence, offer the benefits associated with automation on a considerably larger scale.
96% industry leaders perceive innovation as “extremely important for growth.” (Deloitte)
They know! Innovation is actually the main element behind unrestricted growth and development. This is because in order to keep up with the demands and expectations of consumers of the 21st century, you have to be nothing but the best.
And of course, this can only be done with the help of warehouse automation. Warehouse automation allows you to utilise innovation in the best way possible. So, if you are anything like the respondents of this study, you will know that innovation is important, and in order to achieve innovation, you must have faith in warehouse automation.
Warehouse Automation Statistics: What Does the Future Look Like?
This is what the future of warehouse looks like, at least as far as statistics are concerned:
It is predicted that there will be around 50,000 robotic warehouses by 2025, carrying over 4 million robot installations (European Business Review)
The robots ARE taking our jobs. But is it really as bad as people make it out to be? It is not an evil overthrow – instead, they are taking our jobs and making life so much easier for us. Especially when it comes to warehouse management, robotic installations mean that many delays, mistakes, and inaccuracies that are otherwise a prominent part of the overall fulfilment experience can very easily be avoided.
Hence, with this transition in the next few years, warehouses will be able to achieve peak efficiency and operate in the best possible way as they accelerate their way to success.
The global warehouse automation market is expected to surpass $37.6 billion by 2030 (Business Wire)
That number may seem big, but it is understandable in relation to the ever-evolving warehouse automation industry. From where we see it, this market will continue to grow in the upcoming years and provide businesses with utmost convenience.
2030 is 7 years away, and we are sure that there is still a lot of advancements that will take place in this industry when we get to that time period. However, one thing is for sure: any business who realises the importance of warehouse automation now, will surely benefit from it in the future.
Key Takeaway
Warehouse automation is a future-friendly way for businesses to ensure that they are moving in the right direction and that the pace of their operation matches the growing needs of consumers in the 21st century.
More and more businesses are realising the benefits of warehouse automation, including efficiency and labour management perks. Warehouse automation can make growth a lot more convenient, and this is increasingly becoming common sense for organisations, as reflected in the way they currently adopt warehouse technology.
In the future, warehouse automation is bound to get even better, and we simply can’t wait for it. Can you?
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