Warehousing and logistics have always been a balancing act between long-term planning and short-term on-site problem resolution. Today’s warehouse operation leaders are faced with a changing landscape and increasing pressure on margins and service levels. All of which makes it difficult for businesses to forecast and plan.

A changing landscape introduces risk, but also presents opportunities to transform warehouse operations and technology plays a fundamental role by optimising processes to deliver greater efficiencies.

However, before taking the leap warehouse managers must understand which technologies can generate meaningful impact in their environment. Faced with rising costs, they must be savvy in the solutions they invest in.

The key trends shaping warehousing and logistics include labour shortages, shifts in buying trends, and the pressure of meeting customer expectations. The right technology can address the challenges these trends present by reducing complexity, and ramping up efficiency.

Standing still is not an option in a competitive environment and many warehouse operators are now seeing the benefit of automation and robotics. The adoption rate is growing annually, driven by the need to leverage existing infrastructure and transform the fulfilment process.

Warehouses must have the ability to ramp up capacity and handle peak demands if they are to meet customer expectations. With the growing challenge of labour shortages, warehouse operators are discovering the importance of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to improve warehouse efficiencies and create a more attractive working environment.

Globally, businesses spend an estimated $448 billion in warehousing and that number is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9%. This growth is driving change and highlighting the latest trends and technology solutions required to keep operations running at peak performance.

The companies that have been most successful in navigating unpredictable times were those that had highly responsive and flexible operations in warehouse and logistics and strong underlying technology.

Change is a given, and no matter what happens, versatility and risk mitigation should be top of mind for operations/warehouse managers. With a flexible fulfilment solution that combines sophisticated AI-driven software and AMRs, such as that delivered by 6 River Systems, businesses will be able to adapt the existing workforce, increase productivity to accommodate shifting demand and support omnichannel fulfilment.

To read more about the trends shaping warehouse and logistics, please view our report Taking Stock: Trends Shaping Warehousing and Logistics here – info.6river.com/trends-report-2022

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