In 2024, 25% of global warehouses have implemented automation in some form, while 10% have even advanced their automation technology. This is a major improvement from a decade back when only 5% of warehouses were automated. It’s clear that more companies are striving to automate their warehouses to improve their order fulfillment efficiency. The growing shortage of human labor is furthering the demand for automation.
Overall, warehouse automation delivers multiple benefits including:
- Streamlined business operations
- Lower dependence on human resources
- Reduction in manual errors
- Improved customer satisfaction
- Lower operational costs
With their built-in scalability, automation solutions can also scale up the warehouse capacity to handle holiday shopping sales and seasonal demands. Flexible automation can also help retailers adapt to increased production needs.
That said, warehouse automation is difficult to implement and has its share of real-world challenges. Here’s a look at 5 such obstacles:
- Initial investment
To automate their warehouses, companies need to make significant investments upfront. Some of these relate to changes that are required in the warehouse makeup itself. Most automation systems today demand specific kinds of floor preparation. Most others also need the racks to be configured and laid out in a specific manner. Other requirements are linked to material handling equipment and systems like automatic robotics and conveyors. Besides, companies also incur long-term expenses in maintaining and upgrading their systems for future business growth and market demands.
With this cost factor and ROI concerns, warehouse managers are unable to justify the high business spending for automation tools. To meet this challenge, companies need to implement automation with smaller incremental steps – instead of an end-to-end automation process that may face budget constraints.
A quick-to-install, yet scalable automation solution is the best fit for small warehouses as it can sequentially implement automation across multiple stages of maturity.
- Integration
A majority of the existing warehouses have invested in technology-driven tools and systems to drive their operations. In this environment, automation tools cannot replace these legacy systems, but instead, must work along with them. Depending on the underlying technology, integration with third-party systems is a major hindrance to warehouse automation.
Some of the integration-related challenges include:
- Lack of data synchronization due to proprietary data formats
- Lack of compatibility with legacy systems and applications
- Inadequate customization to meet the current business needs
When evaluating automation solutions, companies must look for efficient system integrators with experience in integrating different systems.
- Human challenges
U.S.-based warehouses employ around 1.8 million workers in 2024. Automation is expected to impact employment by 5.9% by 2033. Naturally, more warehouse workers are fearful of the impact of automation on their employment and daily work. To address the human challenge, companies must enable employees to “buy in” their automation initiatives from the initial stage.
This includes measures in change management and retraining the workforce to work along with automation solutions. With a proper transition plan, warehouses can efficiently onboard existing workers – and emphasize the benefits of automation for their progress.
- Scalability
Existing warehouses are not equipped to handle high order volumes – especially during the holiday season or sales promotions. For modern customer demands, retailers need a flexible automation system that can scale up or down to adapt to changing demands. For instance, scalable bots and bot paths can help them achieve business growth without any additional investment.
Similarly, instead of “fixed” automation systems, companies need “modular” systems that are easy to upgrade (or downgrade) for changing business requirements. Additionally, companies must evaluate how an automation system can impact the business downtime and the level of changes to their existing infrastructure.
- Long-term maintenance
Like any other warehouse system, an automated system requires regular maintenance work and upgrades, which can potentially disrupt warehouse operations. Unplanned downtime can further impact warehouse productivity and operations.
A comprehensive annual maintenance contract (AMC) from a reliable vendor can minimize downtime and keep maintenance costs under control. Besides that, companies must invest in automation solutions that are less prone to breakdowns and incur lower maintenance costs. High redundancy is another factor that can deliver a healthy uptime in warehouse systems.
How Carte+ addresses these warehouse challenges
To address common challenges, companies need a flexible, scalable automation solution that can easily retrofit into their existing warehouse facilities. This is where the Carte+ solution from Cartesian Kinetics can make a difference.
Here’s how Carte+ can address modern warehouse challenges:
- Flexible automation that can scale to your business upswings or customer demands
- Quick installation (in less than 6 weeks) and integration with existing systems
- High uptime with lesser maintenance costs in the long run.
- Suitable for deployment in cost-effective micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs)
Cartesian Kinetics can help your workforce smoothly transition to warehouse automation. If you want to learn more, reach out to us today!
