Rising labour expenses, workplace safety, labour availability, and a growing desire for speedy order fulfilment; these are all driving forces behind the warehouse automation trend. Now, with more distribution centres turning to robotics, intralogistics centres that don’t invest in technological development will be left behind when it comes to efficiency.

We've compiled a list of 9 intriguing stats about the dynamics of warehouse automation to show you why now is the time to invest. From space optimisation to increased accuracy, these stats demonstrate why the future of warehousing has already begun.

General Market Stats

1. The Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) Market size was valued at USD 1.61 billion in 2021 and is predicted to reach USD 22.15 billion by 2030

This accounts for a projected CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 34.3% from 2022 until 2030. The ever-increasing use of these robots across various industries is largely due to their capacity to navigate independently in dynamic environments. Furthermore, the rising use of automated material handling and trends such as lights-out automation are likely to drive market expansion during the projection period. (Source)

2. The investment in intralogistics robotics is increasing

According to Logistics Management research, 10% said that they currently use AMRs or AGVs, and 23% are evaluating them for use within the next 24 months. Last year, that breakdown was 6% who currently use, and 14% considering them. “The simplest way to describe the overall findings from this year’s 'Annual Warehouse and Distribution Center (DC) Equipment Survey' is that it’s “go-time” for investment in warehouse automation.” (Source)

Does your company currently use, or are you considering, automated guided vehicles and/or robotics technologies for materials handling applications?

3. 96% of industry leaders consider innovation essential for growth

Deloitte’s study defines innovation as an understanding of how the investment in it will pay for itself over time. It also explains that supply chain leaders know that “innovation is necessary if a company wants to shift the trade-offs between service levels and costs, rather than simply move along the curve.” (Source)

4. The top 3 areas for using robots in warehouses today are picking, goods receiving and unloading, and sorting

The study conducted by Peerless Research Group (PRG) in March 2022 shows that “the top priorities for using such technology includes picking (42.9%), goods receiving and unloading (42.9%) and sorting (37.5%). About 43% of companies are considering AMR pallet movement equipment while 34% want autonomous retrieval-to-person/put-wall robots, and 30.2% are evaluating robotic picking systems.” (Source)

Optimization Stats

5. Travel time in a warehouse can account for up to 50% of the picking time

Without automated solutions, workers must manually pick orders by hand and carry them across the intralogistics facility. With our goods-to-person robotics solution, picking efficiency can be increased two-fold. (Source)

6. Robot’s contribution to labour productivity in the 90s and 00s was about 0.35% per year

While that doesn’t seem much, specialists explain that it is comparable to the growth brought about by the steam engine during the years 1850 to 1910. Now, with technology reaching new higher standards, this number is likely to increase further. (Source)

7. 79% of organisations with better supply chain capabilities, the so-called “supply chain leaders”, achieve above-average revenue growth

Deloitte surveyed more than 400 executives in manufacturing and retail across the globe and found that superior supply chain capabilities tend to translate into above-average performance on revenue growth and EBIT (Earnings before interest and taxes) measures when compared to the industry average. (Source)

8. Warehouses are now nearly 3 times as large as they were 15 years ago

“The average size of warehouse in 2000 was about 65,000 sqft, whereas now it is over 181,370 sqft. As warehouses demand more space, this naturally pushes up the price. In fact, between 2011 and 2015, warehouse rental rates were up by a whopping 28%”, states a Westernacher Consulting report. According to the same research, increasing land costs are also one of the main drivers for intralogistics automation. (Source)

9. Automated and efficient warehouses are 76% more likely to boost inventory accuracy to 99% or higher

The survey conducted by Aberdeen Group with over 250 supply chain executives also shows that with “Systems assisting humans, rather than humans directing systems, best-in-class distribution centres are also able to achieve 95% on-time deliveries, one and a half times more often than average.” (Source)

Wind Up

The numbers don’t lie, the automated future has begun. But fear not; there is still time to join the race towards more efficient intralogistics. If you are ready to get our arculees up and running in your warehouse, head to Jungheinrich’s product page for a personalised solution consultation.