The warehousing life isn’t easy. Between ruthless quotas, grueling hours, and a shrinking talent pool, third-party logistics (3PL) managers struggle on all fronts to staff up.
Warehouse managers nationwide are struggling to recruit and retain talent amidst the tightest labor market in decades, and the stressful nature of warehouse work doesn’t help with encouraging people to apply and stay in warehouse jobs.
The holiday peak frenzy finally winds down by January, but warehouses face yet another monumental challenge – the influx of returns. According to the National Retail Federation, over 16% of holiday purchases get returned, tallying up to a whopping $743 billion in merchandise yearly.
Uncover 5 strategic approaches to adapt to volatile logistics demands of 2024, including AI, eco-logistics, AMRs, digitalization, and machine customers.
Warehouse managers face immense pressure to fulfill rising order volumes quickly and accurately. Adopting warehouse automation is the best thing you can do to handle these challenges, and the pathway to get there is lit well thanks to those who have automated before.
Although robots may be something you haven’t considered for your warehouse with manual operations, the concept of robots has been around for a while. In fact, the term “robot” has been in use since before anyone reading this was born – unless you’re 103 or older.
Warehouse managers have more robotics options than ever for automating their warehouse’s product transport and order fulfillment. With labor shortages and the need for faster throughput, technologies like autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) both aim to drive efficiency and productivity.
I know you’re in the thick of peak season at your warehouse now, or shortly will be with Black Friday approaching.
Every warehouse has a boogeyman and for many managers, it’s automation. They picture giant scary robots gobbling up jobs, crushing workers, and wreaking all kinds of havoc. But most automation fears are as light as a feather, not stiff as a board. Allow me to bust the top 9 warehouse automation fears with some cold, hard facts.
Warehouse, supply chain, and fulfillment center managers deal with multiple headaches on a daily basis — rising order volumes, lowering numbers of people to hire, demands for next-day delivery, budget constraints, and the inability to move to a new facility to gain more space.