More than three-fifths of warehouse leaders in the Asia-Pacific region plan to implement both artificial intelligence (AI) software (63%) and augmented reality or AR (65%) within five years, according to a report from Zebra Technologies.
In addition, 63% of APAC leaders plan to increase spending on warehouse modernisation in the next five years while 64% plan to accelerate their modernisation timelines by 2029.
Zebra Technologies commissioned Azure Knowledge to conduct the online study that covered over 1,700 associates and decision-makers across manufacturing, retail, transportation, logistics, and wholesale distribution.
In APAC, 88% of associates report that if employers do not invest in technology to improve warehouse operations, they will not meet business objectives.
Also, 77% are concerned they are spending too much time on tasks that could be automated, and 79% are concerned about safety on the (increasingly busy) warehouse floor while 72% are specifically worried about injuries.
Further, 73% reported there is a lack of qualified staff on the warehouse floor and express concerns about fatigue and physical exhaustion (76% in APAC).
Even warehouse leaders admit they find it challenging to maintain the fill rates (45% in APAC) and prepare orders (51) outlined in their service level agreements (SLAs).
The study cited order accuracy (43%) and outbound processes (40%) as the top two operational challenges.
Increased e-commerce activity is also making “faster delivery to the end-customer” (36% APAC) a top challenge for warehouse teams, even as technology use is on the rise.
Given the disparity between customers’ growing expectations and warehouse operators’ limited hiring capacity, warehouse associates say it’s important that collaborative robots (91% in APAC), ergonomic mobile devices (90%), communications applications (90%), and task management tools (94%) are used to help solve workplace issues.
More than nine out of every 10 associates (92% in APAC) also believe the increased availability of automation and mobile technologies would help attract and retain more warehouse associates, especially given they personally feel more valued (90%) by their employers when provided with technology tools and automation designed to help them.
“By automating material movement, data collection, and information management, businesses can create safer warehouses while ensuring a steady, reliable flow of goods to the market—leading to higher customer satisfaction and greater employee engagement,” said Christanto Suryadarma, SVP for Southeast Asia), South Korea at Zebra Technologies.
Warehouse leaders believe the biggest impact of mobile device-based AI applications will center on worker safety, quality control, and inventory management.
While 79% say AI will positively impact their ability to detect potential hazards and issue alerts for prevention, 78% think AI would make an impact on their ability to detect issues or anomalies using AI.
In addition, 78% feel that AI applications would impact their ability to forecast needs, streamline stock levels, and maximise space using AI applications.
Many global warehouse leaders who plan to augment/automate or have already done so say their goal is to mitigate errors (71%) and meet SLAs (70%).
They hope automation will increase worker efficiency and productivity (56% in APAC) as well as reduce order errors and manual picking (53%).
