Amazon is an outlier and not a typical warehouse; most small to medium warehouses have no plans to replace most of the workforce with automated systems.
Robots are a developing technology; they are not advanced enough to replace all human pickers, especially in warehouses that stock irregularly shaped items.
Supply chain expert Bryan Jensen, chairman of consultant St Onge, firmly believes that people have a future in the warehouse:
“We will always need people in the warehouse. In a few years, we may only have half the number of people, but throughput will be four times what it is today.”
Warehouse owners are looking at how artificial intelligence (AI) can help their business. AI is useful for inventory management, planning picking routes and real-time data analysis. AI helps human workers operate more efficiently and faster, rather than replacing them.
The role of the warehouse worker is expected to change as workers adapt to being assisted by AI. Some roles, such as inventory manager, may no longer exist. Automation needs to be integrated with human staff, who remain essential for the efficient running of the warehouse.
The warehouse equipment manufacturer will continue to have a role in supplying manual handling equipment for operations that are not practical to be replaced by automation.
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