Enterprises are expected to increase the number of warehouses as global online sales continue to grow, according to Zebra Technologies Corporation’s latest Warehouse Vision Study.
Warehouse executives surveyed say they plan on equipping staff with new technologies to meet the needs of increasing shipment volumes.
In Asia Pacific, 74% of respondents have plans to outfit their warehouse staff with technology, specifically to raise investment in Internet of Things (72%), barcode scanning technologies (70%), tablet computers (69%), big data/data analytics (67%), and warehouse/truck loading automation (64%) in the next five years.
Half of the respondents say warehouse investments are mainly driven by the need to reduce transportation costs, while 41% demand shorter delivery times, and 38% see the need to accommodate new supplier and trading partner locations. Other factors include change to inventory policies (33%), talent/skill shortages (28%), and omni-channel pressures (21%).
From now till 2020, companies surveyed verbalized expansion plans in terms of total volume of items shipped (74%), automation of processes (69%), annual inventory turns (64%), number of stock keeping units (SKUs) (57%), and employees (56%).
Currently, 81% of respondents are using legacy warehouse management software (WMS), and this number is projected to drop by half from 81% to 40% in 2020. By contrast, full-featured WMS and real-time location system (RTLS) will grow its usage by an average of 29% in five years.
Executives surveyed expect to see growth in percentage of inbound items that will be barcoded in the next five years, from 59% to 78%.
In inventory management, 86% of respondents said they will use mobile handheld computers and tablets with real-time access to WMS, while 79% of them plan to use RFID-equipped solutions. Only 24% of those polled expect to continue using pen and paper in 2020.
Designed for warehousing tasks
In response to the industry’s need to increase operational visibility to ramp up efficiency and productivity, Zebra is introducing a collection of products designed for warehousing tasks.
The Total Wearable Solutions - a dedicated family of wearable devices built on the Android operating system (OS) - is backed by Zebra Mobility DNA, with hands-free and speech-directed picking that increases user mobility, comfort and accuracy.
Compared with traditional speech-only wearable devices, the new multi-modal solution delivers 15 percent productivity improvements, with a 39 percent reduction in errors. Zebra’s Total Wearable Solutions is the latest milestone in Zebra’s commitment to delivering “visibility that’s visionary,” following the announcements of the TC8000 mobile computer and the 3600 series of ultra-rugged scanners.
Zebra’s Total Wearable Solutions include the WT6000 Industrial Wearable Computer,RS6000 Wearable Ring Scanner, and the HS3100 Headset.