Staffing Challenges Lead More Warehouses to Purchase Industrial Robots

Supply chain organizations have experienced their fair share of turmoil over the past few years. These disruptions have been challenging but spurred a new era of rapid innovation. Ongoing warehouse staffing shortages are kickstarting a wave of automation.

Industrial robots aren’t a new technology, but they’ve seen more adoption in manufacturing than warehousing. That’s starting to change as it becomes increasingly difficult for these facilities to find and retain talent.

The State of Warehouse Staffing Shortages

Labour shortages have affected many industries, but they’re particularly severe in industrial sectors like warehousing. By the end of 2021, 73% of warehouse operators said they faced difficulty attracting employees. That’s up 56% from the first half of 2021 and nearly three times the number in 2020.

Like many industrial sectors, warehousing faces an ageing workforce but few young applicants to replace it. This shortage’s impact has grown even further as demand has spiked amid resurging supply chains and an increase in shipping over in-store shopping.

Warehouses now find themselves with fewer workers and skyrocketing demand. This pressure increases the workload and stress on the few employees they have, leading to turnover. As a result, warehouse staffing shortages are growing too fast for conventional employment practices to keep pace.

How Industrial Robots Are Helping

More warehouses are turning toward automation due to these challenges. Just 13% of fulfilment executives currently employ robots, while 51% are in the process of adopting robotics. That figure will likely only grow from here, as 71% of executives say they believe robotic automation will be necessary to counter reduced applications from the next generation.

It’s taken widespread labour shortages for the industry to realize it, but industrial robots have significant potential in warehousing. Many manual approaches to warehouse tasks are inefficient and error-prone. Robots are typically faster and more accurate in these repetitive, physically demanding jobs, so facilities can become more efficient and less wasteful by using them.

Automation can also make warehouses safer. Lifting and material handling can easily cause repetitive strain injuries in employees. However, companies that automate these more dangerous tasks can ensure the health and safety of their workers.

Implementing more industrial robots can also improve the productivity of human workers. In some facilities, people regularly walk for as much as 15 minutes to get needed parts. Robots could fetch these while employees remain focused on their current tasks, giving them more time to perform value-adding work.

Potential Concerns With Increased Automation

This increase in automation is helping manage warehouse staffing shortages, but some concerns linger. One of the most prominent is the fear that robots will displace employees. Today, robots are taking jobs humans don’t want, but if current trends reverse and old warehousing workers seek to rejoin the industry, they may not be able to.

Similarly, some people worry that increased automation may lower the wages for human workers who stay in the industry. A 2020 study revealed that wages decline by as much as 0.77% for every robot per 1,000 employees. This drop in pay comes from the unintentional devaluing of labour. Demand for people decreases as automation increases, leading to lower income and possibly reduced benefits.

Other facilities face more immediate concerns. Automation often saves money in the long run but comes at a high upfront cost. Consequently, it’s not always a viable solution for warehouses with smaller budgets.

How Warehouses Can Make the Most of Robots

Despite these concerns, automation in the warehousing industry shows no signs of slowing. According to projections, as many as 50,000 warehouses may use robots by 2025. Operators should follow these steps to ensure they use robots effectively and fairly as adoption rises.

Starting Slowly

Given the high cost of industrial robots, it’s best to start slow before expanding. Warehouses should begin by automating the processes that have the most to gain from robotics. These are typically the most repetitive or error-prone operations. Applying robots to these will have the biggest return on investment.

These tasks are also typically those humans don’t like to perform because of their monotony. Consequently, automating them may also have the largest impact on boosting employee productivity.

After automating these processes, warehouses should carefully monitor and record the results. Watching what works and what doesn’t will inform more cost-effective robotics implementation in the future.

Applying Robots and Workers Differently

Next, warehouses should understand that robots and humans have unique strengths and weaknesses. Robotics is a helpful tool to alleviate staffing shortages, but they’re not a direct replacement for people. Instead, they should work in areas where they’re strongest to free workers to deliver better results.

Humans are often better-suited to knowledge-based roles, where two out of three workers say automation has made them more productive. By applying each to their unique strengths, robots to repetitive manual labour and humans to more nuanced, flexible work, warehouses will get the most out of both. Placing people and machines in different roles will also help avoid replacing employees.

Workforce Reskilling

Finally, if warehouses are concerned about robots’ impact on the future workforce, they can reskill their current one. In the long run, automation creates more jobs than it takes but shifts what positions are available to people. To account for that, warehouses can start training the workers they do have in new skills.

The increase in warehouse automation will lead to more technical, specialist work. Offering reskilling programs where employees are trained in these roles can ensure facilities meet their future needs and don’t displace their current workforce. These programs will also help alleviate the impact of automation on wages when current warehouse staffing shortages pass.

Automation Can Alleviate Warehouse Staffing Shortages

The ongoing labour shortage is concerning, but it has a bright side. The pressure is forcing more warehouses to embrace industrial robots. This transition can help the industry become more efficient than ever if they can apply these machines effectively and fairly.

Automation may carry unique concerns, and these deserve attention. However, if warehouses can account for these, they can use industrial robots to mitigate staffing shortages and improve their processes.