As the demand for e-commerce and logistics continues to grow, the use of warehouse robots and robotic technology has significantly increased in the sortation, logistics, and distribution industries. This exponential growth of consumer demand is being addressed through indefatigable robotic efforts, streamlined sortation systems, and more efficient, predictable handling of goods. These advancements are transforming the industry and raising the question: Are cost-effective, robotic solutions worth the threat to the future of human labor?
Behind the Robotic Rise
In 2021, the market research company Mordor Intelligence predicted a 27.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the logistics warehouse robotic market. They also projected a $7.4 billion market size by 2026. According to one report, the logistics warehouse robotic market was valued at $5.26 billion in 2023—and this number increases to $102.75 billion when evaluating the manufacturing robotics industry alongside the sortation/logistics demand. Similarly, between 2018 and 2023, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reports a rapid jump of 50% in the installation of logistics industrial robots.
Behind the rapid rise of warehouse robots are e-commerce giants like Amazon and Walmart. The latter began its adoption of robotic workers in 2019, testing the waters of the robotic revolution. Now, within two years, the retail giant projects 55% of its fulfillment center volume will be processed by fully automated facilities while also expecting a 20% decrease in its unit cost to move goods. This is largely due to their use of autonomous forklifts and robot sorters guided by Walmart Control Services (WCS), automatically managing their supply chain network. Walmart has partnered with U.S. OmniTech for the continued research, development, and installation of these efficiency systems.
In their acquisition of the robotics manufacturer Kiva Systems in 2012 (now Amazon Robotics LLC), Amazon forecasted the future of e-commerce logistics as being driven by robotic warehouses and in-house tech solutions. Since then, Amazon has deployed 750,000 robots that work “collaboratively with our employees, taking on highly repetitive tasks and freeing employees up to better deliver for our customers.” With new developments in robotic tech, they project a 75% decrease in the time necessary to receive, identify, and store inventory in fulfillment centers. From fulfillment center to shipping truck, they project a 25% decrease in order time, boosting the accuracy of shipping estimates. Due to robotic developments, packages will arrive faster and more predictably than ever before.
Meet the Automated Team
Efficiency is king in this revolution. Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs, like the forklifts mentioned above) swiftly navigate the warehouse floor, optimizing their routes and delivering results again and again (without the need for a mandatory 15-minute break like their human co-workers). The units boast laser-guided and advanced navigation, with some possessing human-detection capacities while others lack the feature. Thus, when transporting goods in a high-volume sortation center, paths of the warehouse floor may be marked as “AGV use ONLY,” with human employees looking both ways before they cross the robot road.
Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) tend to be smaller, more specialized units for particular tasks. Amazon employs a fleet of these mobile drives to sort packages to their intended in-warehouse destinations, while their newly developed “TITAN” relocates large household appliances or pallets of weighty household goods. Walmart is innovating by employing their tireless Alphabot drives to prepare grocery orders for delivery.
Robotic Arms, a staple in the manufacturing sector of robotics, have branched into the logistics and sortation robotics revolution. These mech-arms can sort, pick, pack, and/or assemble with precision. Human employee posture is saved as the robotic arms can lift up to 50 pounds without straining themselves.
From order placement to shipping centers, robots of all shapes and sizes are ensuring efficient, timely delivery of your online purchases. They shoulder a wealth of repetitive tasks with consistent accuracy, a stark contrast to the human workers that make mistakes when constantly repeating the same tasks. Inventory management, minimization of errors, and productivity are all on the rise thanks to the robotic revolution. One study suggests that productivity may be up as much as 50% with labor costs cut between 20-30%.
This wave of profitability has prompted the development and research of new innovations in robotics. Robotic systems are already being optimized by machine learning, AI, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Logistics robots are more rooted in their environment than ever, learning and adapting to their work site and coordinating with their co-laborers for an even higher rate of customer satisfaction. These exciting new developments have prompted a reported 60+% of companies operating in the e-commerce sector to invest in automated processes of order fulfillment in the upcoming 5 years. Ocado, a UK-based e-grocery service, picks and packs its orders accurately with robot tech. Specifically, the “Ocado Smart Platform” equips its robots with newly minted AI and machine learning to consistently meet customer standards.
The Threat to Human Jobs?
With the increased efficiency, benefit of accuracy, and more technological developments on the horizon, job displacement has become a growing concern in warehouse robotic evaluation. However, the threat may not be as severe as it once seemed. While the number of repetitive picking and sorting jobs may continue to be placed into the hands (or robotic arms) of robots, there are new and emerging opportunities for human employees. Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute project close to 5 million new jobs being created by the growing usage of robotics in logistics. These are higher-paying positions that companies such as Amazon are incentivizing training for by offering education reimbursement for the certificates or degrees required to pursue the jobs.
An increase in these robotic-adjacent careers is not the only human benefit in this revolution. The necessity of human intuition and creativity remains at the forefront of many leading companies of the robotic push. Leaders like Amazon and Walmart emphasize the usage of “collaborative automation,” with robotic systems working alongside humans, going so far as to report that less than half (45%) of logistics tasks have the potential to be automated. With the repetitive, physically demanding jobs handled by robots, human warehouse workers’ job satisfaction and reduction of workplace injuries are actually on the rise.
The rise of warehouse robots has certainly reshaped the sortation, logistics, and fulfillment center industries. The significant growth and usage of this innovation have effectively met increasing consumer demands in the realm of booming e-commerce. The warehouse robot revolution is ongoing and rapidly innovating; but, through automated collaboration, coupled with the emergence of new jobs in the robotics employment market, human warehouse jobs appear safe, for now.