State of Warehouse Operations 2024
Warehouses are a fundamental piece of supply chains but many require modernisation. Read the research report to find out what 2,000 supply chain professionals told us about the state of their warehouse operations.
State of Warehouse Operations 2024
Introduction & Methodology
Warehouses are a fundamental piece of modern supply chains – vital to ensuring goods can reach customers efficiently, effectively and on time. Yet, many are in need of innovation, with increased investment and resources required to ensure truly effective operations and to become a key asset in supporting their organisations’ future. To find out more, Manhattan Associates commissioned market research specialist Vanson Bourne to interview 2,000 supply chain professionals across multiple countries and industry sectors.
How do warehouse operations look currently?
Most organisations are struggling with their current warehouse operations, with the majority in each country believing their warehouse operations IT infrastructure requires some or a lot of improvement. With warehousing forming such a vital part of supply chains, this could have implications for organisations; impacting on their ability to meet customer expectations and demands or to take advantage of new opportunities.
UK
Sweden/ Norway
Italy
France
Mexico
Australia
Brazil
Germany
Netherlands/ Belgium
Spain
Key Title
Challenges in warehouse operations
Almost all organisations report they are experiencing some challenges in their warehouse operations, with the top three challenges being out-of-date IT hardware/software, dealing with operational complexity, and issues managing orders from different channels (e.g. in-store/ecommerce).
Out-of-date IT hardware/software
Operational Complexity
Managing orders from different channels
The human element
Staff retention and scheduling is a universal challenge for organisations with 84% of organisations reporting issues with staff retention. When it comes to staff scheduling, of the sectors surveyed, those struggling the most are Pharmaceutical, CPG, and Retail/Wholesale.
Pharmaceutical
CPG
Retail/Wholesale
Looking to the future
Staff are excited about the possibilities of generative AI (75%) and robotics (72%) to improve their job roles, with GenAI and similar low-code applications facilitating the creation of more sophisticated capabilities and efficient applications. Meeting these priorities will require innovation to ensure the warehouse is fully ready for the future - to simplify operations, meet increased demand and enhance the staff experience.
Generative AI
Robotics
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State of Warehouse Operations 2024
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