It is not just the retail sector that knows: Huge challenges are waiting in the next few years from the beginning to the end of the supply chain. I want to focus on the end of the supply chain, the fulfillment. Above all, a future staff shortage – the “new unemployment” – is causing headaches there. But fortunately, workable remedies are already available today.
The Fulfillment Of The Future Can Only Be Automated
All current developments clarify that ever broader use of ever more AI and machine learning is unavoidable: Demographic change will further fuel the existing shortage of skilled workers. Irrespective of this, parcel volumes and customer expectations continue to rise simultaneously, driven by the current competitive situation. And perhaps most importantly, the rapid advancement of such technologies improves their economics and viability to such an extent that such solutions will soon become affordable for more and smaller retail companies and even become the most profitable option.
Innovative companies that provide a successful example are essential drivers of progress in fulfillment. But the providers of intralogistics services also have a responsibility to present their products to a large number of decision-makers and to show the advantages to promote the spread of the technology.
If retailers decide to reorganize their warehouse management and support it with AI, around six to nine months of work must currently be expected from the conception to go live. This process will likely accelerate, but it’s still better to tackle the issue of fulfillment early rather than late.
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