Last year research undertaken by the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personal Development) found that 40% of employees, across a broad range of industries, including warehousing and logistics are struggling to fill job roles compared to 2017. It seems many Operations Managers cannot find the staff they need to keep their warehouses and operations running to the expected standards. It seems the risks associated around Brexit are forcing Operations Managers to turn to automation instead. Is this you? Are you experiencing the same problems?
It also seems that with the decline of the pound and many EU workers leaving their roles or rethinking their plans entirely retaining warehouse staff is becoming increasingly problematic.
To add to all the negativity around the industries skill shortages a recent McKinsey report highlighted that the logistics industry is set to see the most changes over the next 10 years, with 57% of warehouse jobs being automated. It seems because of the skills shortage many businesses are adopting an automated approach at an accelerated rate.
Aside from skills shortages and Brexit the other issue the sector is facing is, and let’s be honest here, warehousing and logistics are not exactly regarded as an attractive profession for the younger generation. It is associated with repetitive, low paid work that does not offer high levels of employee satisfaction. Working in a warehouse environment can be physically demanding and with increased use of technology, the need for thinking has all but been removed in many roles – so why, when the younger generation has access to so many vocational courses would they feel the need to work within a warehouse role?
Due to social, economic and political issues, the skills shortage does not seem likely to change – and because warehousing jobs are hard work for minimum wage and not always in the most desirable environments, maybe it is now time for all our manufacturers to accept this and accelerate the adoption of technology as a solution.
There are a wide variety of hardware and software options available for manufacturers to select from that offer cost-effective solutions – for software solutions, there is the ability to select from cloud hosted and native could applications. These solutions will offer the business a direct ROI and because times are changing so rapidly deployment is quicker, meaning that it is easier for businesses to recoup their costs.
If your business is struggling to deal with the skills shortage, is now the time to bite the bullet and roll with the implementation of automation across your warehouse?