when it comes to the intensive process of accurate order picking and the energy sapping and time consuming necessity of moving goods around a warehouse. Finding ways to optimise labour has never
A
been more relevant as a list of ingredients is being stirred into a skills shortage stew, which is threatening to take a considerable toll on UK organisations. In addition to sustained low levels of unemployment, the UK labour force remains smaller than it was prior to the Covid pandemic, according to research company Fitch Ratings. In its special report called: ‘Shortfall in UK Labour Supply to Persist’ it detects a ‘curious movement in the UK work demographic’, with a significant proportion of over 50s having left the workforce, and estimates that had the UK’s labour force continued to grow at its 2015- 2019 trend rate, it would be around 2.5 per cent bigger than it is today. The Recruitment & Employment Confederation estimates that if labour shortages are not addressed, the UK economy will be Ј39 billion worse off each year from 2024. While the UK is not unique in experiencing
shortages of workers, numerous commentators in the logistics sector point to changes following Brexit that have reduced the available pool of EU-based workers. This is perhaps a more salient issue for UK warehousing, which is among the sectors hardest hit by the labour shortage as it continues to expand on the back of developments such as supporting continued growth of ecommerce operations. Adding weight to this claim is a survey published last summer by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). It revealed that 86 per cent of companies across its membership had experienced warehouse operative staff shortages in the prior two years. Furthermore, the shortage is combining with
persistent inflation to drive upward wage growth. Such a situation can potentially influence broader logistics decisions, such as prioritising labour availability over other strategic business decisions when it comes to locating warehouse operations. Locations that have traditionally attracted distribution sheds have created strong competition among employers for a dwindling pool of labour. Improving productivity in warehousing
through the route of increasing wages is unlikely to be sustainable for many, while investing in training has always been a less than a popular notion in UK business. Faced with the likelihood of long-term staff shortages, many UK warehouse and distribution centre operations are already turning to technology as an aid.
Could mobile robots offer a way through the skills shortage?
with the labour pool for uk warehousing running dry, it is time growing warehouse operations look to mobile robots to share the work, explains frazer watson, vP- sales uk/ireland at ifollow.
TECHNOLOGY IS TRANSFORMING WAREHOUSE WORK As entire supply chains become ever more connected, technology enables retailers and their logistics providers to deliver improved service to consumers. Established technologies already include Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), data capture, voice recognition, RFID, pick by light, and all kinds of automated solutions for storage, retrieval, transport and packaging. The advent of mobile robots has moved this on a further step. Rarely does technology replace people
completely, in most instances it complements existing staff, creating collaborative working. This is certainly true of mobile robots, which can take on the more onerous, laborious and
44 CoNNeCtiNg iNdustry 20th aNNiversary editioN
time consuming, yet simple tasks such as transporting goods around a warehouse. This leaves their human colleagues to be deployed where they are more productive, such as at the pick face, and creates a vastly more efficient way of working where more can be done with fewer people. Consequently this reduces the pressure on finding staff. This pressure is particularly heated during
peaks, when it is not just a question a finding people in numbers sufficient to cope with increased orders, but staff that can hit the ground running to maintain service levels. Mobile robots carry on their tasks irrespective of conditions and hours. When businesses scale up or hit peak trading, extra robots can be easily added. This also allows a stepped approach to automated
utonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) offer one of the more cost effective and flexible automation solutions to enable logistics operations to optimise their labour force. This is particularly the case
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