Labor crisis continues to drive automation investment

I’m excited to report I have booked my hotel and flight for Modex 2022 that’s taking place—in person—from March 28 to 31 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Now, if I can just find my suitcase.

Modex will mark the first in-person materials handling trade show of its size since early March 2020 and will probably be the first time that many in the industry have packed up and hit the road since then—and it’s about time.

I’ve always believed there’s nothing more important than face time when looking to learn and improve your operations. And I think we’ve all found that, following dozens of Zoom calls over the past 20 months, there’s simply nothing better than seeing a solution in action right in front of your eyes.

If you’re also planning to attend, starting on page 36 the Modern staff offers a preview of the upcoming keynotes and details behind several events that will be rolling out, including Industry Night and Student Day.

According to show organizer MHI, exhibit space is sold out and will feature 850 exhibits across 400,000 square feet of exhibit space, which is certainly good news. This month in Modern, we look at two recent surveys that suggest that the energy on the show floor should exceed pre-pandemic levels—and even be a little more accelerated around automation.

For starters, senior editor Roberto Michel puts context our “Talent and Labor Study” that was fielded late last year by SupplyChain 24/7, a sister media outlet to Modern. The study pulled input from 141 respondents, most of which are responsible for interviewing or hiring personnel.

“Not surprising given the essential nature of warehouse operations in this age of e-commerce, a strong majority are looking to hire,” says Michel. “In fact, the survey found 81% are looking to fill open positions within the next 12 months, including front-line DC associates as well as higher-level managers.”

And while our new data validates that pain we’re all feeling across our operations in terms of finding and retaining the right personnel, it also supports why we’re seeing soaring interest in automation investment. According to our recently conducted annual “Automation Solution Study,” budgets continued to grow, with more than 50% of this year’s respondents expecting more automation spending in the coming year.

“The budget indicators were good,” says Michel. “Compared to last year, nearly 20% more respondents said they had a higher budget for automation solutions in the present year versus the previous year. But to me, the most notable thing was the heightened concerns about the labor market.”

As Michel points out, being able to find and retain enough labor shot up two rankings in this year’s automation survey in terms of what users see as the most important driver for automation.

“Labor savings has always been a key factor in justifying automation, but I think this year’s findings point to a whole new level of concern - bordering on desperation for some - about being able to meet demand swings and e-commerce growth with manual processes,” says Michel. “That’s probably why budgets are healthy, because the problems that automation can help solve are formidable.”