"Shortage of truck drivers, warehousing staff or dockworkers is a critical pressure on supply chain management worldwide," says Marina Bill, President of the International Federation of Robotics. "By combining automation hardware with smart software, robot manufacturers deliver to the specific needs of the warehouse and logistics industry. AI-equipped robots offer tremendous new opportunities for this sector."

Learning to handle variability and unpredictability

The main aim of using AI in robotics is to better manage variability and unpredictability: logistics providers deal with a mass market of cross-border shipping, e-commerce or last-mile delivery. This environment handles frequently changing products, orders and stock. To make machines capable of supporting such flexible workflows, AI software runs by experience, rather than programming. These AI-equipped robots learn to pick and pack different objects at high speed in a warehouse, use vision to transport items autonomously around the factory and provide AI-driven interfaces that turn a 90-minute maintenance task into a two-second adjustment.

Shortage of 3 million truck drivers

For many logistics companies, the time to further automate is now. The worldwide shortage of truck drivers is one of many reasons: according to the International Road Transport Union (IRU), there are currently over 3 million truck driver positions to be filled worldwide. With the huge demographic gap between young and old drivers growing, driver shortages are forecast to double by 2028.

While the overall challenge of labor shortage is common across the logistical supply chain in Europe, Asia and the US, specific reasons and severity differ. New worktime regulations by governments force companies in Japan, for example, to further automate. In the United States, a special shortage of skilled logistics professionals in e-commerce warehouses needs technological support and in Germany, keeping older workers in employment to physically demanding roles requires better workplace conditions for these colleagues.

"Robotics technology is a fit for various tasks within the logistics industry. While service robots work alongside human personnel creating more efficient workplaces, industrial robots help to automate dirty, dull and dangerous tasks behind fences. The combined power of a wide range of applications in robotics and automation will play a crucial role in addressing workforce gaps and allow future growth in this key industry," says Marina Bill.