RFID has become an indispensable tool for warehouse employees and professionals in various industries. As the Global Warehousing Study 2023 shows, the majority of warehouse managers plan to use stationary, passive or portable RFID readers and stationary industrial scanning solutions in the next five years. These solutions can improve the tracking of assets, employees and goods throughout the warehouse environment, according to Zebra Technologies.

The survey found that 74% of European warehouse decision-makers (73% globally) have accelerated or will accelerate their modernization projects. This is expected to have a positive impact on returns management, which was cited as the most important operational challenge by almost half of the warehouse decision-makers surveyed. This represents an increase of ten percentage points compared to the previous year. In Europe, this figure is 43%, which corresponds to an increase of twelve percentage points compared to the previous year.

"The significant increase in returns goes hand in hand with the explosive growth of e-fulfillment in recent years and requires change in every part of the supply chain," said Andre Luecht, Global Strategy Lead for Transportation, Logistics and Warehouse at Zebra Technologies. "This means warehouse managers need to modernize their operations with technology solutions to handle returns and increase agility, inventory visibility and demand forecasting."

The majority of warehouse decision makers (76%) are under pressure to improve their performance while meeting the changing demands of e-commerce consumers. Inaccurate inventory and stock-outs continue to be a major productivity challenge according to almost 80% of warehouse staff and decision makers. Both 82% of employees and 76% of decision makers believe they need better inventory management tools to achieve greater accuracy and availability. An impressive 94% of European decision makers (91% globally) intend to invest in technology to increase visibility across the supply chain by 2028.

Improved visibility through process optimization

Warehouse decision makers are empowering their frontline workers by automating their warehouses to optimize operations and increase inventory visibility. According to the Zebra study, 69% of warehouse decision makers have already automated workflows or plan to automate them by 2024 to support warehouse workers. More than half of warehouse decision makers believe that automation increases employee efficiency and productivity by reducing manual picking, order errors and lead times. Eight out of ten warehouse workers believe that using more technology and automation will help them meet or exceed their productivity goals.

Eight out of ten warehouse workers surveyed also feel more valued when their employers provide them with technology and automation tools to help them do their jobs. Similarly, 88% of warehouse decision makers say that additional warehouse technologies, including equipment and robots, attract and retain employees. More than half of decision makers surveyed plan to implement machine learning (52%) and predictive analytics (59%) software solutions in their facilities by 2028.

Sustainability has priority

Decision-makers in the warehouse industry select solutions based on whether they create sustainable operations. This is primarily determined by regulations, energy costs or scarcity, and the expectations of customers, employees and investors. For example, 78% of European warehouse decision makers (77% globally) focus on reducing emissions and waste, while eight out of ten warehouse decision makers say it is important that their warehouse technology solutions maximize battery life.

Other sustainable elements that decision makers are prioritizing today include: ensuring accurate replacement time for mobile devices, connecting to energy monitoring software to maximize efficiency, offering buy-back and certified remanufacturing or circular economy programs, and using reusable and recyclable materials. Beyond their own operations, 81% of warehouse decision makers believe it is important that technology providers also operate sustainably.

Results broken down by region

Asia Pacific (APAC)
- The majority of warehouse staff and decision makers in the APAC region agree that it is important to improve accuracy and availability. 79% of both groups surveyed admit that they need better inventory management tools to achieve these goals.

Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA)
- 43% of decision makers in the EMEA region cited returns management as their biggest operational challenge - an increase of twelve percentage points compared to the previous year.

Latin America (LATAM)
- 83% of decision makers in Latin America say they are under pressure to improve performance while adapting to changing consumer demands in e-commerce.

North America
- 85% of warehouse workers in the region are concerned about managing workload and stress levels to meet productivity targets, exceeding the global average of 79%.

Study methodology
Zebra's Warehousing Vision Study was conducted in March and April 2023 by external research firm Azure Knowledge Corporation. It includes feedback from over 1,400 decision makers and employees who manage and maintain warehouse or distribution centers in manufacturing, retail, transportation, logistics and wholesale in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific.