July 18, 2022 Automation Pivotal to Warehouse Automation

Warehouse Automation: Future-Proofing the Global Economy report identifies three key considerations to help businesses.

• Warehouse Automation: Future-Proofing the Global Economy report uncovers trends driving warehouse automation investment and challenges in implementation

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Honeywell (Nasdaq: HON) today released a new whitepaper exploring how the ongoing pandemic, global trade issues and regional conflicts have created long-term disruptions to the historically predictable throughput and capacity of warehouses and distribution centers (DCs).

The Warehouse Automation: Future-Proofing the Global Economy report, authored by Futurum Research, examines the importance of automation as an increasingly critical component in helping warehouse and DC operators meet new escalation points in consumer demand.

“Distribution and fulfillment centers have been moving full speed ahead as the growing demand for e-commerce and expedited shipping have increased customer expectations,” said Keith Fisher, president of Honeywell Intelligrated. “Because of the importance of these growing industry pressures we partnered with Futurum Research to identify insights, trends and challenges warehouse and DC operators face and how automation may help bring stability, predictability and potentially unlock greater efficiency to their operations.”

The report finds that once-predictable consumer demand cycles centered around holidays and “peak seasons” have given way to a model where any month, week or day can be a holiday.

“While warehouses have historically had a sense of predictability in demand cycles, we found that in today’s warehouses and DCs, every day is as busy as peak,” said Shelly Kramer, principal analyst and founding partner of Futurum Research. “While we can assume the level of strain this has placed on supply chain and fulfillment operations, we were able to have deep conversations with industry stakeholders and innovators to get a better grasp of how they are approaching this shift in consumer expectations and adopting the right automation to meet their long-term business goals.”

A common theme in the whitepaper is that amid growing labor shortages, shifting priorities and expedited growth and demand impacting fulfillment operations, organizations are shifting their business models to take advantage of advanced technologies and robotic systems. However, it’s important that warehouse and DC operators look at these implementations as long-term solutions ingrained in the future of their business.

“It’s not about replacing the workforce; it’s about unlocking its full potential,” said Fisher. “The role of automation in the warehouse is to aid existing workers, reducing their time spent on highly redundant and repetitive tasks so that they can focus on higher-level operations. When executed correctly, these tools can go a long way in helping to ensure long-term business success.”

The analyst team at Futurum Research developed the report after sitting down with a group of industry leaders with deep, global experience in warehouse operations, automation technologies and systems implementation to hear first-hand of their experiences and thoughts on the future of warehouse automation.

Honeywell offers integrated end-to-end automation solutions, voice guided software, mobile computers and analytics solutions to help keep workers safe and enabling facilities to operate efficiently with a limited workforce. To learn more about Honeywell’s warehouse automation solutions and capabilities, visit sps.honeywell.com/us/en/products/automation.

Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions (SPS) provides products, software and connected solutions that improve productivity, workplace safety and asset performance for our customers across the globe. We deliver on this promise through industry-leading mobile devices, software, cloud technology and automation solutions, the broadest range of personal protective equipment and gas detection technology, and custom-engineered sensors, switches and controls. For more information, please visit: sps.honeywell.com.

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry-specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.

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