20 Warehouse Automation Statistics That’ll Blow Your Mind  仓库自动化。 如果您在订单执行，物料处理或供应链行业工作，那么您至少有一些机会可以对自动化方式进行一些思考，并持续去改善你的工作。 即使你不在这些行业工作，你也无疑听到过无数关于自动化如何去做的故事。要么是消除工作岗位或者b）让我们进入一个提高生产力的全新世界。 无论您订阅的是哪种版本的未来，事实上仓库自动化都会留下来，随着时间的推移，它只会变得越来越复杂和先进。这20个统计数据将帮助您了解仓库自动化为当今快速发展的经济带来的真正价值。 操作自动化背后的数字 在深入研究统计数据，特别关注自动化如何使追求它的仓库和配送中心受益之前，了解导致当今许多订单履行操作追求自动化的趋势非常重要。其中包括提高对技术的认识，劳动力成本上升以及土地/租金/设施成本上涨，所有这些都鼓励企业主自动降低成本。 1.截至2016年，超过10％的美国仓库已经在使用自动化仓储设备（如货物对人的技术）。（来源） 通常，当人们考虑仓库自动化时，他们认为它有些遥远未来。但事实是，自动化技术已经在当今的现代化仓库和数据中心中占有一席之地。 2.到2016年，仓库自动化技术（机器人，物流等）的全球销售额达到19亿美元，预计到2021年底将达到224亿美元的市场价值。（来源） 仓库自动化已经是一笔巨大的资金，随着越来越多的公司和运营机构开始进行转换，这个数字只会越来越大。 3. 2016年，全球各种仓储自动化技术出货量约为4万件。到2021年，这一数字预计将增加到至少62万个。（来源） 无论您是通过花费的金额还是通过购买和投入使用的单位数来查看仓库自动化，很容易看到趋势已经到来。 4.劳动力成本平均占大多数仓库设施运营预算的65％。（来源） 这是一个惊人的数字，超过了与税收，公用事业，租金（或建筑物维护）相关的成本以及分销相结合的成本。 5.从2006年到2016年，所有仓库/物流员工的平均小时工资增长了16％。（资料来源） 紧缩就业市场导致工人薪酬大幅增加，同时打击通胀。由于工资单是大多数业务单一最大支出之一，因此影响了许多业务的底线，鼓励切换到自动化以节省成本。 6.截至2018年3月，一个拥有100名非监督员工的典型仓库每年的劳动力费用超过370万美元。（来源） 平均非监督仓库员工每周工作40.9小时，每小时工资为17.61美元。该数学不包括健康保险费用，短期和长期伤残保险费，休假费，加班费以及与雇用员工相关的其他费用。 7.在2016年，仓库/仓储行业每100名全职工人中有5名工作场所受伤。（来源） 仓储和存储涉及许多移动部件，通常使用重型机械。作为人类的人类有时因分心，疲惫，疏忽等原因而犯错误。许多操作将自动化看作是通过从最危险的过程中去除人为因素来降低这种伤害率的手段。 8.今天仓库的平均面积超过18万平方英尺，而2000-06年的平均面积为127,000平方英尺。（来源） 今天的仓库占用的空间比十年前增加了三分之一以上，并且比2000年之前增加近三倍。由于SKU增加和其他因素的影响，这些更大的占地面积导致设施成本增加。希望从更小的占地空间中挤出更多可用空间的仓库越来越希望实现自动化，以便从现有空间中获得更多空间。 9.由于足迹增加，2011年至2015年期间平均仓库租赁费用增长了28％。（来源） 这一增长再次表明希望从现有空间中获得更多利益。 10.只有9％的配送中心和仓库只处理整个托盘订单，而处理托盘，箱子，分体箱和零件混合物的占46％。（来源） 过去，许多区域发展中心可以通过运输全托盘订单进行运作。随着电子商务的兴起，分立式订单甚至单件出货量都有所增加，与全托盘订单相比，自动化技术的效率更高。 11. 2015年，平均仓储或订单履行业务处理的SKU数量增加了18.5％。（来源） SKU扩散 - 操作处理的产品数量和种类的增加 - 可能导致围绕库存可见性和准确性的众多问题，尤其是在订单被选中和库存手动记录时。随着库存继续增长并变得更加复杂，预计越来越多的业务将转变为完全集成的库存管理系统。 12.根据对仓库和直流业务的调查，他们面临的最大挑战包括：空间不足（43％），无法吸引合格员工（39％），过时仓储，采摘和搬运设备（34％） ，信息系统支持不足（32％）。（来源） 无论问题是空间，劳动力还是系统相关问题，大多数问题都可以通过利用当今的先进技术进行补救或至少解决。 仓库自动化技术如何提高效率 除了简单地降低成本外，自动化技术具有令人难以置信的潜力，可帮助运营变得更高效，更准确，更高效。以下是一些统计数据，说明不同的技术如何提高订单执行操作的性能。 13.平均而言，零售库存仅在63％的时间内准确无误。（来源） 因为准确掌握您的库存对于成功运行和增加任何操作至关重要，因此提高库存可见性是当前仓库，数据中心和零售业中最迫切的问题之一。更先进的拾取技术，例如RFID扫描仪，点对点和库存管理系统可以让您更容易理解您的库存。 14.当业务从纸质和铅笔升级他们的拣货/库存系统到更加完整的订单处理形式时，他们平均享有25％的总体生产力增益，10-20％的空间使用收益，股票使用效率提高30％。（来源） 通过使用仓库管理系统（WMS）来整合他们的订单，选择系统和库存管理，仓库可以显着提高他们的绩效。 15.拣货至指示系统可将提货率提高30-50％。（来源） 由于提高了准确性，缩短了订单周期时间，提高了生产量和其他因素，拣光系统有很大的潜力来改善运营的底线。 16.与手动纸笔方法相比，Pick-to-Light，RFID和Pick-to-Voice技术将拾取错误率降低67％。（来源） 同样，通过消除等式中的人为因素，订单履行操作可以享有更高的准确性，减少的错误和更一般的生产力。 17.走路和手工拣货的时间可能占拣货时间的50％以上。（来源） 简单的事实是，在仓库内从一个位置移动到另一个位置需要时间，尤其是在手动完成时。通过利用分拣机，AS / RS，传送带等自动化技术，花在“行走”上的时间可以减少多达40％。 18.平均订单拣选员每小时可挑选60至80个拣选，而采用分拣机和输送机时，每小时拣选率高达300个。（来源） 通过减少行程时间，输送机和分拣机可以显着提高订单履行操作的整体生产力。 19.机器人和自动化技术的劳动生产率每年提高大约0.35％，这听起来可能不是很多，但与1850年至1910年蒸汽机的影响相当。（来源） 机器人技术和其他自动化技术适用于越来越多的行业和任务，其影响越来越大。在未来的几年中，这些新技术的影响有可能超过工业革命带来的影响。 20.自动化存储和检索系统（AS / RS）有可能将订单精确度水平提高到99.99％以上。（来源） 订单的准确性一直都很重要，随着客户已经习惯于提高服务水平，订单的准确性变得越来越重要。通过直接集成到仓库管理系统，AS / RS消除了与拣配和装运订单相关的大部分人为错误。   Warehouse automation. If you work in the order fulfillment, materials handling, or supply chain industries, then there is a 100-percent chance that you have given at least some thought to the ways that automation has, and continues to, change the nature of your work. Even if you don’t work in those industries, you’ve undoubtedly heard countless stories about how automation is either going to a.) kill jobs or b.) lead us to a brand-new world of increased productivity. Whichever version of the future you subscribe to, the truth is that warehouse automation is here to stay, and it’s only going to get more and more sophisticated and advanced as time goes on. Here are 20 statistics that will help you understand the true value that warehouse automation brings to today’s rapidly evolving economy. The Numbers Behind Why Operations Are Automating Before diving into statistics specifically focused on how automation can benefit the warehouses and distribution centers that pursue it, it’s important to understand the trends that have led many of today’s order fulfillment operations to pursue automation. Among them are an increased awareness of the technologies, rising labor costs, and rising land/rent/facility costs, all of which encourage business owners to automate to bring costs down. 1. More than 10% of U.S. warehouses were already using automated warehousing equipment (such as goods-to-person technology) as of 2016. (Source) Often, when people think about warehouse automation, they think of it as some far-off future. But the fact is, automation technologies already have a place in today’s modern warehouses and DCs. 2. Worldwide sales of warehouse automation technology (robotics, logistics, etc.) reached $1.9 billion in 2016, and is expected to reach a market value of $22.4 billion by the end of 2021. (Source) Warehouse automation is already big money, and is only going to get bigger as more and more companies and operations begin making the switch. 3. In 2016, there were about 40,000 shipments of various warehouse automation technologies worldwide. This is expected to increase to at least 620,000 units annually by 2021. (Source) Whether you’re looking at warehouse automation by the amount of money being spent or by the number of units being purchased and put to use, it’s easy to see that the trend is up. 4. Labor costs constitute, on average, 65% of most warehouse facilities’ operating budgets. (Source) That is a whopping number, surpassing the costs associated with taxes, utilities, rent (or building maintenance), and distribution combined. 5. From 2006 to 2016, the average hourly wage of all warehouse/logistics employees rose by 16%. (Source) A tightening job market has led to a significant increase in worker compensation, beating inflation over the same period. Since payroll is one of the single largest expenses for most operations, this has impacted the bottom lines of many, encouraging a switch to automation for cost savings. 6. A typical warehouse with 100 non-supervisory employees cost more than $3.7 million in labor expenses annually as of March 2018. (Source) The average non-supervisory warehouse employee worked 40.9 hours weekly and made $17.61 per hour. This math doesn’t include the cost of health insurance, short- and long-term disability insurance, vacation, overtime, and other costs associated with employing workers. 7. In 2016, there were 5 workplace injuries for every 100 full-time workers in the warehouse/storage industry. (Source) Warehousing and storage involves a lot of moving pieces, often with the use of heavy machinery. Humans, being humans, sometimes make mistakes due to distraction, exhaustion, negligence, etc. Automation is seen by many operations as a means of reducing this rate of injury by removing the human element from the most dangerous of processes. 8. The average size of a warehouse today is more than 180,000 square feet, compared to 127,000 square feet from 2000-06. (Source) Today’s warehouses take up over one-third more space than they did a decade ago, and are nearly three times more voluminous than they were prior to the year 2000. Stemming from an increase in SKUs and other factors, these larger footprints have led to increased facility costs. Warehouses looking to squeeze more usable space out of smaller footprints are increasingly looking to automation to get more out of the space they already have. 9. Due to increased footprints, average warehouse renting rates have increased by a massive 28% between 2011 and 2015. (Source) This increase, again, speaks to a desire to get more out of existing spaces. 10. Only 9% of distribution centers and warehouses handle only full pallet orders, compared to 46% that handle a mixture of pallets, cases, split cases, and pieces. (Source) In the past, many DCs could operate by shipping only full pallet orders. The rise of ecommerce has brought with it a rise in split case orders and even single-unit shipments, which rely much more heavily on automation technologies to be efficient compared to full-pallet orders. 11. 2015 saw an 18.5% increase in the number of SKUs handled by the average warehouse or order fulfillment operation.  (Source) SKU proliferation—an increase in the number and variety of products handled by an operation—can lead to a multitude of issues surrounding inventory visibility and accuracy, especially when orders are picked and inventory is logged manually. As inventory continues to grow and become more complicated, it is expected that more and more operations will convert to fully-integrated inventory management systems. 12. According to a survey of warehouse and DC operations, the largest challenges they’re facing include: Insufficient space (43%), inability to attract qualified employees (39%), outdated storage, picking, and handling equipment (34%), and inadequate information systems support (32%). (Source) Whether the problem is space, workforce, or systems related, most can be remedied or at least addressed by leveraging today’s advanced technologies. How Warehouse Automation Technologies Can Improve Efficiency Beyond simply bringing down costs, automation technologies have incredible potential to help operations become more efficient, more accurate, and more productive. Below are some statistics illustrating how different technologies can improve the performance of an order fulfillment operation. 13. On average, retail inventory is accurate only 63% of the time. (Source) Because having an accurate picture of your inventory is crucial to successfully running and growing any operation, improving inventory visibility is one of the most pressing concerns in warehouses, DCs, and retail today. More advanced picking technologies such as RFID scanners, pick-to-light, and inventory management systems can make understanding your inventory much more manageable. 14. When operations upgrade their pick/inventory systems from paper-and-pencil to a more integrated form of order processing, they enjoy on average a 25% gain in overall productivity, a 10-20% gain in space use, and 15-30% more efficient use of stock. (Source) By using a Warehouse Management System (WMS) to integrate their orders, pick systems, and inventory management, warehouses stand to dramatically improve their performance. 15. Pick-to-Light systems can improve pick rate productivity by 30-50%. (Source) Thanks to increased accuracy, shorter order cycle times, increased throughput, and other factors, pick-to-light systems have a lot of potential to improve an operation’s bottom line. 16. Pick-to-Light, RFID, and Pick-to-Voice technologies reduce picking error rates by 67% compared to manual paper-and-pen methods. (Source) Again, by removing the human element from the equation, order fulfillment operations can enjoy increased accuracy, decreased error, and more general productivity. 17. Walking and manually picking orders can account for more than 50% of the time associated with picking. (Source) The simple fact is that moving from location to location within a warehouse takes time, especially when done manually. By leveraging automation technologies like sorters, AS/RS, conveyors, and more, time spent “walking” can be reduced by up to 40%. 18. The average order picker can pick between 60 to 80 picks per hour, compared to a pick rate of up to 300 picks per hour when leveraging sorters and conveyors. (Source) By reducing travel time, conveyors and sorters can dramatically increase the overall productivity of an order fulfillment operation. 19. Robotics and automation technologies have increasing labor productivity by about 0.35% annually, which may not sound like much, but is on par with the impact felt by the steam engine from 1850 to 1910. (Source) As robotics and other automation technologies are applied to more and more industries and tasks, their impact is being felt more and more. There is potential that in the next few years, the impact of these new technologies will even outpace the impact experienced in the industrial revolution. 20. Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS) have the potential to increase order accuracy levels to above 99.99%. (Source) Order accuracy has always been important, and has only gotten more important as customers have grown accustomed to increased service levels. By integrating directly into a warehouse management system, AS/RS removes a large percentage of human error associated with picking and shipping orders.