Investment in technology is one of topmost priorities for warehouse executives, with Internet of Things (IoT) topping the charts with a 72 per cent votes, followed by bar code scanning at 70 per cent and tablet computers at 69 per cent.

Big data and analytics (67), Warehouse/truck loading automation (64 per cent, advanced imagers (61) and mobile thermal printers (60 per cent) are other technologies that would shape warehousing industry in the country, according to a study by Zebra Technologies Corp.

The study, ‘Warehouse 2020 Apac Vision Study’, also said that the Indian warehousing industry has evolved significantly as it is gradually moving to best-of-breed warehouse management systems.

“With the government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign running big in the country and the exports considerably increasing, the focus by enterprises to manufacture in India has increased by manifold. This is leading to the increased demand and need of warehouses,” said Stuart Scott, Solutions Marketing Lead at Zebra Technologies Asia Pacific.

The survey revealed massive warehouse expansion plans with about 73 per cent of respondents expecting an increase in number of warehouses by 2020, compared with 55 per cent who indicated the same in 2015. Also, 64 per cent of respondents plan to relocate warehouse or distribution centres in 2020, in contrast to 58 per cent during the survey for 2015.

In general, warehouse executives have plans to expand the volume of items shipped (74 per cent), automation of process (69 per cent), annual inventory turns (64 per cent), the number of stock keeping units (57 per cent), and number of employees (56 per cent).

In India, retail, manufacturing and transportation and logistics, are set to continue to witness the massive growth in the coming years.

Government and healthcare sectors are also picking up in terms of technology investment in warehouses.

“India is evolving as an economy and hence warehousing visibility solutions will be a key area of investment for the manufacturing and retail sectors. The country is opening up to new technologies like RFID, enterprise-grade wearable solutions and the Internet of Things to modernise its warehouses. Smart warehousing will no longer remain just a concept, but will quickly turn into a reality, especially with the increase in the investments in technology,” Scott added.

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