Warehouse Automation Market Size
| Study Period | 2019 - 2029 |
| Market Size (2024) | USD 25.74 Billion |
| Market Size (2029) | USD 54.53 Billion |
| CAGR (2024 - 2029) | 16.20 % |
| Fastest Growing Market | Asia-Pacific |
| Largest Market | North America |
Major Players
*Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order |
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Warehouse Automation Market Analysis
The Warehouse Automation Market size is estimated at USD 25.74 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 54.53 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 16.20% during the forecast period (2024-2029).
- Automation in logistics refers to using control systems, machinery, and software to enhance the efficiency of operations. It usually applies to the processes that must be performed in a warehouse or distribution center, which requires minimal human intervention. Some benefits of automation logistics are improved customer service, scalability and speed, organizational control, and reduction of mistakes, among others.
- Warehouse automation automates inventory movement into, within, and out of warehouses to customers with minimal human assistance. As part of an automation project, a business can eliminate labor-intensive duties that involve repetitive physical work and manual data entry and analysis.
- Moreover, the growth in the e-commerce industry worldwide and the growing need for efficient warehousing and inventory management are driving the market studied. Automation in warehousing offers extreme convenience when cutting down overall business costs and reducing errors in product deliveries. According to DHL, a prominent 3PL company and a significant end-user of warehouse automation solutions, despite the advantages, 80% of warehouses are 'still manually operated with no supporting automation.' Furthermore, warehouses, i.e., those that use conveyors, sorters, and pick and place solutions, account for 15% of the entire warehouses. In contrast, only 5% of current warehouses are automated.
- Unpredictable demand and a lack of transparency and collaboration with the supply chain present a significant barrier to reaching business goals for many manufacturers. However, when manufacturers evaluate the sources of complexity and optimize warehouse management, they are expected to efficiently meet variable demand while increasing their view of the supply chain.
- Similarly, while warehouse management systems (WMS) can improve workflow efficiency, reduce errors, save on costs associated with errors, and get faster turn-around time for order fulfillment, running a WMS can be time-consuming and expensive for an e-commerce business. It requires huge upfront costs for hardware, extensive training, and additional monthly costs for upkeep.
- COVID-19 increased the focus on a contactless environment as companies looked to improve logistics efficiency and reduce expenses, giving rise to a higher demand for automated technologies. As a result, significant companies adopted technologies such as warehouse management systems (WMS) for optimizing tasks like locating parcels and choosing the right size and type of packaging.
Warehouse Automation Market Trends
Retail to Have a Significant Growth
- Warehouse automation is used in various retail activities, including e-commerce and grocery. For warehouses, automation has multiple advantages, from boosting production to lowering labor-related risks. E-commerce warehouse automation consists of implementing technologies in logistics facilities to boost operational performance. According to the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, Total e-commerce sales for 2022 were USD 1,034.1 billion, an increase of 7.7 percent (±0.4%) from 2021. Total retail sales in 2022 increased by 8.1 percent (±0.9%) from 2021.
- To address this massive demand, warehouse automation is rapidly expanding to transform manual warehouses into automated fulfillment operations, which are proving vital to meeting customer demand at scale while managing operating costs in the future. Currently, many retailers are increasingly implementing warehouse automation solutions that seek to handle the growing scale and complexity of their e-commerce logistics operations and meet the ever-increasing demand of their customers more quickly and cost-effectively.
- A retail warehouse can be outfitted with various automated solutions to carry out all tasks, from automatic handling equipment for storing products to digital systems that maximize product organization. Big retailers are utilizing automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and the next level of automation-automated mobile robots (AMRs)-working alongside workers to simplify the fulfillment operations of their e-commerce and omnichannel facilities.
- Moreover, to meet the rapidly expanding e-commerce sector and consider the lessons learned from the worldwide pandemic, leading retailers strive to make warehouses responsive, resilient, and dependable. For instance, in April 2022, Amazon established the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund (AIIF), a USD 1 billion startup funding program that will be used to "spur supply chain, fulfillment, and logistics innovation," focusing on automation and workplace robotics.
Asia-Pacific is Expected to Hold Significant Share
- The market for warehouse automation in the Asia-Pacific is expanding significantly due to the rising number of industries in the region and their integration with automation to increase the return on investment (ROI). The Asia-Pacific warehouse automation is predicted to be dominated by China with the growing production, sales, and trade of automation products.
- Moreover, The warehouse automation industry is expected to benefit from China's dominance in the manufacturing sector as the Chinese government plans to transform China from a manufacturing giant to a global manufacturing power under the national plan "Made in China 2025". This plan includes strengthening Chinese robot suppliers and further surging their market shares in China and abroad.
- The demand for warehouse automation includes an automated supply chain, further supported by favorable investments. The country has been marked with several investments to further the market's growth studied, with major key players expanding into the region and introducing funds by venture capitalists in emerging start-ups with potential.
- Manufacturing has emerged as one of the high-growth sectors in India as well. For instance, the Make in India program places India on the world map as a significant manufacturing hub and provides global recognition to the Indian economy. The Made in India campaign has bolstered multiple new launches in industrial robots in the country, thus driving opportunities for warehouse automation.
Warehouse Automation Industry Overview
The warehouse automation market is highly competitive. Some key global players in this market are Dematic Group, Daifuku Co. Limited, Swisslog Holding AG, Honeywell Intelligrated, and Jungheinrich AG. Product launch, acquisition, and partnership are key strategies market players operating in the warehouse automation industry adopt.
In January 2023, JungheinrichAG acquired Indiana-based Storage Solutions group, a leading provider of racking and warehouse automation solutions in the United States, to gain enhanced access to the US warehousing and automation market.
Further, in September 2022, Dematic partnered with Upshopto to offer integrated fulfillment services that grow with the grocery industry. With the help of the alliance, grocery stores wishing to expand their fulfillment businesses will have access to tools that let them store and manage their consumer data. Dematic will offer its experience in automation along with simple software to connect with current Upshop processes.
Warehouse Automation Market Leaders
Dematic Group (Kion Group AG)
Daifuku Co. Limited
Swisslog Holding AG (KUKA AG)
Honeywell Intelligrated (Honeywell International Inc.)
Jungheinrich AG
*Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order
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Warehouse Automation Market News
- September 2022: xSQUARE, a provider of intelligent warehouse solutions based in Singapore, and Mitsubishi Logisnext Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (MLAP), partnered to address the rising need for intelligent warehousing solutions. Together, MLAP and xSQUARE will provide organizations with a way to deal with labor shortages while boosting operational effectiveness and warehouse productivity.
- August 2022: Dematic established a strategic alliance with Dexterity, a manufacturer of warehouse robots, to provide full-task robotics as a component of Dematic intelligent automation solutions. By facilitating Dexterity's entry into the European market, Dematic will sell and use Dexterity robots on a global scale. This is the next phase of a mutually beneficial partnership.
Warehouse Automation Market Report - Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Study Assumptions and Market Definition
1.2 Scope of the Study
2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
4. MARKET INSIGHTS
4.1 Market Overview
4.2 Industry Attractiveness - Porter's Five Forces Analysis
4.2.1 Bargaining Power of Buyers
4.2.2 Bargaining Power of Suppliers
4.2.3 Threat of New Entrants
4.2.4 Threat of Substitutes
4.2.5 Degree of Competition
4.3 Industry Value Chain Analysis
4.4 Assessment of the Impact of COVID-19 on the Industry
4.5 Warehouse Investment Scenario
4.6 Impact of Macro-economic Factors on the Warehouse Automation Market
5. MARKET DYNAMICS
5.1 Market Drivers
5.1.1 Exponential Growth of the E-commerce Industry and Customer Expectation
5.1.2 Increasing Manufacturing Complexity and Technology Availability
5.2 Market Challenges
5.2.1 High Capital Investment
6. MARKET SEGMENTATION
6.1 By Component
6.1.1 Hardware
6.1.1.1 Mobile Robots (AGV, AMR)
6.1.1.2 Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS)
6.1.1.3 Automated Conveyor & Sorting Systems
6.1.1.4 De-palletizing/Palletizing Systems
6.1.1.5 Automatic Identification and Data Collection (AIDC)
6.1.1.6 Piece Picking Robots
6.1.2 Software (Warehouse Management Systems(WMS), Warehouse Execution Systems (WES))
6.1.3 Services (Value Added Services, Maintenance, etc.)
6.2 By End-User
6.2.1 Food and Beverage (Including Manufacturing Facilities and Distribution Centers)
6.2.2 Post and Parcel
6.2.3 Retail
6.2.4 Apparel
6.2.5 Manufacturing (Durable and Non-Durable)
6.2.6 Other End-user Industries
6.3 By Geography
6.3.1 North America
6.3.2 Europe
6.3.3 Asia-Pacific
6.3.4 Rest of the World
7. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
7.1 Company Profiles
7.1.1 Dematic Group (Kion Group AG)
7.1.2 Daifuku Co. Limited
7.1.3 Swisslog Holding AG (KUKA AG)
7.1.4 Honeywell Intelligrated (Honeywell International Inc.)
7.1.5 Jungheinrich AG
7.1.6 Murata Machinery Ltd
7.1.7 Knapp AG
7.1.8 TGW Logistics Group GmbH
7.1.9 Kardex Group
7.1.10 Mecalux SA
7.1.11 BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG
7.1.12 SSI Schaefer AG
7.1.13 Vanderlande Industries BV
7.1.14 WITRON Logistik + Informatik GmbH
7.1.15 Oracle Corporation
7.1.16 One Network Enterprises Inc.
7.1.17 SAP SE
- *List Not Exhaustive
8. INVESTMENT ANALYSIS
9. FUTURE OF THE MARKET
Warehouse Automation Industry Segmentation
Warehouse automation is the automation of the movement of inventory into, within, and out of warehouses for delivery to customers. As part of an automation project, a business can get rid of labor-intensive tasks that call for repetitive physical labor, manual data entry, and analysis. With the help of warehouse automation, users' facilities can more effectively meet customer demand. The initial step involves automating manual processes like data collection and inventory control with a warehouse management system (WMS). These systems integrate with other solutions to efficiently manage and automate tasks across various business and supply chain functions.
The warehouse automation market is segmented by component (hardware (mobile robots (AGV, AMR), automated storage and retrieval systems (as/rs), automated conveyor & sorting systems, de-palletizing/palletizing systems, automatic identification and data collection (AIDC), piece picking robots), software (warehouse management systems (WMS) and warehouse execution systems (WES)), services), end-user (food and beverage (including manufacturing facilities and distribution centers), post and parcel, retail, apparel, and manufacturing (durable and non-durable)), and geography (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Rest of the World).
The market sizes and forecasts are provided in terms of value (USD billion) for all the above segments.
| By Component | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Software (Warehouse Management Systems(WMS), Warehouse Execution Systems (WES)) | ||||||||
| Services (Value Added Services, Maintenance, etc.) |
| By End-User | |
| Food and Beverage (Including Manufacturing Facilities and Distribution Centers) | |
| Post and Parcel | |
| Retail | |
| Apparel | |
| Manufacturing (Durable and Non-Durable) | |
| Other End-user Industries |
| By Geography | |
| North America | |
| Europe | |
| Asia-Pacific | |
| Rest of the World |
Warehouse Automation Market Research FAQs
How big is the Warehouse Automation Market?
The Warehouse Automation Market size is expected to reach USD 25.74 billion in 2024 and grow at a CAGR of 16.20% to reach USD 54.53 billion by 2029.
What is the current Warehouse Automation Market size?
In 2024, the Warehouse Automation Market size is expected to reach USD 25.74 billion.
Who are the key players in Warehouse Automation Market?
Dematic Group (Kion Group AG), Daifuku Co. Limited, Swisslog Holding AG (KUKA AG), Honeywell Intelligrated (Honeywell International Inc.) and Jungheinrich AG are the major companies operating in the Warehouse Automation Market.
Which is the fastest growing region in Warehouse Automation Market?
Asia-Pacific is estimated to grow at the highest CAGR over the forecast period (2024-2029).
Which region has the biggest share in Warehouse Automation Market?
In 2024, the North America accounts for the largest market share in Warehouse Automation Market.
What years does this Warehouse Automation Market cover, and what was the market size in 2023?
In 2023, the Warehouse Automation Market size was estimated at USD 22.15 billion. The report covers the Warehouse Automation Market historical market size for years: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. The report also forecasts the Warehouse Automation Market size for years: 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029.
What are the key challenges of implementing Warehouse Automation?
Key challenges faced by the Warehouse Automation Market are: a) High initial investment costs b) Integration complexities with existing systems c) Need for skilled personnel to manage and maintain the automated systems
Warehouse Automation Industry Report
The Global Warehouse Automation Market is witnessing remarkable growth, fueled by escalating demands in sectors like e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, and automotive, driven by a booming global population and a shift in consumer behavior, notably during the pandemic. This surge necessitates advanced solutions to enhance productivity, minimize errors, and cut costs, with warehouse automation standing out through sophisticated machinery, robots, and software. The e-commerce boom, alongside the aging population's needs and the burgeoning pharmaceutical sector, especially in cold storage, underscores the critical role of automated warehousing. Technological advancements in material handling and robotics offer significant opportunities, with North America and Asia-Pacific at the forefront of market share and growth potential. The competitive arena sees top warehouse automation companies innovating and forming partnerships to address the market's diverse demands. According to Mordor Intelligence™ Industry Reports, the sector is set for substantial expansion. For detailed insights, a free report PDF download is available, providing a comprehensive analysis and forecast.
