Industry Survey Report: Warehouse Optimisation Strategies

How Today’s Warehouses Are Tackling Labour Shortages, Throughput Challenges & Automation Gaps

Over 200 supply chain professionals across industries like retail, 3PL, pharma, eCommerce, and manufacturing shared what is working and what is not when it comes to workforce and automation optimisation. This report goes beyond broad trends, diving into real-world warehouse data and practices.

Inside, you will discover where companies are seeing ROI, why most still struggle with software integration, and how warehouse simulation, robotics, and mobile-first tech are helping some leap ahead of the pack.

What’s Inside:

• Automation Adoption by Sector
  Explore how industries like Internet Retail (sale of good or services via the internet), CPG(consumer packed goods), and Transportation are prioritising (or delaying) their automation investments, and why flexibility is a rising priority.
• Common Barriers to Automation
  Discover what’s holding most businesses back, from budget approvals to lack of IT support, and how RaaS (Robotics as a Service) is shifting investment models from CAPEX to OPEX.
• Top Automation Challenges
  Learn why software integration, and not hardware, is the top pain point, and how companies are working around downtime, complexity, and siloed systems.
• Software Trends that Support Automation
  Understand the roles of Warehouse Management Solution(WMS), Warehouse Control Systems(WCS) and emerging robotics control systems – and why fewer than 20% of businesses have a dedicated WCS.
• Workforce Optimisation Strategies
  Get a breakdown of what’s replacing headcount increases – from RF scanners and voice tech to smart WMS layouts and labour management systems.
• Simulation & Smarter Planning
  See how warehouse simulation is giving forward-thinking operations a digital twin to test layouts, workflows, and ROI projections before making big changes.
• Key Takeaways & Next Steps
  From strengthening your WMS-WCS relationship to using voice and robotics together, get actionable insights to help your warehouse stay future-ready.