Unhappy with DC Automation

Softeon has released results of a major study on user perceptions of distribution center automation and software, with the headline news that just 12.9% of companies are satisfied with their current levels of DC automation. Download the report here.

Based on a survey of 187 logistics professionals across a wide range of industry sectors, the report also found that 42.1% were unsatisfied with their current levels of DC automation, with another 45.9% just partly satisfied with current automation levels.

What’s holding companies back from the adoption of additional automation? Not surprisingly, the upfront cost of automation topped the list of barriers, scoring an average of 5.8 on a rating scale where 1 was the lowest barrier, and 7 was the highest. ROI concerns (5.6) and lack of flexibility (4.5) were the second and third-ranked barriers, respectively.

Just 12.9% of companies are satisfied with their current levels of DC automation, report finds.

Switching to the software side, just 11.6% of respondents said they “knew a lot” about newer Warehouse Execution Systems (WES) solutions, with another 6.3% having deployed WES. That compares to 34.3% who “don’t know much” about WES and 47.8% who “know a little” about the technology.

This study provides a unique and detailed view of how companies are thinking about the options, both in hardware and software.

• Download the report here.