Retail giants turns to automated warehouse concepts with labor availability still a struggle
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The concept of automated warehouses is catching more attention with staffing shortages still an issue even with employment levels across distribution centers at all-time highs and wage increases doled out. While short term strategies such as bonuses, accelerated pay raises and tuition reimbursement are noted by McKinsey to be helping, the long-term implications of a high reliance on labor are becoming more clear in the retail industry amid both the pandemic and recovery period.

Many retail giants are already well on the path of investing in automation industry technology and innovations. New concepts include building out the supply chain-as-a-service model and utilizing technology that integrates multiple solutions to help retailers meet demand.

Automated warehouse moves: DHL has plans to deploy up to 2,000 robots in warehouses, Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is allocating nearly $14B for warehouse automation and related business areas. SoftBank paid $2.8B for a stake in warehouse automation company AutoStore. Fast Retailing's (OTCPK:FRCOF) Uniqlo aims to have a fully automated warehouse online in China by the end of August as part of $865M investment aimed at speeding up the online business. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) with over 200K robots already working in its warehouses and continues to develop proprietary automation solutions via Amazon Robotics with a goal of boosting warehouse productivity to lower the company's overall labor burden. Nike (NYSE:NKE) has robots at several of its plants in Asia. Zalando (OTC:ZLDSF) has notably partnered with multiple automation startups.
Some of the publicly-traded companies involved in automated warehouse functions include Honeywell (NASDAQ:HON), Commercial Vehicle Group (NASDAQ:CVGI) and IBM (NYSE:IBM).
Read what XPO Logistics (NYSE:XPO) said about the company's use of robots during a conference call last year.