How AMRs can make up for labour shortages in logistics
The skilled labour shortage in logistics, more generally across the entire supply chain, is a growing problem nationwide.
According to GiGroup, there is a shortage of at least 200,000 employees, of which 20,000 are HGV drivers.?
A situation in which 46-47% of demand is not filled, and where the number of open and closed positions has a delta of almost 50%.
GiGroup, has also estimated that in the next four years, the Italian market will generate a need for 4-4.5 million workers for needs such as replacement, or company growth.
This is a challenging situation, which is leading to the search for innovative solutions, including the introduction of automation in the company. Indeed, while the cost of technology is falling and becoming more affordable, the cost of labour is rising, due to the worker shortage.
What are the factors that are leading to the labour shortage?
Definitions of labour shortage include the European Commission's definition:
"A labour shortage arises when the demand for a particular role exceeds the supply of workers who have the desire, qualifications and availability to perform that role."
Labour shortages within logistics are due to several factors, both general, concerning the population as a whole, and specific to the sector.
These include:
Ageing population in the Eurozone
According to a study carried out by Il Sole 24 Ore, the working-age population (20-64 years), will decrease from 64.6 % (or 288.5 million) to 54.8 % (or 227.9 million) by 2100, representing an overall contraction of 60.6 million people.
Moreover, people of working age will fall below 60 per cent as early as 2037 and decline further until 2100.
For this reason, the number of people entering the labour market will be lower than those leaving it, affecting the logistics sector in particular.
This is because although logistics is a sector undergoing a huge transformation, it still has a lot of human capital in it,' Andrea Bardi, General Manager of ITL. Manual and physical work, perceived as hard and unattractive for young people and unsuitable for older workers.
Changes caused by Covid-19 pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted even more the labour shortage for logistics, changing habits and lifestyles.
In addition, due to the closure of many businesses and restrictions on shop entrances, many people decided to start buying online, and sales grew exponentially, from 81% to 162%.
This caused enormous pressure on warehouses, which had to face increased demand with a reduced workforce and space problems.
Online sales, in fact, not only require a web platform, but also a logistics platform, and therefore people and technology.
Skills mismatch between supply and demand, how to work in logistics nowadays
One of the reasons for the labour shortage in logistics is that operations are considered to be mainly physical and exhausting jobs and therefore unattractive.
In a logistics 4.0 viewpoint, this idea is a long way off: characteristics of the workers required have changed, there is no longer physical work to be done, there are no longer repetitive operations, but tasks where you need people's ability to self-manage, the ability to combine the lot in front of you with the operations around it and with the right packaging - Valentino Soldan, Head of Logistics at Benetton Group.
Logistics companies are now using the latest technological systems and software to improve operational efficiency, improve operators' working conditions and protect their health with more ergonomic systems to reduce the risk of accidents.
The strenuous part is done by the machines, the more advanced part by the operators.?
Moreover, warehouse activities are very easy to explain and the learning curve is very low.
Companies today no longer need mechanics, but mechatronics experts who know electronics, as 70 per cent of the problems concern software or electronics.
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A further skill in demand is data management, especially in structured companies, where data scientists are sought who can process data to optimise and integrate new technologies.
Digitisation, 4.0 and automation are 'topics' that need increasing attention, because we need people who are capable of analysing data and information, and who are skilled in the technologies already in use (software of all kinds, tms, wms and various tools for warehouse optimisation) and the more frontier ones such as collaborative automation, which goes from robots to cobots and amr, topics that are really growing also due to the enormous expansion of e-commerce, which is the main driver of the sector.
Ways in which logistics can make up for labour shortages with AMRs
Manpower shortages therefore require a strategic approach and the use of new state-of-the-art technologies, such as AMRs.
AMRs are one of the most interesting solutions in the field of warehouse process automation. In fact, they are able to autonomously interpret information from the surrounding environment, moving stock within distribution centres without having to be supervised by operators.?
No major investments or special warehouse management systems are needed to implement AMRs, and they are able to optimise picking and handling activities, guaranteeing speed and efficiency in order processing.
Efficiency, but not only that, the strengths of AMRs include scalability, ergonomics and above all flexibility.
AMR, scalability and ergonomics
AMRs are scalable, capable of handling very high peaks and can be increased or decreased, depending on demand trends, quickly and easily.
Ergonomics, a key aspect of workstation design, as the human-machine mix is the basis for success in good-to-person systems.
The ways in which operators interface and support AMRs are factors to be considered, because: people are the ones who configure the software, operate the GTP workstations, and maintain them; without intelligent human input at every stage of the process, automation cannot do anything on its own.
AMR, flexible solutions
AMRs don't follow pre-set routes and don't need magnetic bands or colour tapes.
This means that AMRs are able to make decisions autonomously, and can be rescheduled according to changes in the warehouse layout.
Furthermore, they can perform different tasks according to work shifts or material handling requirements.
Flexibility not only in terms of processes, but also in terms of investment, through solutions such as Raas, Robotics as a Service, where automation is offered for hire, for short terms and managed in outsourcing.
A system that allows companies to implement AMRs even without the skills or in-house resources to manage them.
In this case, therefore, you are not buying a product, but a service, allowing even SMEs (the strong point of the Italian industrial system) to benefit from robotics, without having to rely on large logistics platforms.
Investments in hardware and software are thus minimised, allowing companies to approach automation that is light, scalable, suitable for multiple services and can be easily redesigned or reprogrammed in case of any changes.
Conclusions, the changing role of operators
The entire world of Intralogistics is moving towards an upskilling or reskilling of operators' skills, to move from manual gestures to interfacing with robots, using more cognitive skills and fewer arms and legs.
In this way, employees are able to concentrate on higher value-added activities, improving levels of professional and personal satisfaction.
One must also consider that the interfaces of AMRs are now very easy and the level of learning is very high and fast, as the tools used to interact with the automation are very similar to classic tablets or smartphones.
Accessible solutions that will make the logistics sector increasingly attractive and appealing to new generations and new talent.
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