Exotec on the Future of Warehouse Automation

Exotec creates elegant goods-to-person warehouse robotic solutions, mixing hardware and software to ‘drive operational efficiency, add resiliency and improve working conditions’ for manufacturers. Exotec was founded in 2015 and is based in Croix, Hauts-de-France. As the warehouse automation market is expected to grow 15% each year until 2027, Exotec has spotted a number of automation trends that will drive this growth.

Automation and 3PLs

Third-party logistic companies (known as 3PLs) play a big part in ecommerce fulfilment. When using warehouse automation for a contract, it is usually owned by their customer. 

Now, it is becoming more common for 3PLs to use person-to-goods automation as well as  “Kiva style” shelf-to-person systems for suitable contracts. This offers customers with productivity improvements.

The ecommerce market is also expected to grow 22% each year, between 2023 and 2028, but some customers still prefer retail shopping. Regardless, products need to be stored and warehouses must be kept safe and tidy, ready for items to be received and sent on their way. 

Managing ecommerce and retail operations in one warehouse can be difficult, even with automation, but it is worthwhile due to the cost savings. A single automation system which can handle ecommerce and retail offers warehouse workers benefits such as no duplication of stock and a lower warehouse footprint.

Simon Jones, Senior Sales Executive at Exotec

The warehouse automation market

Simon Jones, Senior Sales Executive at Exotec, shared his 2024 prediction for automation exclusively with Manufacturing Digital. 

“The warehouse automation market has seen a surge in new suppliers over the last few years, especially from the far east. The market for warehouse automation has been growing, and will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. However, there has been a bit of a correction during the early part of 2023, after the burst of activity during the pandemic. I suspect this could lead to some consolidation in the automation sector as some of the newer companies find it tough to build momentum and get established. The result will be an increase in mergers, acquisitions and possibly liquidations. With this in mind it is especially important that companies planning to automate their supply chain operations ensure their potential suppliers are financially sound and stable.”

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