ABB white paper highlights role of robotics and automation in meeting challenges and opportunities accelerated by COVID-19, including labor shortages and the growth of omnichannel distribution and e-commerce
Nine out of 10 logistics and transportation companies indicate their operations have been negatively impacted by the pandemic.
ABB today released its white paper on the future of the logistics industry, ‘The new norm: How COVID-19 has accelerated the switch to robotic automation,’ detailing how the pandemic is driving investment in robotics and automation in the logistics industry, with the pandemic accelerating long-term industry trends, such as labor shortages, the growth of omnichannel distribution and the rise of e-commerce. The paper looks at the logistics sector in the post COVID-19 era and the trends impacting the industry and provides guidance on how companies can increase the flexibility of their operations with robotics and automation to become more resilient.
The report was commissioned following a global survey of logistics and transportation companies carried out by ABB, with 91.5 percent of respondents stating that their operations had been impacted by COVID-19. When the pandemic began in early 2020, companies suddenly had to deal with an increased demand for a diverse range of goods caused by the dramatic explosion in online ordering and home deliveries. At the same time, businesses had to compensate for staff absences caused by factors such as self-isolation and social distancing measures. Consequently, companies had to adjust their processes, increasingly turning towards robotics and automation.
