European warehouse upgrades planned

Most European warehousing operators anticipate new rollouts or upgrades with activity focused on process improvement and technology implementations in the next two years, according to research conducted by the Aberdeen Group over the past six months. Ninety percent of companies are taking action to improve their transportation and logistics operations over the next 12 to 24 months while nearly 60% of respondents are looking for new rollouts or upgrades in the following areas: 67% improving their warehouse processes; 32% implementing new warehouse management software; 27% upgrading or enhancing their existing software; and 22% increasing their use of automated material handling equipment. Thirty percent planned on making physical warehouse changes, with 15% planning to move their location and another 15% planning to enlarge or build a new warehouse. More than 20% thought technology would not solve their problems and more than 30% feel the cost of the solutions is too high. Vendors are therefore proving their Return on Investment (ROI) throughout key sales cycles and respondents are focusing on ways to increase collaboration and improve integration both internally and externally. The top three barriers to adopting available WMS technology included the high upfront costs (37%), difficult and expensive software integration (22%) and a lack of executive level support for the project (20%).