FINAL WORD
Enabling the warehouse of the future
The warehouse of the future must have a fast , efficient communications network connecting everything and everyone . This is the view of George Verdes , Head of Sales for Transportation and Logistics in MEA at Nokia , who tells us here how Nokia ’ s Optical LAN is enabling this vision .
Global lockdown in 2020 and beyond has resulted in a surge in e-commerce , along with a change in consumer expectations and behaviour . A need for specific goods quickly coupled with a want for fast gratification has put supply chains and warehouses under pressure to manage their operations with increasing speed .
Warehouse operators are facing cost pressures , tougher SLAs and booming e-commerce markets , which is driving them to open new warehousing facilities closer to the end-user and to increase the use of automation in facilities . LogisiticIQ Research forecasts the warehouse automation market will grow at a ~ 14 % CAGR from US $ 14.8 billion in 2019 to almost double at US $ 29.8 billion in 2026 .
The benefits of warehouse automation improvement in throughput and productivity , ensures maximum uptime and reduces costs . As supply chain and logistics operations look to digitalise and automate to minimise the impact of COVID-19 , the use of Industrial Internet of Things ( IIoT ) will also drive automation changes in warehousing – a change that requires fast , reliable connectivity .
IIoT will also play an important role in the warehouse of the future . These new and advanced sensors can be deployed in warehouses to monitor temperature , health ,
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