With digitalisation continuing at pace – as companies increasingly exploit technologies such as the IoT, augmented reality and artificial intelligence – and the pandemic having fuelled the growth of e-com, the outlook is extremely bright for logistics automation. The labour-intensive order profile and high return rate of e-com, coupled with labour shortages exacerbated by Brexit, is leading many companies to invest in automation in order to increase efficiency, reduce costs and enhance customer service.
Attracting talent
This is great news for members of the Automated Material Handling Systems Association (AMHSA) but begs the question: do we have sufficient engineers to meet demand? There undoubtedly continues to be a shortage of new talent coming into the sector, due partly to ignorance and partly to negative perceptions of engineering that prevail. Attracting young people into engineering requires the provision of information to change these perceptions, both among the young