The future of warehouse automation — opportunities for a growing industry

Warehouse automation continues to become an increasingly desirable option for those wanting to modernize manufacturing and supply chain processes.

Fortunately, the technologies available to assist with warehouse modernization are expanding, and new opportunities to increase efficiency and productivity are growing more sophisticated. Advances in sensors, computing, and AI have made automation a much stronger business prospect for organizations looking to keep up with the competition.

Here are a couple areas of opportunity.

Automated forklifts

Forklifts are critical and necessary in factories, warehouses, and distribution centers. The movement of goods requires significant labor from workers and worker-operated vehicles like forklifts and pallet stackers.

As labor markets tighten, solutions to help reduce the dependency on manual work will be critical. One solution? Autonomous forklifts. These devices are gaining newfound traction due to their high payloads, lift capability and flexibility.

Many businesses are just now realizing the full potential of autonomous forklifts. The room for scaling these solutions is enormous as current forklift vendors have just begun introducing automation to their fleets.

The global forklift market is vast, with about 2.3 million units sold in 2024 and 4.9 million units expected by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 9.8% during the forecast period.¹ With sustainability at the forefront of many manufacturing businesses, AI-driven technology for forklift technology spending reached $3 billion, enabling smarter and more efficient operations.² This means the opportunity for automated forklifts could be worth billions of dollars if automation companies can scale their offerings.

Autonomous mobile robots

Manufacturers and warehouses looking for growth opportunities should consider autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), which use sensors and machine vision to navigate space and perform tasks without predefined routes or instructions. Common use cases in warehouses for AMRs are sorting, picking, packing, order consolidation, and replenishment.

Behind the growing trend of using AMRs is the combination of cost management, attracting and retaining employees, labor costs, productivity, accuracy, efficiency, flexibility, and scalability.

In a recent McKinsey survey, 65 top logistics and supply chain executives revealed that 70% plan to invest approximately $100 million in automation over the next five years, prioritizing speed, process stability, and reduced labor dependency.³ As automation investments increase, there will be even more pressure for warehouses to stay competitive.

To learn more about automation and robotics, Ricoh offers services and solutions based on your needs, from AMRs to humanoid robots and more.