Report: 85% of supply chain pros plan to invest in technology in the next year

Ivanti Wavelink, the supply chain business unit of South Jordan-based IT security company Ivanti, has released the results of a recent study titled “Heavy Lift: Supply Chain Trends for 2023.” The firm worked with more than 200 warehouse workers, drivers, line workers, warehouse managers, analysts, customer support specialists and executives to gauge the current state of the supply chain.

A key takeaway from the survey is that technology increasingly plays an important part in productivity as labor challenges continue. The survey indicates it’s difficult — and critical — to get and keep the right people in the right roles, and respondents are looking to intuitive technology to help workers do their jobs as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Respondents’ concerns over labor shortages and enabling worker productivity were consistent — and significant — throughout the study, Ivanti said. Time to train the workforce (52 percent) and high turnover (50 percent) were the most-noted workforce challenges. Additionally, 41 percent also cited the need for digital upskilling.

To help address these concerns, organizations are embracing technology and automation to enhance worker experience and productivity. Around 85 percent of respondents plan to invest in new technology and/or build upon existing technology in the next year, with more than half (53 percent) indicating they intend to increase automation by up to 30 percent.

The right technology can be leveraged to make warehouse jobs easier, more efficient, more productive and with far less physical burden. The most-used tools were hand-held mobile computers with barcode scanners (58 percent) and tablets (50 percent). Wearable computers and automated picking tools are currently less-utilized but trending upwards, with respondents indicating that these tools are the top items they plan to invest in throughout the next year.

Tech that’s easy to deploy and is ultra-dependable could accelerate adoption. The survey says that reliability/uptime is the biggest consideration when evaluating new tech (69 percent), but other concerns are close behind, with ease of deployment (67 percent), ease of learning (63 percent) and adaptability — characterized as a system that can quickly react to needed changes — (63 percent) the most cited.

“With the current shortage of available labor, many industries are better equipping their teams with technologies that help them optimize workflow. By embracing technology to help streamline operational efficiency, organizations can increase productivity, reduce costs, save time, and improve customer satisfaction,” said Brandon Black, senior vice president and general manager of Ivanti Wavelink.