Rising costs are a challenge.
Read on to learn what organizations are saying and doing to address rising energy, labor and real estate costs.
Read on to learn what organizations are saying and doing to address rising energy, labor and real estate costs.
We've gathered the thoughts, opinions, and experiences of over 300 senior leaders and decision makers — from CEOs and COOs to order fulfillment and logistics directors — to gauge how they’re approaching the next 12 months. We identified their top 5 challenges, and rising costs was one of them.
When it comes to 2023 challenges, it’s little wonder that our respondents are most concerned about rising costs — energy (32%) and labor costs (27%) occupied the top two spots. The labor market has been volatile over the past three years and the supply chain industry has a huge task to either attract new people or look to automation as an alternative solution.
A bit further down the list is the rising cost of real estate (15%). Traditional warehouse space is costing companies more, and there are clearly big decisions to make around warehousing and fulfillment centers that can help companies operate efficiently while meeting consumer demand and expectations.
It’s great to see that, despite the macro-economic challenges, our respondents still have a clear view of what matters most — the customer. Through the warehouse lens, customer experience means meeting increasing customer demands around availability, delivery, and returns.
"As with everything as connected as a supply chain, you can’t pull one lever without it having an impact on other crucial areas.
Take real estate costs, for instance. Sure, you could move operations into the middle of nowhere and save vast sums on ground rent. But what impact does that have on the customer experience? Or the cost of transportation?
Organizations are rightly worried about rising costs, but the solutions need to have minimum impact on the end customer.”
Jon Schechter, Business Development Manager, AutoStore, North America
This is one of the five key learnings from our benchmark survey. Download the full report to read more on ESG initiatives, AS/RS Necessity, Space Utilization and Balancing the Macro & Micro.