{"id":4944,"date":"2022-07-12T12:53:40","date_gmt":"2022-07-12T17:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/?p=4944"},"modified":"2022-07-12T12:57:30","modified_gmt":"2022-07-12T17:57:30","slug":"in-todays-labor-market-you-cant-afford-not-to-automate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mhisolutionsmag.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/12\/in-todays-labor-market-you-cant-afford-not-to-automate\/","title":{"rendered":"In Today\u2019s Labor Market, You Can\u2019t Afford Not to Automate"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
MHI Solutions Community<\/div>\n
\"christian<\/figure>\n
BY CHRISTIAN DOW<\/span>, MHI EXECUTIVE VP OF MEMBERSHIP AND INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP<\/div>\n
\"mhi<\/figure>\n

B<\/strong><\/span>ack when Mike Tyson was the king of the ring, he famously said of his overmatched opponents, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” In the past few years, shippers have experienced something similar, with powerful body blows forcing them to abandon their game plans.<\/p>\n

Prior to the pandemic, many shippers had long-term plans for introducing automation into their warehouses, distribution centers, fulfillment centers and manufacturing plants. But COVID-19, a persistent labor shortage, rising wages, employee turnover, increasing order volume, SKU proliferation, consumer demand for fast delivery and high costs for raw materials have all conspired against them.<\/p>\n

“Everyone had a plan, and that plan got thrown out the window, or it\u2019s being greatly accelerated,” said Seth Carlson, industry specialist for material handling and logistics at MHI member Banner Engineering.<\/p>\n

As a result, shippers are realizing that the time to automate is right now. Those who delay risk alienating customers with slow service, eroding profit margins and failing to execute on their growth strategies.<\/p>\n

“If you don\u2019t automate now, you\u2019re going to find yourself seriously behind the eight ball, and it\u2019ll be tough to catch up,” said Lisa Minerd, vice president of system design and implementation for MHI member Ascent Warehouse Logistics. “The labor shortage isn\u2019t going away, so that just supports the idea that automation is the key to growth and the key to success.<\/p>\n

“There are a lot of reasons people aren\u2019t automating, but none of them are really good,” she added. “They\u2019re actually rather shortsighted.”<\/p>\n

In the face of these challenges, shippers are becoming more receptive to automated material handling solutions, with the usual objections beginning to recede. The clich\u00e9s that “we\u2019ve always done it this way” and “if it isn\u2019t broken, why fix it?” break down when business executives consider how they\u2019ll deal with a 15% to 30% increase in projected demand while struggling to find sufficient labor, according to John M. Hill, director of MHI Member St. Onge Co.<\/p>\n

Click here to read full article.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shippers are realizing that the time to automate is right now. Those who delay risk alienating customers with slow service, eroding profit margins and failing to execute on their growth strategies. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":4950,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,10,13,12],"tags":[3358,3357,2468,2097,3352,1616,2647,3353,442,1902,1907,3355,3354,3356,3351,466,1960,1769],"class_list":["post-4944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-departments","category-industry-trends","category-technology","category-human-resources","tag-ascent-warehouse-logistics","tag-automation-growth","tag-banner-engineering","tag-emerging-technology","tag-eshipping","tag-john-hill","tag-john-m-hill","tag-lisa-minerd","tag-mhi-solutions","tag-mhi-solutions-magazine","tag-mhisolutionsmag","tag-owen-lenander","tag-seth-carlson","tag-st-onge-2","tag-st-onge-co","tag-supply-chain","tag-supply-chain-automation","tag-warehouse-automation"],"yoast_head":"\nIn Today\u2019s Labor Market, You Can\u2019t Afford Not to Automate - MHI Solutions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Shippers are realizing that the time to automate is right now. 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