Warehouse Robotics Market Size, Share, Market Research and Industry Forecast Report, 2019-2025 (Includes Business Impact of COVID-19)

                                          
Industry Insights, Market Size, CAGR, High-Level Analysis: Warehouse Robotics Market


The global warehouse robotics market size was valued at USD 3.19 billion in 2018 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 11% over the forecast period. The warehousing industry is expected to witness significant demand in the deployment of robotic systems to reduce the operational time and cost and to enhance the throughput of warehouse operations. The increasing demand for automation and awareness regarding safety and superior quality production are anticipated to present substantial growth opportunities for the market.

Warehouse robotics is broadly regarded as one of the most effective methodologies to reduce pressures encircling expenditures and availability of manual labor, in addition to enhancing operational competences. The robots are used for lifting heavy loads and efficiently carry out picking, placing, transportation, packaging, and palletizing, among other tasks in the facility. Growing proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, and other such technologies, which have made their presence felt in the warehousing industry, is anticipated to further fuel the overall market growth in near future.

The need for specialized software solutions to watch over the employees, warehouse operations, and inventory flow, has witnessed a surge in the past decade. Thus, software professionals are continuously engaged in upgrading software solutions with additional functionalities. Various companies implement a Warehouse Management System (WMS) as it is capable of performing several functions, such as inventory management, labor management, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) integration.

The market is expected to be driven by a combined effect of the growing retail and e-commerce industries and energy efficiency-driven technological shifts in automation. Several companies are incorporating robotics and automation for the development of their warehouses. For instance, Amazon, Inc. had over 100,000 robotics systems deployed across around 25 fulfillment centers of U.S. in 2019. In the later part of the year, the company also deployed 800 Pegasus and Xanthus robotic systems in some fulfillment centers and expanded the robotic drive to about 200,000 robots internationally.

The implementation of robotic systems in facilities is expected to surge from the years 2019 to 2025, owing to the high turnover of people and a shortage of skilled labor. Collaborative robots, also called Cobots, are gaining prominence in the warehousing industry as they are designed to enhance security and to simplify the human-machine interface. Cobots are becoming intelligent using technologies such as machine learning, which enable them to repeat the warehouse task on seeing them done by the operator once.

Product Insights of Warehouse Robotics Market

The mobile robots segment accounted for the largest revenue share of more than 25% in 2018 and is anticipated to observe significant growth over the forecast period. Mobile robots form a vital fragment of the global warehousing industry, as they are used for moving of small payloads in the facility, especially in the retail and consumer electronics industry, while providing more flexibility than most of the traditional automation systems.

The cartesian robots segment is expected to witness a substantial growth over the forecast period, due to the ability of these robots to efficiently perform warehouse operations, such as material handling, picking and placing, and loading and unloading among others. The articulated robots, used for heavy-duty tasks in the facility held a significant market share in 2018, due to the meticulousness they offer in performing tedious tasks. The articulated robots segment is projected to witness considerable CAGR of over 9%, from 2019 to 2025. This growth can be attributed to the fact that they are easy to align to various planes and are offer operational and maintenance simplicity. The SCARA robots segment is expected to witness a notable rise over the forecast period owing to their capability of providing accuracy and high speed in tasks. The demand for parallel robots and cylindrical robots is gradually declining due to the complexity of their structure and availability of technologically advanced alternatives.

Payload Capacity Insights

The below 10 kg payload capacity segment registered considerable revenue share of over 30% in 2018 and is estimated to affirm its dominance from 2019 to 2025. This is attributed to the fact that the robots with lower payload capacities can carry majority of the items in a typical facility catering various end-use industries.

The robots with payload capacity of 400 kg and higher are seldom used by operators, and hence the growth rate of segments 401 kg to 900 kg, and above 900 kg payloads is anticipated to remain quite sluggish in the forthcoming years. Primarily, the operators of highly demanding industries such as automotive and consumer electronics invest in robots with 11 kg to 80 kg payload capacity. This segment held a market share of over 25% in 2018.

Software Insights

Software vendors are developing customized software solutions for managing the operations in the warehousing and logistics industry. Most of these solutions offer a real-time plot of the active components in the system. The software displays the live status of several elements such as online robots, storage shelves, pick stations, and recharge stations. Operators can find out the information relating to these components, such as the shelf ID and the materials stored in it currently. These software solutions help facility employees to inspect robots and give them commands to override their ongoing tasks. The software can also spot when the robotic system encounters an issue and take remedial action.

The Warehouse Management System (WMS) software segment accounted for a larger revenue share of over 40% in 2018 and is anticipated to assert its dominance over the forecast period, owing to its ability to manage the overall activity and processes within a facility. These processes include moving the consignment from one place to another within the facility, order selection, receiving, put-away, cycle counting, and shipping. The Warehouse Control System (WCS) and Warehouse Execution System (WES) software segments are anticipated to witness substantial growth from 2019 to 2025 as many businesses are investing in these solutions, which assists them in managing consumers as well as the complexity of the facility.

Application Insights of Warehouse Robotics Market

The e-commerce segment is fueling the development of the market due to an upsurge in the number of online shopping customers and their increasing demands for the speedy delivery of orders in an undamaged and precise form, rising competition in the e-commerce industry. The healthcare segment, on the other hand, is expected to observe the fastest CAGR more than 13% over the forecast period, owing to the continuous advancements in medicine and pharmaceutical industry. The food and beverage and automotive segments are also expected to witness substantial growth over the forecast period due to rising investments in robotic systems to automate their distribution centers for better productivity and safety.

Function Insights of Warehouse Robotics Market

The pick and place segment accounted for the leading revenue share of the warehouse robotics market in 2018 and is expected to sustain its dominance over the forecast period. The packaging segment held a significant market share of over 25% in 2018, as several businesses are deploying robotic systems for enhancing the packaging performance by installing sustainable and future-proof solutions. Companies are replacing their manual case packing by robotic case packing and using robots at length for loading containers into the Form Fill Seal (FFS) machines.

The need forminimizing transportation costs and increasing the proficiency of loading and unloading of goods is driving growth in demand for warehouse robotics for transportation. This segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR in the warehousing industry. Majority of the goods to be shipped from one place to another are loaded on the floor of container and are piled to ceiling without pallets. When this consignment reaches the distribution center, the items in the container are usually unloaded by a human worker, sorted, and then stacked on different pallets.

Companies are implementing robotic solutions to avoid this time-consuming labor-intensive process. For instance, DHL International GmbH developed a parcel robot which is made up of a chassis, a 3D laser scanner, a telescopic conveyor belt, and a gripping system involving an arm of the articulated robot and a grabber. This robot is placed in front of the container for unloading and scanning all boxes using its laser.

The palletizing and de-palletizing segment is expected to witness significant growth as operators are automating strenuous jobs like manual palletizing with the help of a robotic arm, freeing up employees to focus more on value-added tasks.

Regional Insights of Warehouse Robotics Market

North America dominated the market for warehouse robotics in 2018 and is expected to continue leading over the forecast period, owing to the proliferation of new technologies at a higher rate coupled with vital presence of warehouse operatives. The Europe market was valued at over USD 650 million in 2018 and the regional demand is anticipated to be sluggish over the forecast period. This slow growth pace is accredited to the fierce competition, market saturation, and challenging economic situation. Within Europe, Germany is expected to witness considerable growth from 2019 till 2025.

Asia Pacific is projected to appear as the fastest-growing region from 2019 to 2025, owing to therising number of production facilities coupled with increasing domestic demand for merchandise. Moreover, the notable economic growth of countries in Asia Pacific has augmented the usage of warehouse robotics in the regional retailing and manufacturing sectors.

Market Share Insights of Warehouse Robotics Market

Robotics is increasingly being adopted in warehouses owing to the advances in the software and innovation in automation that makes it capable of identifying monotonous, time-consuming jobs, reduce errors, and speed up the warehouse processes. Robots are becoming intelligent to vary their tasks to adapt to their environment that might seem to be appealing to the manufacturers to automate their warehouses. Significant growth in the overall market is creating concerns regarding the replacement of labor jobs.

Many e-commerce companies are collaborating with robotic system providers to automate their facilities to cope up with the changing consumer preferences of speed. Collaborative robots are widely being used by manufacturers in their facilities to assist the operator in critical tasks. Several companies are using robotic arms alongside the workforce to carry out tasks involving heavy lifting, enhancing the efficiency, and speed of the assembly line.

ABB, Honeywell Intelligrated, KUKA AG, OMRON Corporation, and YASKAWA ELECTRIC CORPORATION are some of the key market players. Other players include Fetch Robotics, Inc.; Bastian Solutions, Inc.; Daifuku Co., Ltd.; Dematic; and KNAPP AG.

Segmentations, Sub Segmentations, CAGR, & High-Level Analysis overview of Warehouse Robotics Market Research Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, this market research report has segmented the global warehouse robotics market report on the basis of product, function, payload capacity, software, application, and region:

Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  
Mobile Robots
  
Articulated Robots
  
Cylindrical Robots
  
SCARA Robots
  
Parallel Robots
  
Cartesian Robots

Function Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  
Pick & Place
  
Palletizing & De-palletizing
  
Transportation
  
Packaging

Payload Capacity Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  
Below 10 kg
  
11 kg to 80 kg
  
81 kg to 400 kg
  
401 kg to 900 kg
  
Above 900 kg

Software Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  
Warehouse Management System
  
Warehouse Control System
  
Warehouse Execution System

Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2019 - 2030)

  
E-commerce
  
Automotive
  
Consumer Electronics
  
Food & Beverage
  
Healthcare
  
Others