In 2021, with the Covid-19 pandemic changing our lifestyle and shopping habits and increasing attention to environmental issues, we see several trends in the material handling and logistics industry accelerating. Therefore, it will be interesting to see what 2022 will reveal. We discussed the forecasts of industry experts for this year.

Environmental sustainability and carbon footprint reduction

The importance of green logistics continues to grow, and the industry will increasingly adapt as we move towards 2022. As more and more people seek to reduce their carbon footprint, this year will see many changes in warehouse management technology. As consumers demand more products to be manufactured and distributed in a responsible manner, logistics companies will seek to improve their environmental impact to remain competitive. Therefore, whether it is biodegradable packaging, electric and solar powered forklifts and vehicles, or reducing road mileage and intelligent transportation mode, EFORK will explore the best way to reduce its overall carbon footprint.

Automation (AI and machine learning), robotics and technology

The trend towards improved technology and automation will continue to grow rapidly this year, as new distribution strategies are required to meet the challenges and be able to adapt to unforeseen changes in the future.

Warehouse managers will look for ways to effectively optimize sorting, packaging and transportation through the implementation of robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence, so as to improve operations and focus employees on higher value tasks. Things to note include the automation of labor-intensive activities, autonomous ground vehicles and equipment, self driving forklifts, the increasing use of drones to transport small products, and other tasks that reduce human dependence.

Environmental sustainability, continued changes in consumer needs and buying habits, coupled with major technological changes, will all be at the forefront of the logistics industry for the foreseeable future.We will start to see more material handling equipment and intelligent integration to improve productivity, better cooperation between systems and environment, and highly trained and skilled employees operating high intelligent machines to help the logistics field.