Nearly Six in 10 Warehouse Leaders Plan to Deploy RFID by 2028: Zebra

Zebra Technologies released the findings of its 2023 Global Warehousing Study which confirmed 58% of warehouse decision-makers plan to deploy radio frequency identification (RFID) technology by 2028 which will help increase inventory visibility and reduce out-of-stocks.

Over the next five years, a majority of warehouse decision-makers plan to deploy fixed, passive or handheld RFID readers and fixed industrial scanning solutions that can better track assets, workers and goods throughout the warehouse environment. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the invention of RFID which has become a problem-solving tool for front-line workers in warehouses and other industries.

The survey showed 73% of warehouse decision-makers have or will be accelerating timelines of modernization projects. This should help with returns management which climbed to the top operational challenge cited by nearly half of warehouse decision-makers surveyed—an increase of 10 percentage points year-over-year.

“The significant growth of returns aligns with e-fulfillment growth over the last several years, and it is a mandate for change across every part of the supply chain,” said Andre Luecht, global strategy lead for transportation, logistics and warehouse, Zebra Technologies. “This means warehouse leaders must modernize their operations with technology solutions to handle returns and increase agility, inventory visibility and demand forecast-ing in order to improve efficiency and make better decisions in real time.”

A majority of warehouse decision-makers (76%) say they are under pressure to improve performance while adjusting to shifting consumer ecommerce demands. Inaccurate inventory and out-of-stocks continue to significantly challenge productivity according to nearly 80% of warehouse associates and decision-makers.

In fact, both groups—82% of associates and 76% of decision-makers—acknowledge they need better inventory management tools to achieve better accuracy and determine availability. And a significant 91% of decision-makers are addressing this need, citing plans to invest in technology to increase visibility across the supply chain by 2028.

The Zebra study found that 69% of warehouse decision-makers already have or are plan-ning to automate workflows by 2024 to support warehouse associates and shift them toward more customer-centric, high-value tasks.