The 5 trends of 2022 of Logistics 4.0

Optimizing and simplifying logistics processes is a fundamental asset of every company.
To make these processes more efficient, more and more companies recognize the importance of technology, which in recent years has proved indispensable.

Thus, also in 2022, digitalization and technology will be the basis of logistics 4.0, where the main focus will be on mechanizing and integrating logistics processes in order to improve productivity and speed in the reception, storage and shipment of goods.
Automation in this sense offers valuable support to improve operating cycles and achieve greater productivity.

The trends that will characterize 2022 were therefore defined:

- Picking automation;
- Total automation of the warehouse;
- Big Data;
- Automatic handling systems;
- Automatic systems for vehicles.

 
Picking, that is the picking activity (1), is a phase that if performed manually is very expensive, slow and certainly the level of precision is not high; thus, thanks to automation, it is possible to reduce the staff allocated to this operation, increasing competitiveness and productivity.
Among the most popular solutions we find automatic systems able to bring products closer to operators to prepare orders.

Another logistics trend of 2022 is the adoption of systems for total warehouse automation (2) which led to the birth of "lights out" (or dark warehouses), or completely robotic warehouses in which the lighting as they lack workers who work inside them and all operations are carried out by software-driven machines.
In addition to increasing productivity, eliminating human error and optimizing resources, this allows data to be collected and then analyzed: therefore Big Data (3) have become essential for simplifying the supply chain.

The same applies to the introduction of automatic handling systems (4) to make this operation smarter not only increases the efficiency of this phase but helps to speed up all the other operating cycles, as well as redistributing the personnel to other phases.

Another trend of 2022 is to adopt automatic systems for vehicles (5) in order to speed up the status of receipt and shipment of products thanks to automatic loading and unloading methods for trucks. The increase in technology guarantees total safety for products and operators, energy efficiency in logistics processes and increases productivity by reducing costs due to human errors.