Three-quarters of supply chain professionals see a significant increase in the number of goods in their warehouses

22% struggles to accommodate growth; need for investment in warehouse modernization strong

Over the past 12 months, supply chain professionals from the Netherlands and Belgium have found that the number of goods in their warehouses is increasing: as many as 75% speak of significant growth. At the same time, 75% of supplychain professionals indicate that they will modernize their warehouses, while 56% plan to open new, modern warehouses. This is according to research* from Manhattan Associates.

22% unable to accommodate growth and 41% increased existing warehouse capacity

Organizations are struggling to cope with the increased volume of goods in their existing warehouses: only 31% of supply chain professionals report that they have been able to accommodate the changes within their existing capacity. 22% struggled to meet the increased volume within their existing capacity, and failed to increase capacity. 41% has increased their existing capacity to meet the increased volume.

Nearly nine in 10 organizations struggle to retain existing staff

25% of supplychain professionals experience challenges with ensuring and improving staff productivity, while 24% struggle with recruiting, training and managing staff. When asked if their organization experiences difficulties with retaining existing staff, a whopping 89% of the supplychain professionals surveyed said they have difficulty with this.

Processing orders through various channels main warehouse challenge

When asked about the main challenges related to warehouse operations, 27% says they have difficulty managing orders through different channels, such as e-commerce or in-store. 25% say they have difficulty making changes to their warehouse operations because of its complexity. More than half (52%) of supply chain professionals think their own organization lacks understanding of the challenges related to warehouse operations, and that senior management understands these challenges.

Investment in omnichannel management, generative AI and robotics priority

Respondents were also asked what they see as the main areas of focus for their organization's warehouse(s) over the next 12 months. 30% said they want to make investments to manage orders across multiple channels. 29% wants to make greater use of evolving technologies such as generative AI and robotics, while 27% wants to make investments to improve lead time and reduce cut-off time.

Pieter Van den Broecke, managing director of the Netherlands and Belgium, among others, at Manhattan Associates: "Consumers are ordering more and more, and through different channels. Both the growth and complexity of orders, as well as the tight labor market, present supply chain professionals with significant challenges to process orders effectively. It is important for organizations to modernize their existing warehouses by leveraging innovative omnichannel technology so that staff can focus on improving supply chain processes. By properly setting up their Web shop with sufficient product information, they can ease the workload created by returns. At the same time, they need to alert consumers to sustainable delivery methods and, in this, also steer their physical store's role as an important link for selling, picking up and returning products."

*About the study

Vanson Bourne interviewed 2,000 supply chain professionals worldwide in spring 2024, including 200 from the Netherlands and Belgium. Respondents included both senior management and operations personnel and came from the manufacturing and production, logistics, pharmaceutical, retail, automotive and CPG sectors. View the survey results here.