The further bundling of artificial intelligence and warehousing logistics has the potential to alter and improve the industry, but many organizations are struggling to use it optimally.
That's according to a new market study from Lucas Sytems, a Wexford-based AI company the specializes in warehouse logistics optimization with its AI assistant technology named Jennifer. Lucas said it surveyed executives, directors and warehouse managers from 350 U.S. and U.K. organizations that use AI for inventory management and reported that these groups expressed challenges with using AI more broadly.
"These are environments where folks are struggling to figure out what is going to be more competitive because distribution is not a competitive product," Ken Ramoutar, chief marketing officer of Lucas Systems, said "Everybody references Amazon because they set the bar for product delivery, shorter delivery times, volumes, and so now everybody's got to live up to these incredible requirements and they're trying to find ways to do it. People really believe that there's a lot of potential in bringing AI into the warehouse, they think it's going to be a major game-changer."
The report, implemented by market research firm Vanson Bourne, found that there are several factors that rank among the most concerning for these groups when it comes to implementing additional AI in the warehouse; a perception of high costs compared to benefits, concerns surrounding risks and control of operations decisions, the cost and the time needed for training and a lack of understanding for implementation.
“These findings are consistent with what we’re hearing from our customers,” Ramoutar said. “There’s a belief that AI is a heavy lift - that it’s difficult to use and risky or expensive. This thinking prevents widespread adoption in the warehouse and the ability to tap AI’s true potential.”
Addressing these concerns is now a priority for Lucas, but it mentioned that some of them could be resolved by providing AI where its end-users or IT staff don't actually have to be experts on it, the report noted.
"AI can drive significant operational and customer experience gains. But software providers must continue to make AI easy to implement and use," Ramoutar said. "This is what we expect in our personal lives from smartphones, digital assistants and apps."
