One thing that has been on the minds of many during the current market situation is how to deal with labor shortages — in manufacturing, in material handling and in food and beverage production. The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) reports that 89% of manufacturers are having difficulty finding skilled workers, partially due to an aging, retiring workforce and lack of desire among younger workers to enter the manufacturing field, but we also know the impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the labor market. In fact, the same SME study found that nearly one third of businesses are turning away new business because of labor limitations.
Disruptions to labor supply are not a new phenomenon; however, industry is dealing with labor shake-ups in nuanced ways. Before, there were far fewer options available to businesses for supplementing a depleted workforce in times of crises. Even as technological advances improved workplace efficiencies, safely integrating rapid deployment solutions was a daunting challenge. Today, because of innovations in robotics, past safety concerns are all but eliminated. While robots will never fully replace humans in the supply chain, they have proven to be a very valuable complement to existing operations, relieving employees of performing mundane, highly technical and physically demanding tasks while also helping organizations improve their bottom line.
