Voice Directed Warehousing Solution Market

About the Report

Introduction of voice-directed warehousing technology has transformed the ways in which products are handled at warehouses. Voice-directed warehousing is a paperless and hands-free system that employs easily understandable voice commands to direct warehouse workers to picking locations, and to instruct them in picking tasks. Advantages of voice-directed warehousing over traditional warehousing techniques open plenty of opportunities for industry verticals, such as food and beverages, retail, e-Commerce, and pharmaceuticals, among others, for higher efficiency. Continuous innovations and upgrades made in voice-directed warehousing services can help attract a wide range of customers operating across different industry verticals.

Persistence Market Research’s revised study covers comprehensive insights about market trends, value (US$ Mn) projections, recent developments, and dynamics in the voice-directed warehousing solution market for the forecast period of 2021-2031. After the unprecedented events of 2020, it has become important to capture the impact of COVID-19 and recalibrate our findings with the actual market scenario. The report tracks the global value of voice-directed warehousing solutions in 20+ high-growth markets, where demand seems to be high across North America, East Asia and Europe.

Future Market Projections Look Bright

In this market study, the global voice-directed warehousing solution market is anticipated to witness high growth in revenue from around US$ 1.4 Bn in 2020 to US$ 4.8 Bn by 2031. The market is anticipated to gain traction over the coming years owing to constant focus on innovations in the warehousing industry and rising demand for flexible warehousing management solutions.

Currently, manufacturers across a broad spectrum of industries, including electrical & electronics, food & beverages, pharmaceuticals, retail, e-Commerce, CPG, and transportation & logistics, among others, are all actively piloting and using voice-directed warehousing technologies. Demand is expected to increase further with rising need for efficiency, accuracy, and safety. Owing to these factors, demand for voice-directed warehousing solutions is likely to surge an impressive CAGR of around 12% throughout the 2021-2031 assessment period.

How is Improved Productivity and Decreased Training Time Propelling Demand for Voice-Directed Warehousing Solutions?

The warehousing and distribution industry has been ahead of the curve in using voice technology to automate manual tasks. However, early adopters of voice-directed technology in warehousing have to work around the limitations of the speech recognition technology. Core benefits of voice-directed warehousing solutions include increased productivity, reduced errors, ensured safety, and decreased training time. Voice-directed warehousing technology is increasingly being used across different industry verticals, including retail, e-Commerce, CPG, pharmaceuticals, transportation, and food & beverages, among others.

Voice-directed picking technology is set to transform the supply chain industry while efficiently upgrading the mechanics of distribution centers and warehouses. Increasing innovations such as pick to light and voice-directed solutions in the warehousing industry are further responsible for driving demand for voice-directed warehousing solutions. Apart from the less cumbersome picking process, voice-directed warehousing technology also ensures better safety and damage control practices. Moreover, the market is expected to experience significant growth over the forecast period due to reduction in training times and improved accuracy.

How are Increasing Partnerships & Collaborations Supporting Market Expansion?

Over a period of time, it has been seen that, voice-directed warehousing solution providers are entering into partnerships & collaborations with regional players and software vendors to enhance and jointly develop their product portfolios, especially meant to fulfill growing demand for advanced voice-directed warehousing technology around the globe, and provide customers with swift access to voice-directed warehousing solutions.

For instance, in October 2017, Dematic entered into a collaboration with Vuzix Corporation, a multinational technology firm. Through this partnership, Dematic became a distributor of Vuzix Smart Glasses in Australia and New Zealand. These smart glasses combine features of a voice picking system, a barcode scanner, and a vision picking system. The system shall be responsible for creating more choices for Dematic’s customers, and shall further help in optimizing order fulfilment.

Which Factors are Affecting Adoption of Voice-directed Warehousing Solutions?

Increased security coupled with real-time business intelligence are major factors responsible for driving the demand for voice-directed warehousing solutions. Moreover, growth is largely driven by automation in systems. These programmed systems guide the replenishment of stores, order-fulfilment, packing & loading, put-away of goods, and simple to complex order picking workflows. Since these systems allow the automation of a wide range of mobile tasks and workflows, they help handle issues such as the shortage of goods as well as increase the capabilities of voice technology.

Apart from this, installation of new voice-directed warehousing systems involve high costs. Due to budget constraints, various small- and medium-sized companies are reluctant in adopting voice-directed warehousing systems, which is one of the main reasons hampering market progress. Moreover, complexity in integration of new technologies within existing infrastructure and lack of system understanding are some of the other aspects challenging the growth of the global market for voice-directed warehousing solutions.

Market Share Analysis

The voice-directed warehousing solution market is expected to be fragmented over the coming years. This high fragmentation is due to revenue generated by new companies and other established small- and medium-sized voice-directed warehousing solution providers. Market leaders are those that individually hold a market share of above 10%, and this group comprises key players such as Honeywell International Inc., Zebra Technologies Corporation, and Dematic Corporation.

Companies with a market share of over 5% and below 10% are promising players. These companies are likely to showcase quick growth and harness the opportunities that the global market has to. This category consists of companies such as Voiteq Ltd., Ehrhardt + Partner Solutions Limited, LUCAS SYSTEMS, and Voxware, Inc.

Companies that have a relatively lower share worth less than 5% are striving to attract new clients in foreign markets. Such emerging players are HighJump Software Inc., Symphony EYC Solution UK Ltd., Blue Horseshoe Solutions, Inc., BEC (Systems Integration) Ltd., and Proteus Software Ltd., among others.

Country-wise Insights

Why is there Increasing Demand for Automation in Germany?

As the world is becoming more digital and connected in nature, demand for automation of tasks and workflows is no longer an exception. The German economy has been driving automation significantly, and happens to be the most highly automated economy in the European Union. Voice-directed warehousing solutions in Germany are driven by automation in systems. These programmed systems guide replenishment of store, order-fulfillment, packing or loading, put-away of goods, and simple to complex order picking workflow.

Moreover, integration of new technologies within existing infrastructure is a major concern for players in the voice-directed warehousing solutions market. Existing infrastructure is not likely to support new technologies such as artificial intelligence, sensors, barcode scanners, voice synthesis, and recognition, among others, which has created the necessity for the replacement of old infrastructure with new infrastructure.

Is Digital Transformation and Growth of e-Commerce Driving Demand for Voice-Directed Warehousing Solutions in the United States?

Digital transformation is reforming some of the business activities that are likely to transform business processes and provide new revenue models for voice-directed warehousing solutions with the help of digital technologies. Rising traction of digital transformation across various industries such as electrical & electronics, food & beverages, retail, and transportation & logistics are creating potential opportunities for voice-directed warehousing solution providers.

There has been a growing trend of online shopping in the U.S. As such, there arises the need to maintain huge inventory and the restocking of it. To cope with the problem of efficient warehouse management, companies in the country are working on making voice recognition more effective. With the recent release of Lydia Voice 8 system, Ehrhardt + Partner Solutions Limited has added neural network technology to improve voice recognition performance. This helps in making the voice-directed warehousing solution more accurate and flexible for workers. Moreover, introduction of voice-directed warehousing technology helps in addressing challenges associated with productivity and human errors, and offers enhanced productivity. Demand in the U.S. is projected to surge at a CAGR of around 12% through 2031.

Category-wise Insights

Which Industry Holds the Largest Share in Voice-Directed Warehousing Solutions?

Among all the industries, retail, e-Commerce, and CPG hold substantial market shares, as voice-directed warehousing solutions are widely used to read instructions and scan barcodes or key-enter information to confirm tasks. They are also used to confirm locations and quantities of products. Centralization of logistic operations, for example, has dramatically increased the number of SKUs stored in a warehouse or distribution center to tens of thousands. The sub-segment is anticipated to expand at a high CAGR of close to 12% over the forecast period, and is anticipated to create an incremental opportunity of close to US$ 3.3 Bn from 2021 to 2031.

Why there is High Demand for Voice-Directed Warehousing Solutions from the Retail Industry?

There is increasing adoption of voice-directed warehouse solutions in the retail sector to minimize training time, improve customer satisfaction, and provide a higher return on investment. There are four major types of order picking, namely, paper?based picking, RF picking, voice picking, and picking?to?light. Customers need to choose the right type of model as per their warehouse requirements. Voice-directed warehousing solutions are well-suited for warehouses that are equipped to handle a large number of SKUs.

Retailers are required to push products through their warehouses quickly. As a company grows, the size and speed of inventory operations increase. Voice-directed technology enables companies to operate faster while performing picking tasks. In addition, by implementing voice-directed warehousing solutions, time required for arranging the inventory is considerably reduced, with a significant reduction in errors and enhanced productivity. Therefore, retail, e-Commerce, and CPG industries are estimated to continue recording high adoption of voice-directed warehousing solutions throughout the forecast period.

Why are Key Players Continuously Focusing on Operational Expansion?

The market is very competitive due to the presence of a large number of players. Therefore, companies are focusing on expanding their production capacities and enhancing capabilities in order to gain a competitive advantage in this space. Voice-directed warehousing solution vendors are offering innovative products in order to provide the best platforms for customers according to their warehousing needs. In addition, players are also focusing on expanding their presence in order to serve increasing consumer needs. For instance, in July 2017, Dematic Corporation opened a state-of-the-art headquarter for Northern Europe. The company moved from Banbury to Adderbury, in the Oxfordshire countryside. The new office has many modern technologies that will help it integrate Industry 4.0. automation, artificial intelligence, and robotics in its voice to pick technology and other product offerings, so as to cater to increasing demand across Northern Europe.

Competitive Landscape

Market players are relying on expansion strategies to deepen penetration across lucrative markets. These include collaboration with key players, product innovation, acquisitions partnerships, and strengthening of regional and global distribution networks.

Retail is the most attractive industry for voice-directed warehousing solutions. Rapid adoption of voice-directed warehousing solutions in the retail industry to reduce training time, increase customer satisfaction, and offer high return on investment are factors supporting high growth.

For instance, in May 2019, Voiteq entered into a partnership agreement with Card Factory, a retailer of greeting cards and gifts in the United Kingdom, to implement VoiceMan Warehouse Execution System. Both companies are working in partnership with each other and are preparing for the implementation of the next phase of gift picking.

Some of the leading companies providing voice-directed warehousing solutions are:

• Honeywell International Inc.
• Dematic Corporation
• Voiteq Ltd.
• Zebra Technologies Corporation
• Ehrhardt + Partner Solutions Limited
• LUCAS SYSTEMS
• Voxware, Inc.
• Speech Interface Design
• Zetes Industries S.A.
• Ivanti Software Inc.
• BEC (Systems Integration) Ltd.
• Blue Horseshoe Solutions, Inc.
• Symphony EYC Solution UK Ltd.
• HighJump Software Inc.

*The list is not exhaustive, and only for representational purposes. Full competitive intelligence shall be available in the report.

Report Scope

Key Questions Answered in Report

• How will the voice-directed warehousing solution market expand until 2031?

Persistence Market Research projects the market to register a CAGR worth 12% across the 2021-2031 assessment period. Continuous innovations and upgrades made in product portfolios can help attract a wide range of customers operating in different industry verticals.

• What are the major challenges for voice-directed warehousing solution providers?

Due to lack of budget, various small- and medium-sized companies are reluctant to adopt voice-directed warehousing solutions, which is one of the major factors hampering market growth.

• Who are the leading players providing voice-directed warehousing solutions?

Prominent players operating in this space include Honeywell International Inc., Dematic Corporation, Voiteq Ltd. (aquired by Korber), Zebra Technologies Corporation, Ehrhardt + Partner Solutions Limited, LUCAS SYSTEMS, Voxware, Inc., Speech Interface Design, Zetes Industries S.A., and Ivanti Software Inc., among others.

• What are the major trends impacting market growth?

Continuous growth in demand for products with complex designs is bolstering demand for voice-directed warehousing technology.

• Which region is expected to be at the forefront in this market?

North America is dominating the global market; however, the market in East Asia is anticipated to expand at a significant rate over the forecast period. East Asia is expected to remain a key market, as enhanced warehousing and supply chain realignment are boosting market growth in the region.

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