New Delhi, Nov 23 (IANS): About 70 per cent of Indian and Asia Pacific (APAC) warehouse decision-makers planning to automate workflows by 2024 for more customer-centric tasks, a new report said on Thursday.

According to Zebra Technologies, nearly 58 per cent of warehouse decision-makers plan to deploy radio frequency identification (RFID) technology by 2028, which will help increase inventory visibility and reduce out-of-stocks.

In addition, 84 per cent of Indian and APAC warehouse leaders emphasize tech adoption like robotics for employee retention amid labour shortages.

"Warehouse operators must embrace best-in-class technological solutions to enhance operational efficiency, agility, and real-time decision-making during such high-demand times. This involves modernizing operations to manage returns effectively, improve inventory visibility, and enhance demand forecasting," said Rajnish Gupta, VP of India and Subcontinent, Zebra Technologies.

At a global level, 73 per cent of warehouse decision-makers have or will be accelerating timelines of modernisation projects, with decision-makers in APAC similarly aligned at 69 per cent.

According to the report, this should help with returns management which climbed to the top operational challenge cited by nearly half of warehouse decision-makers surveyed (47 per cent globally, 40 per cent in APAC).

Almost half of warehouse decision-makers feel automation improves worker efficiency and productivity by lowering manual picking, order errors, and cycle time.

Meanwhile, around eight in 10 warehouse associates globally (81 per cent) and in APAC (78 per cent) believe that adopting more technology and automation helps them meet or surpass productivity targets.