A new report from Guidehouse Insights examines warehouse management systems (WMS) technology for e-commerce, providing global market forecasts through 2030. In addition to WMS, the report projects increased global investment in associated warehouse operations hardware, such as Wi-Fi 6 deployment, industry IoT (IIoT) hardware, and both fixed and mobile robotics.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated explosive growth in e-commerce retail market share. A large ecosystem of warehouse refurbishment management software providers, new as a service companies, and logistics providers are expanding rapidly to meet demand. New and more efficient technologies are available to reduce energy intensity in this area, leading to operational and energy savings opportunities, and ultimately more sustainable e-commerce growth. According to a new report from Guidehouse Insights, global investment in WMS infrastructure, including on-cloud and on-premise systems, in e-commerce is expected to grow from $6 billion in 2021 to $10.7 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7%.
“Technologies used by decarbonizing solutions in e-commerce warehousing (DSEW) facilitate a new level of warehouse operational efficiency and energy load control,” says Daniel Talero, research analyst with Guidehouse Insights. “This level of efficiency and control is especially valuable in a context where operators need capacity to manage crisis-level demand scenarios for key stock keeping units (SKUs), as was the case in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Market barriers to growth include financial considerations and data security issues, as well as IT and operations technology integration challenges. Despite the outsized market presence of Amazon, e-commerce is a highly fragmented market, particularly in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. There is a large degree of variation in size, regional, and product focus, and in technological sophistication. Many local players do not have strong sustainability targets and may not have the capital for large structural investments in DSEW technologies.
The report, Decarbonized Solutions in e-Commerce Warehousing, provides participants in industrial verticals an overview of WMS technology applied to e-commerce and its newest hardware, software, and related services applications. The report offers an understanding of important market and technology developments and how they affect decarbonization and market participants. All major global regions are included, and market forecasts for the technologies covered extend through 2030.
