Adam Waite, Managing Consultant
Warehouse Automation – growing, evolving and developing alongside Industry 4.0
Regardless of sector or product type, the way in which customers are receiving their orders has dramatically changed due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution – better known as Industry 4.0.
Industry 4.0 is moving away from the isolation of stand-alone machines and driving forward the use of modern technology and software allowing sites to communicate in unison. Working with the latest automation allows businesses to grow, evolve and develop every site to be as efficient and productive as possible, ensuring they continue to meet the demands of their customers and don’t fall behind the innovation of their competitors.
“Automated Logistics is a unique and exciting engineering sector. It has touch points across every engineering discipline imaginable from civil engineering through electrical / Mechanical; from fabrication to bespoke machine control; from component & system design to maintenance & repair; all the way to advanced PLC & robotics to software development and data analysis."
Duncan Willcocks, Key Account Manager, KNAPP UK
What is next for the Warehouse Automation industry?
The growth of the industry shows no sign of slowing down and is going from strength to strength. The warehouse automation market in the UK is predicted to grow from $2.05B in 2022 to $3.9B in 2025 (Source: Statistica). This is partly due to the high demand of online ordering and the high street scaling back, a trend we have seen growing for many years and one that has only been heightened due the impact of Covid-19.
What does that mean for your career?
Just like these businesses taking advantage of the thriving Industry 4.0, embarking on a career within Warehouse Automation will cause you to adapt, plan ahead and deal with radical change within the market. In short, stepping into a career within Warehouse Automation will allow you to move with the times and not be left behind.
Thanks to the growth of the industry, there are an incredible amount of progression opportunities available to Engineers at many levels. Many sites have Engineers at all levels, from Automation Assistants, Maintenance Engineers, Deputy Team Leader, Site Supervisors and Engineering Managers.
Past this, there is a wide scope to develop your career further, including Project Management, Installation Teams and Field Service Teams. So you can rest assured that you will never be stuck in a particular role if you want your engineering career to take on new heights.
So, what can you expect?
As highlighted, the world of automation is revolutionising the way Engineers work. This is done through pioneering technology and state of the art machines, including highly automated robotics systems, shuttle systems and auto stores. The day-to-day role of working within automation might be very different to the way other industries work. As it’s a typically a very efficient industry, you will no longer be running off your feet firefighting with loads of reactive maintenance. In contrast, there will be a significant focus on continuous improvement, lean processes and PPM heavy, making sure the sites remain slick and efficient.
“The future is within automation, in 20 years time that’s where the world will be at, and I’ll be keeping up with the latest automation. I love working with a wide range of automation day in day out and it’s a really exciting and varied role. I get lots of long term security and lots of training on the latest automation.”
Imran Khan, Maintenance Engineer, KNAPP UK
(Previously worked in Automotive/Heavy industry as a Brick Manufacturer)
Kickstart your career in Warehouse Automation
As the Warehouse Automation sector has grown, we have grown with it, developing strong relationships with a number of OEM's as well as many of the UK's biggest end users. Not only do we know the market inside out, we also have an in-depth understanding of the equipment you use. Having undergone hundreds of site visits across the UK, we know what high bay cranes, overhead cranes and Pick and Place Robots look like. If you are interested in a career within Warehouse Automation or want to understand more about this thriving industry, please get in touch with our Managing Consultant Adam Waite using the information below.
Email: adam.waite@ata-recruitment.co.uk
Phone: 07787 289 281
LinkedIn: Connect with Adam on Linkedin
Subscribe to Our Blog