Businesses have always looked for seamlessness in business processes. When it comes to segments like manufacturing and logistics, a lot modern technologies have found perfect implementations. Material Handling Equipments that are used for various business operations related to manufacturing and logistics are gradually gaining acceptance in the market backed by integration of modern technologies AI, ML and, robotics. Material Handling Equipment Market was worth more than USD 140 billion on a global scale in the year of 2018 and has been forecasted to grow at around 6 percent CAGR between the years of 2019 and 2025.
Material Handling Trends
All business processes are getting advanced with the face of automation and the material handling equipment industry in no exception. Automated systems for material handling are getting implemented in many manufacturing units and well as supply chain processes.
Automated heavy machinery is helping organizations with increased productivity followed by perfect supply chain systems. IoT is perhaps the source technology that has made it possible. Automation seems to simplify business but the backend comprises of very complex operations. Material Handling equipment themselves being complex need a lot of knowledge and expertise to be worked on.
Earlier, material handling equipments needed to be used by people working in the unit. Forklifts and cranes still remain the biggest examples of material handling equipment used by the business ecosystem using manpower. With IoT and automation, there has the emergence of some other advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and robotics that have also facilitated the industry of material handling equipment. Nowadays, we see a lot of warehousing spaces making using of modern material handling equipment. Business processes have become simple and seamless that productivity has increased manifold.
Not only automation, heavy material equipment machinery is also making use of AI and making out the most of technology. Robotics is one of the subjects that is under heavy experimentation under the material handling industry. Companies using advanced robotics to build customized material handling systems and even readymade systems for manufacturing and supply chain units. This has helped industries in increasing productivity spending very less manpower. Machines take care of processes from manufacturing to delivery of product whereas what humans have to do is supervise the functioning of the material handling equipment.
Modern material handling trends have changed the point of view towards warehousing management. Automated material handling processes are being set up in all major warehousing units of the country where machine automation is taking over labour provided by manpower. In many instances, it has been proved that robotic material handling systems perform way better than manpower performance. An integrated approach that includes the usage of technologies like IoT, AI, ML and robotics is slowly and steadily transforming the industry of material handling.
Owing to the huge capital expenditure, the MHE industry wasn’t gaining acceptance in the Asian market and especially in India where cost of labour is minimum. But now, times are changing slowly. With globalisation hitting large markets like India, demand for native products has grown immensely in the international market.
This has inspired businesses to adapt material handling equipment into their business processes. The size of the Indian MHE industry is estimated around Rs 5,000 crore and is likely to grow at 20% year-on-year over the next five years, in keeping with overall economic growth (Source: Project Monitor 2009).
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