The latter may be particularly relevant as e-commerce firms grapple with high volumes of returns which need handling, processing and returning to stock. Solutions that can deal with unpredictable quantities of a variety of goods, across multiple floor levels, will surely be of interest to buyers.
There are other aspects to sustainability that are highlighted in our survey.
Our respondents major on the desirable reduction in single use plastic packaging – changes in how products are packaged may have subtle and interesting impacts on how materials handling equipment is designed and implemented.
Will users, for example, be faced with fewer rigid and predictable packages, and more ‘naked’ and vulnerable individual items, and what does this mean for handling equipment?