Page 3 - CBM22

~ Welcome ~

FOREWORD

too have to invest in cost flexibilisation. That’s non-negotiable
if they want to survive.

New automation opportunities
Automation is critical here. Until a few years ago, the tech
was expensive, and the possibilities limited. Most investments
were based on the maximum expected peak capacity, but the
infrastructure itself was lacking in flexibility. Often, the money
was spent on a sorter, a huge conveyor that takes up a lot of
space, offers few up or downscaling opportunities and demands
a big investment.

Now technological development has accelerated, opening up
new dynamic—and more affordable—solutions. The need for
flexibility, paired with labour shortages, incentivises warehouses
to automate and robotise all processes that meet the criteria. The
rise of autonomous mobile robots and goods-to-person systems
“IS THE FAIRY TALE OVER?” is driving this revolution. They offer flexible, accessible solutions
to respond to various challenges, including capacity, turnaround
trange things are happening in the international time and staff shortages.
e-commerce market. Online sales have dropped
Sfor the first time in history. Have we reached peak More robots
online? Is the fairy tale over? It’s too soon to say. But the bpostgroup subsidiary Radial is already highly automated in
increased volatility in the market is sure to have an impact North America. In Radial Europe, next to the automated site
on the logistics industry. Flexibility will be key. in Germany, Radial is further automating in Poland and has
ordered its first wave goods to man robots for the Netherlands.
The lockdowns in 2020 and early 2021 gave e-commerce We can now achieve much more than we could with past
worldwide a huge lift. Growth slowed towards the end of systems and at a fraction of the outlay. There are so many
2021. But virtually all countries are now seeing volumes slide. advantages: a shorter implementation time, better scalability,
Global revenue from online sales has shrunk 3% this year lower demands in terms of space, and fewer demanding,
compared with the same period in 2021. The decline was even repetitive tasks for staff, who are freed up to add more value.
more marked in Europe at -13%.
Flexibilisation will be key
The question is whether this fall in turnover is structural or Looking to the future, the solution for e-commerce companies is
cyclical. The latter is most likely. This presumably has to do to maximise the flexibility of their capacity and make their costs
with the sudden hike in inflation and rising energy prices. as controllable as possible. The need for fulfilment centres that
Consumer purchasing power is falling, leading to a dip in harness the benefits of scalable goods-to-person technology is
spending. The bigger fall in Europe is likely due to the war in plain for everyone to see. Flexibilisation will be key over the next
Ukraine. few months and years. The market is advised to gear up now.

Each of these factors is basically strong enough to lead to Dries De Love
stagnation. Add them all together, and you get a downswing. Executive Vice President, Europe, Radial, a bpost company
No one knows whether this will end soon, but a rebound is
not on the cards in the short term. Even Amazon’s share price
has taken a hit, which tells you everything you need to know.
Fact is, when the e-commerce market was on the up, many
companies invested in their logistics machinery, especially
warehouse capacity and automation. The volatility of demand
and the speed of change mean that - more than ever - they

goglobalecommerce.com 3