Handheld Device Shipments in Warehousing Drop Over 18%, But the Impact Remains Isolated

Major providers of handheld devices for warehouse inventory management saw double-digit drops in sales through 2023, but deployments of automated systems continue to rise. According to global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, device shipments for warehousing applications dropped by as much as 18% from 2022 to 2023, while global Automated Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS) revenues are expected to continue their growth at a CAGR of 10% to 2032.

“The downturn in shipments of handheld devices has been attributed to several macroeconomic factors, most notably increased borrowing costs and an overall soft goods economy. But the drop does not represent the broader industry, with revenues from software providers and automated system vendors growing as standardization and modularity open access to advanced picking systems for more companies,” explains Ryan Wiggin, Supply Chain Management & Logistics Industry Analyst at ABI Research.

Zebra Technologies, Datalogic, and Honeywell reported drops in sales of devices across all regions, with some experiencing over a 20% drop compared to the previous year, despite other areas of the business experiencing growth. ABI Research does not expect global device shipments to reach 2022 levels until at least 2026.

While macroeconomic headwinds did disrupt investment levels, AS/RS providers, including AutoStore, Exotec, and OPEX, continue to see rising shipments of solutions. The industry has shifted its focus from innovation to implementation, creating more standardized, cheaper, and more scalable systems and developing partnerships with system integrators such as Dematic, Bastian Solutions, and Vanderlande to remedy implementation challenges. The cost of robotic cube storage AS/RSs is expected to drop consistently at a CAGR of -3.8% to 2032.

“The warehousing sector is a mixture of both mature and emerging solutions, with many providers balancing the need to innovate their portfolio while also finding ways to support implementation. Diversification can be one avenue to open new revenue streams for providers of maturing technologies, such as handheld devices. Still, longer-term growth must be supported by improving accompanying software packages that deliver deeper analytics and workforce execution capabilities. For providers of automated solutions coming down from early hype cycles, strategic partnerships with system integrators and a focus on standardization to reduce CapEx are essential to overcome barriers to adoption for most end users,” Wiggin concludes.

These findings are from ABI Research’s Smart Warehousing Market Data Overview report. This report is part of the company’s Supply Chain Management and Logistics research service, which includes research, data, and ABI Insights.