Warehouse Automation: The Solution to 3 Key Operational Challenges

Advancements in automation dramatically reshape the way businesses operate and assess efficiency. With innovations in warehouse automation, the material handling industry is no exception. At Fraza, we help our customers maximize their warehouse space by taking a holistic approach to their facility needs – from their fleet of equipment to their racking and shelving to their loading docks and more.

In the 2025 Automation Solutions Study conducted by Modern Materials Handling, 42% of respondents stated they use a mix of automated and manual process in their warehouse operations. This highlights a clear and undeniable shift toward automation in the industry. With the right material handling partner, pain points in your warehouse operations can now be addressed with innovative automated solutions, improving your efficiency, safety, and bottom line.

Here are some of the challenges our customers currently face, and how we can implement automation to solve them:

1. Labor Shortages

The labor shortage in the warehousing and distribution industry is a challenge many of our customers face. However, there is a silver lining.

In warehouse operations, repetitive tasks present a significant opportunity for automation. Labor-intensive and difficult to staff, these tasks also pose a high risk of avoidable equipment damage and safety hazards for employees. By implementing automation, warehouses can maintain continuous operations, even during staffing shortages, while enhancing efficiency and workplace safety. By leveraging automation, companies can reduce their dependency on manual labor, allowing existing employees to focus on more strategic and higher-value tasks. This not only helps in mitigating the impact of labor shortages but also enhances employee satisfaction and retention.

To learn more about our automated guided vehicle solutions, check out our AGV page.

2. Equipment Downtime

While a proactive approach to service through planned or full maintenance programs can make a huge impact on minimizing downtime, there are warehouse automation solutions that can take your fleet’s efficiency to the next level.

Lithium-ion-powered forklifts and automated vehicles are setting a new standard for proficiency in moving products. Lift trucks powered by lithium-ion technology offer maximum safety and predictability for challenging industrial application profiles. While automation seamlessly integrates into your existing workflow, your operations will become safer and variables impacting your operations, like equipment downtime and staffing issues, will drastically decrease.

3. Inefficient Racking and Shelving Layouts

Addressing labor shortages and minimizing fleet downtime will have limited impact if your warehouse’s racking and shelving layouts are inefficient. An effective racking and shelving system is critical for maximizing storage space in your facility. Automation can also play a significant role in optimizing this part of your warehouse process. Automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) can precisely place and retrieve items, reducing the need for wide aisles and allowing for more dense storage configurations.

There are many warehouse racking solutions that can be customized to your needs – depending on the materials you’re storing and how frequently they’re being moved. Likewise, a variety of automated solutions are available to complement and enhance these systems.

Effectively Implementing Warehouse Automation

The future of warehousing will be driven by advancements in automation technology. If you haven’t already started integrating automated solutions into your business, you’re behind the curve. As warehouse automation continues to evolve, the warehousing industry will become more efficient, resilient, and better equipped to meet changing demands.

As your business adapts to these changes, we’re here to guide you in selecting the right automated products as your trusted material handling solutions partner.

At Fraza, we’re happy to help you make the best automation decisions to improve your efficiency, safety, and bottom line.

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