The pick-to-light market was valued at US$409.113 million in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.82% over the forecast period to reach a total market size of US$951.915 million by 2027.
The Pick-to-light systems facilitate sorting and picking operations between shelves and other locations. The use of light-directed picking and putting improves productivity and reduces errors, improving efficiency. With this technology, picking efficiency and accuracy are enhanced, as well as labor costs are reduced.
With pick-to-light, employees perform picking, placing, sorting, and assembly processes using alphanumeric displays at storage locations. Print-and-apply and RF picking applications are included in pick-to-light. In the e-commerce, pharma, and cosmetics industries, picking operations are widely used for order fulfillment.
These are best suited for picking up broken items from cases or pieces. It is expected that the use of pick-to-light for putting operations will gain traction over time. With an increase in the number of warehouses globally, the demand for the pick-to-light systems is expected to spur, thus, booming the market.
An increase of 32% in UK warehouse units has been reported in the past six years. Reports compiled by Savills and commissioned by the UK Warehousing Association (UKWA) said that in 2015 there were 428 million square feet of storage and distribution space. However, by 2021 this figure had risen to 566 million square feet, an increase of 138 million square feet.
As e-commerce evolves, automated warehouses improve productivity, and the online shopping trend grows, the global pick-to-light market is gaining growth. While the market may grow globally, the high capital investment for installation, as well as financial strength for maintenance, may hold it back.
With an increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises using the technology, the industrial revolution in developing countries will create growth opportunities for key market players. In Asia-Pacific, there are more than 98% of enterprises are SMEs. In countries with low income, including India, these services contribute 17% to the national gross domestic product.
In countries with high income, like Malaysia and Singapore, they contribute 40 to 50%. (Source: smefinanceforum.org)
Growth Factors:
Growth of E-commerce:
Modern shopping involves Internet retailing. E-commerce has grown into one of the most important platforms for shopping globally with the increasing penetration of portable devices and internet services.
There is an increase in online suppliers and a shift in the behavior of consumers driving the e-commerce industry. E-commerce has been experiencing a dramatic rise in its share of retail sales from 16 % to 19 % in 2020, according to UNCTAD. By 2020, the top 13 companies will have sold 2.9 trillion dollars in online business-to-consumer (B2C) sales.
Warehouse pickers can easily find things with pick-to-light systems since theming lights indicate where items are or where they should go. E-commerce order fulfillment is especially facilitated by the systems that pick broken cases and pieces. Racks, shelves, picking carts, and even put-walls can be fitted with pick-to-light hardware.
E-commerce order fulfillment is made much more efficient, and operator errors are reduced using pick-to-light technology. In terms of order picking productivity and warehouse management, this type of supply chain technology is very popular. With the rise of warehouse management via rapid global e-commerce expansion, the market for pick-to-order products is likely to boom.
The e-commerce warehouses of multinational brands such as Amazon continue to grow in number. In anticipation of the upcoming festive season, Amazon India has expanded its last-mile delivery network in Bengaluru. This will enable the e-commerce giant to deliver faster across the city ahead of the festival season.
The Amazon-owned and partner delivery stations in Karnataka consist of 130, which is the largest among them. Furthermore, With a new robot fulfillment center in Florida and five new delivery stations, Amazon is putting an additional 18.8 billion into the state
Restraints
High cost:
The pick-to-light-directed system enables only one person at a time to be in a work zone, which reduces potential speed. Due to the fact that the lights are tied to the shelving location, expanding or modifying a pick-to-light system can be expensive and time-consuming. System owners generally have to invest a large amount of capital upfront and maintain them for an extended period. When expanding a business, it will be necessary to acquire more equipment.
COVID-19 Impact on Pick To Light Market:
Despite warehouse automation having gained a steady amount of traction for years, COVID is expected to speed up adoption. In order for warehouses to reclaim floor space and increase the efficiency of their workforce, they will turn to automated storage and retrieval systems to help adjust inventory counts, make space for work in process (WIP), speed order deliveries, and implement social distancing.
In order to meet post-COVID challenges, warehouses need this extra capacity. Due to COVID-19, pick-to-light systems and integrated inventory management software have combined to impact the market positively.
