The New Year is when all kinds of predictions surface on the hot-button warehouse automation technologies to watch over the next 12 months. Will 2026 be the year that goods-to-person automation systems start to see more “goods-to-robot” setups with a smart robotic picking arm rather than a human picker at the workstation? Will humanoid robots begin proving their worth, beyond pilot projects?
Those are both valid questions to ponder, but they are each pegged to a specific technology. The bigger issue in warehouse automation is this: What do we humans need to do to more effectively deploy advanced intralogistics automation solutions, and maximize their value over the long-term?
Think of it as the human element involved in robotics and warehouse automation, or simply a best-practices approach to scoping and improving implementations over the lifecycle.
The indicators are that more warehouses will be leveraging warehouse robotics, but that humans will still be very much involved in managing the robots. Last summer, analyst company Gartner predicted that by 2030, 80% of humans in warehouses will engage with smart robots on a daily basis, and one in 20 supply chain managers will manage robots, rather than humans, by 2030.
This rapid transformation of fulfillment systems will call for a heavy dose of change management, new skill sets for managers, and upskilling opportunities all around, says Abdil Tunca, Gartner senior principal analyst for Supply Chain Warehouse Automation, Robotics, and AI in Logistics. Tunca points out that robots will automate select tasks, but jobs for humans will continue, including human skills to ensure that robotic systems hum along at full productivity.
“I think managers will need new skills for robotics, like data analysis, or cybersecurity best practices, and first and foremost, change management skills,” says Tunca.
Gartner suggests companies consider establishing robotics competency centers to drive successful adoption, and think through management of the entire robotics journey, from knowledge gathering to deployment, support, and maintenance.
“I think it all starts with the mindset you wish to communicate,” says Tunca. “You’ve got to introduce robots as teammates and not as threats. And consider letting your best people help train the robots—that gives them ownership and confidence in the solutions being put in place.”
Another source I checked with for best practices on how to get the most out of the latest new systems is Zion Solutions Group, a systems integrator. Systems integrators have long been involved in designing systems that align with a company’s supply chain strategy, as well as integrating subsystems together. However, as Jim Shaw, president and co-founder of Zion Solutions Group sees it, as warehouse automation systems become more complex, so does the automation journey. There is plenty of change management with frontline workforce, and also the need to assess business growth scenarios, likely changes in channels, in order mix, and in order volume over the lifespan of new systems. It may be that a phased approach to advanced automaton is a good path, adds Shaw, to avoid overbuilding a system initially.
Another fundamental best practice is to think through how a system will be maintained. Shaw points out the latest generation of modular goods-to-person automation and warehouse robotics, while highly productive, tend to be more complex than versus previous generations of warehouse systems.
“You need to consider the concept of ownership of a system,” says Shaw. “Rack is static, so you don’t need someone putting eyes on it every day, but once you start getting into automation like conveyor systems, you may need to take ownership of it at some level, like having your maintenance team follow a PM [planned maintenance] schedule. I think the new automation just brings with it a faster cycle of needing to take ownership over it. This can be flexible. If a customer isn’t comfortable maintaining and monitoring everything, there are systems integrators or OEM teams which can help.”
Some end-user companies deploying the latest in automation don’t want to become experts in maintaining the new systems, and would rather stay focused on their core fulfillment expertise, adds Drew Eubank, a cofounder, and executive VP of Execution and Customer Experience at Zion Solutions Group. The choice to outsource maintenance is fine, adds Eubank, but operators at least should know when issues need to be escalated to keep the systems running smoothly. “You will want to have teammates on the floor with some basic problem-solving skills for running new systems—it just makes them better operators, and creates more trust in the new system, whatever that technology may be.”
For managers, an increasingly important skill is knowing how to use the performance management dashboards that typically get installed with advanced automation. “The software is just as important as the hardware,” says Eubank. “First, you need to ensure a robust, properly designed software integration so that the system work well in the first place, otherwise all you have is a hunk of metal. You also need to know what story those dashboards are telling. If there is a yellow flag on throughput over here, what is the first thing to check, and then, what is the second thing to check. It’s all part of understanding how these system work.”
Warehouse automation is evolving quickly, and there are many robotic and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that will grab attention in 2026, but the fundamentals of properly scoping and maintaining systems will never go out of style. In November of 2025, DHL Supply Chain released a survey which found that 44% of participants had deployed warehouse robotics, but that only 34% of VP and Director level executives were fully satisfied with their use of the technologies. As the report noted, this finding indicates “potential challenges with identifying high-value use cases and successfully implementing and scaling robotic technologies.”
My take is that 2026 is going to have plenty of enticing robotic solutions to consider, but it should also be year for renewed focus on the fundamentals of system planning, on change management, and on taking a lifecycle approach to whatever get rolled out.
link