Top Stories
How automation affects national productivity
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on November 18, 2021
5 min readLast updated: January 28, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on November 18, 2021
5 min readLast updated: January 28, 2026
Automation boosts supply chain efficiency, yet the UK lags behind. Misconceptions about job threats and costs hinder adoption despite clear benefits.
Automation is changing the way that many key industries function — but evidence would suggest that the UK is yet to get up to speed with the newest technology. In this article, Craig Powell, from supply chain technology partner Balloon One, explores how increasing automation can improve efficiency across the supply chain and boost national productivity.
Technology has advanced leaps and bounds in the last decade alone, and it has become more intertwined with everyday living than ever before. But the latest tech isn’t just a major part of our lives on a personal level — it’s completely transforming industries across the globe, including supply chain logistics.
However, the UK is falling behind in terms of automation in logistics. In fact, our study found that in 2017, the UK logistics industry had just 85 robots per 10,000 workers. To put this in perspective, the Republic of Korea had 710 workers per 10,000, while Singapore had 658.
But what does this lack of automation actually mean for productivity? Read on to discover the reasons why the UK may be lagging behind other countries when it comes to automation in tech, and how you can optimise productivity in your own business using the latest robotics and automation.
While automation has been proven to boost productivity, there are a number of reasons why businesses may be wary of implementing this type of technology. However, these reasons largely stem from misconceptions.
For example, one common misconception that puts businesses off the technology is that automation will impact negatively on current employees, who may feel that tech solutions are a threat to their jobs. But this is far from the truth, as automation is there to help the worker by ridding them of tedious tasks, freeing up their time to spend on more valuable and less mind-numbing work. In fact, a report from the McKinsey Global Institute found that only 5% of jobs can be fully automated, so there will always be room in the industry for both automation technology and humans to work side by side.
Another issue that many businesses have with automation is the cost of implementation. However, in the vast majority of cases, the cost of installing the technology is offset by the subsequent increase in profits thanks to an increase in productivity, making it a cost-effective investment.
Aside from these misconceptions, some businesses don’t invest in automation as they simply don’t see what they can gain from it. However, this technology brings with it numerous benefits, including boosting profits, improving worker safety, and of course, optimising productivity.
Robotics and automated solutions have come leaps and bounds in the past decade, which is great news for businesses looking to invest in automation. There are a number of different types available at every level of the supply chain, including in the warehouse, in transit, and in the office.
There are so many options for automation in the warehouse that will not only keep your workers safe, but improve efficiency and productivity, too. For example, automated warehouse picking systems use robots to help workers pick and retrieve items. This can greatly reduce picking and travelling time for workers, meaning human operatives can be re-deployed to work on more valuable tasks. Automation also eliminates the risk of human error, which may occur more often with repetitive tasks such as picking or labelling.
There are also automation solutions that can be used to support faster, more accurate picking by human operatives, such as pick-to-light systems. Every time an operative scans a barcode, the system activates lights above the items which need to be picked and packed. This is great for preventing workers from getting lost or side-tracked, to help them achieve and surpass their targets.
Transport is a key part of the logistics industry, and over the past few years, fleet managers have greatly benefited from automation. Transport management systems allow for entire journeys to be planned and tracked to ensure that things are running as smoothly and efficiently as they can.
One way transport management systems boost productivity is by helping drivers find the best route for maximum efficiency. It is also possible to track the driver’s journey in real-time, so you can keep an eye out for any issues and see whether targets are being met. And giving drivers handheld devices to automatically capture barcodes, signatures, and any other relevant information will make it quick and easy to fetch information to resolve any customer or client complaints in regards to their delivery.
Automation doesn’t just help when it comes to manual labour in logistics: it can support the administrative side of the industry, too. For example, using document capture to scan and save images of physical documents will help reduce reliance on paper copies, saving physical office space. It can also make it easier to retrieve important pieces of data and information as and when they are needed. Plus, it makes collaboration far easier as sharing the document becomes quick and simple.
There are also plenty of data analysis automation tools out there to help your business grow. These tools can process data far more efficiently and accurately than humans, which gives your workers more time for other tasks. And another bonus is that these tools can be used to predict future demand, which allows you to plan ahead to boost productivity during busy periods (SelectHub).
Automation is changing the supply chain industry as we know it. Now we’ve seen the benefits of this technology, it’s time for UK supply chain businesses to consider getting on board. For more news on all things business and finance, make sure to check out the other articles available at Global Banking and Finance Review.
The article discusses how automation affects national productivity, particularly in the UK's logistics sector.
Misconceptions about job threats and high costs deter UK businesses from adopting automation.
Automation can increase productivity, improve worker safety, and reduce human error in repetitive tasks.
Explore more articles in the Top Stories category
