A companion commentary tied to the same research cycle and published around the same window discusses how automation is finding its stride ahead of major industry events such as Modex 2026. Drawing on the Automation Study and Outlook Survey data, it notes that while near-term spending indicators show some softening and a higher share of organizations adopting a wait-and-see posture, longer-term (two-to-three-year) confidence in materials handling and automation spending has strengthened relative to the previous year. Organizations that are moving forward are committing meaningful capital to automation, software, and robotics aimed at labor constraints, cycle-time pressure, and e-commerce fulfillment demands rather than incremental experiments.
Software and controls—WMS, WCS, labor management, and automated data capture—sit at the center of investment priorities because facilities increasingly recognize that physical automation without strong orchestration and real-time visibility fails to deliver expected throughput. Goods-to-person workflows, piece picking, and pallet movement are expanding from isolated pilots into integrated system strategies. Average anticipated spend has jumped year-over-year even while the median remains modest, underscoring divergence between transformational and incremental approaches.
Safety, growth, cost containment, and labor availability remain core drivers; looking further out, cycle time, training, ergonomics, and operational resilience gain urgency. The overall narrative is one of paced but persistent progress toward more automated, data-rich, and adaptable warehouse operations.