Expert: “Robots in warehouses will not replace people, but will change their tasks”

In the coming years, the warehouses of Russian companies can seriously change. Almost 90% of medium and large enterprises from the E-Commerce spheres, logistics and retail are planning to introduce mobile robots, and more than 70% of them intend to use ten or more such machines at once. This follows from a study conducted by Yandex Robotics and Industrial Robotics.

Alexei Skrynnik, head of the RL Agents scientific group Laboratory of Cognitive Systems of the Airi Institute, believes that robotization of warehouses is becoming a necessary step for business.

Robots take on the implementation of repeated and monotonous operations, and this leads to a decrease in the number of errors, especially in processes such as sorting and assembly of packages.

The study shows that companies have already begun preparations for an active transition to automated technologies. Almost 80% of respondents created internal teams in robotics, and almost half has already allocated budgets for this. In 2025, 43% of respondents plan to implement from two to five projects to introduce robotics, and 18% – more than ten.

The key reasons for such an interest in business automation were the need to increase work efficiency and lack of personnel. More and more companies admit that it becomes more difficult to cope with the volume of orders and logistics tasks without automation.

Skrynnik notes that the introduction of robots will not fully exclude the participation of a person.

Wareh employees will more often control the work of robots, solve non -standard situations and manage systems. This will require training in technical skills.

Robots, according to the expert, will help redistribute the load: heavy and repeating operations will go to the cars, and employees will be able to focus on more important and non -standard tasks, for example, checking damaged goods or managing the system. At the same time, the requirements for staff qualifications will change. There will be a need for new specialists – from adjusters to programmers and operators of robotic systems.

In addition, business will have to adapt the infrastructure itself. For the full operation of automated solutions, warehouses with another logistics and layout are needed. This means that companies will design new facilities or rebuild the old ones.

The massive introduction of robots in warehouses in Russia can be considered the beginning of the transformation of the entire industry. It is not only about saving resources, but also about training, changes in processes and infrastructure.