Material handling is a more complicated process than it may initially seem. While the workflow itself may be fairly straightforward, finding the optimal way to manage it is often less so. Many facilities follow an entirely manual approach, while others pursue automation, but the best option may not lie exclusively with either side.

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Supply chain operations are on the cusp of a technological revolution. Robotics and other Industry 4.0 technologies promise to make the sector more efficient, but fears over job losses, safety and largely untested innovations remain. However, a new shift is growing across material handling processes, which could signify a broader change for tomorrow’s supply chains.

The Issue of Manual Material Handling

Automation is nothing new to industrial sectors, but material handling has remained a mostly manual workflow despite rapid innovation. Up to 80% of global warehouses rely on manual picking methods, and that does not include similar processes in manufacturing facilities. As widespread as this approach may be, it has several flaws.

First, manual material handling is slow. Humans can only carry so much, and even using a forklift or pallet jack takes time because workers must stop to load and unload them. Moving these loads throughout a large warehouse or factory is similarly inefficient.

Secondly, this work’s repetitive motion and heavy loads risk injuries. The transportation and warehousing industry has the highest injury rate of any sector, and ergonomic incidents are the biggest cause of these issues. Even when workers do not carry heavy objects, repeatedly picking things up or bending down can lead to slowly developing musculoskeletal problems.

As with other industrial roles, material handling also faces labor constraints. Demand is rising, but the sector’s talent pool has not grown alongside it. Consequently, many companies find themselves without a large enough workforce to scale as they would like.

Conventional Robots: An Imperfect Solution

Automation seems like the ideal answer at first. After all, an automated material handling workflow will minimize the impact of a labor shortage and remove the risk of musculoskeletal injuries. However, conventional robots have a few notable downsides of their own.

Machines may present a trade-off between safety and efficiency. Systems like conveyors and rails are the lowest-risk material handling solutions because they do not move as quickly and present no drop hazards, but they may be slower than automated guided vehicles or robotic cranes. A robot may be able to carry a heavy load faster than a human or a manually operated forklift, but that speed raises collision concerns.

Conventional automation is also inflexible. While robots are typically faster than humans, they are less adaptable. That lack of flexibility can lead to longer downtime and disruption when unexpected changes arise or a facility wants to adjust its operations.

Costs and complexity can pose further issues. Logistics organizations plan to allot 30% of their capital spending toward automation in the coming years, raising substantial financial stakes. Any delayed returns on investment, downtime from technical issues or similar disruptions may create significant cost concerns amid this trend.

The Promise of a Hybrid Workforce

As more businesses have recognized the imperfections of both material handling approaches, a new solution has emerged. Collaborative robots — or cobots — automate some tasks while being specifically designed to work alongside humans in a hybrid, instead of entirely automated, workflow.

Human-robot collaboration combines employees’ flexibility with robots’ efficiency. Early trials show that implementing cobots in material handling reduces picking time by 3.6%, and greater improvements are likely possible as technology improves and organizations learn the optimal way to balance tasks between workers and bots.

Because cobots are meant to work with humans instead of replacing them, they typically come with more safety features, too. These may include fewer pinch points, more robust navigation systems to prevent collisions or warning signals as they move to enhance situational awareness. As a result, warehouses can capitalize on robotic speed without sacrificing worker safety.

A hybrid workforce may also minimize some cost concerns. Cobots still incur high upfront expenses, but facilities will not need to dramatically change an entire workflow at once to implement them. Slower adoption and adaptation are possible, enabling a steady rollout to spread out the costs and ensure a strong ROI.

There are still barriers to overcome. Cobots accounted for just 11.6% of robot orders in the first quarter of 2025, and their relative newness means companies may be less familiar with how best to balance tasks between them and employees. However, as the market matures and real-world implementation grows, the optimal path forward will become increasingly clear.

The Future of Material Handling Lies With Cobots

Manual material handling is too injury-prone and slow to meet modern demands. Fully automated alternatives are too inflexible and difficult to capitalize on. Given these considerations, a hybrid approach is the best way to proceed.

Cobots allow material handling processes to use both human employees and machines to their fullest potential. No one side is better than the other. Instead, they each have unique strengths and weaknesses, so combining them is an ideal solution.