8Gujarat Industry ReviewSeptember, 2021The COVID-19 pandemic changed virtually every-thing, and it is the dawning of a new era for e-com-merce companies.As per a recent report, India's e-commerce industry will grow 84% to $111 billion by 2024 as increased demand has been created by the pan-demic. Containment measures introduced millions to the con-venience of online shopping and prompted seasoned online shoppers to buy even more.The pandemic also marked a turning point for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB), especially those which swiftly adjusted to the new e-commerce reality. In a recent survey of SMBsconducted by BizTechInsights on behalf of Zebra Technologies, nearly 70% of respondents said they experienced a significant increase in sales since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic ­ and they want to take ad-vantage of this opportunity. Savvy supply chain companies are exploring new ways to improve operations and are keen to throw out antiquated business models that no longer apply. Forward-thinking in-dustry leaders are embracingthe following three fundamen-tal strategiesto help them thrive in the coming years:1. OPTIMIZING THE SPACE OF WAREHOUSESSay goodbye to yesterday's massive warehouses. Innovative operators are minimizing their warehouse square footage and maximizing the use of inventory space. Newly emerging warehouse automation technologies are proving particularly useful in these scenarios as they are more scalable, flexible and affordable than ever before. Smart fulfillment solutions that leverage a combination of location-based and wearable technologies are enabling work-ers to pick multiple orders at once and replenish products while picking. SMBs are also incorporating robotics automation solu-tions into existing workflows now that the technology is both advancing and becoming easier to deploy. Warehouse opera-tors are increasingly leveraging autonomous mobile robots to HOW SMALL ANDMEDIUM-SIZED BUSINESSES ARE USING TECHNOLOGY DURING COVID-19By Subramaniam Thiruppathi,Country Lead India and Sub- Continent, Zebra Technologies VANTAGE POINTOne interesting example of prescriptive analytics' value proposition is found in loading operationsSubramaniamThiruppathi, Country Lead India and Sub- Continent
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