The robots perform tasks that humans previously performed. The fear is that they are replacing human jobs, eliminating work in distribution centers and elsewhere in the economy. It is not hard to imagine that technology might be a major factor causing persistent unemployment today and threatening “more to come.”

Surprisingly, the managers of distribution centers and supply chains see things rather differently: in surveys they report that they can’t hire enough workers, at least not enough workers who have the necessary skills to deal with new technology. “Supply chain” is the term for the systems used to move products from suppliers to customers. Warehouse robots are not the first technology taking over some of the tasks of supply chain workers, nor are they even seen as the most important technology affecting the industry today.

Information technology has been transforming supply chains for decades, often taking over tasks previously performed by shipping clerks and other workers. Systems track items from source to customer, keeping inventories at optimal levels and minimizing shipping time and cost. RFID (radio frequency identification) tags allow items to be tracked automatically, eliminating much clerical work. These technologies allow today’s retail stores to offer a far more varied selection than in the past, often at lower prices, and to respond quickly to changes in demand. They have changed the retail landscape, for example, powering the growth of Walmart, a pioneer in adopting some of these technologies.

Yet although these technologies eliminated some jobs for clerks and warehouse laborers, they also created new jobs by creating new capabilities. However, these new jobs require specialized skills among both the managers and technicians, who typically have college degrees, as well as among the less educated operational occupations. Workers who have these skills, often learned on the job, are actually in short supply.

Moreover, industry experts see the need for skilled workers increasing in the short run and persisting for at least another decade. Working with industry trade associations, academic experts issued a “U.S. Roadmap for Material Handling and Logistics,” arguing that:

Despite the potential of dramatically improved processes and technology for material handling and logistics systems in the coming years, much of the work in the industry will continue to be done by a human workforce in the year 2025. Moreover, other aspects of this [technology], such as mass personalization, will require levels of operational flexibility that can only be handled by a skilled and creative workforce. In other words, people will continue to be vital to the industry in 2025.

As with weaving and other nineteenth-century technologies, automation of some tasks increases the value of the remaining tasks, even as new or deeper skills are needed. But workers with those skills are not readily available, nor do robust labor markets initially provide the right incentives for workers to acquire those skills. The supply chain industry experts contributing to the U.S. Roadmap report say that a key challenge is to “overcome a perception that joining [the industry] might not result in a career with suitable rewards.”