Increase in Patent Applications for Automation in Logistics Management: 'Smart Logistics Warehouses'

Trends in Patent Applications Related to Logistics Warehouse Automation. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Patent applications related to ‘smart logistics warehouses’ that automate the entire process of logistics including receiving, storage, and shipping are increasing.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office on the 27th, patent applications related to logistics warehouse automation increased from 44 cases in 2015 to 66 cases in 2019, showing an average annual growth rate of 10.7% over the past five years.

By technology type, technologies related to inbound and outbound operations that move goods to and from shelves accounted for the largest share with 121 cases (44% of the total).

Following were shelf and rack-related technologies where goods are stacked and stored with 71 cases (26%), picking-related technologies for storing and retrieving goods from shelves with 55 cases (20%), and inventory management technologies that automatically store and manage product information with 24 cases (8%).

From 2015 to 2019, patents related to smart logistics warehouses were filed by domestic applicants with 163 cases (59%) and foreign applicants with 113 cases (41%).

Among domestic applicants, small and medium-sized enterprises accounted for 83 cases, representing 30% of the total, followed by individuals with 54 cases (19%), universities and research institutes with 16 cases (6%), and large corporations with 10 cases (4%).

Yu Jun, Head of the Transportation Machinery Examination Division at the Korean Intellectual Property Office, said, “As the need for efficient logistics management has recently been emphasized, the government is also strengthening certification and support for ‘smart logistics warehouses’ as part of the Digital New Deal.” He added, “Considering this trend, it is expected that automation technologies for logistics warehouses and related patent applications will continue to grow rapidly for the time being.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.