The Future of Warehousing and Fulfillment

The more things stay the same, the more they change. It’s an old adage, steeped in some decrepitude wisdom. Anyone who has worked in warehouse fulfillment recognizes the deeper meaning.

Even a static system isn’t static, it is merely stable in the face of numerous pressures and conditions. The future of warehousing and fulfillment needs to embrace this concept. Everything that exists will stay in place and everything in place will continue to change.

Predictions of market changes, fulfillment profiles, processes, and pressures all evolve by inches. That’s why we at Pop.Capacity keep appraised of changes in industry, demand, and technology to power our fulfillment.

Specifically, warehouse operations are facing pressures to keep more space open, hold materials longer, all while deploying stock quicker.

Rising to meet these challenges are innovations in analytics, tracking, and automation.

Online marketplaces continue to dominate the retail world. This provides two separate challenges for warehousing and fulfillment.

Both of these issues require warehouses to have stock available to pull at a moment’s notice, making shifting of cargo into term storage difficult.

With so many vendors, retailers, and suppliers all requiring their stock to be considered top priority access systems need to be more responsive than ever.

Retailers increasingly demand overlapping fulfillment avenues to ensure rapid delivery, with 79 percent opting not to work with a solo supplier.

Both of these issues require warehouses to have stock available to pull at a moment’s notice, making shifting of cargo into term storage difficult.

With so many vendors, retailers, and suppliers all requiring their stock to be considered top priority access systems need to be more responsive than ever.

Retailers increasingly demand overlapping fulfillment avenues to ensure rapid delivery, with 79 percent opting not to work with a solo supplier.

Tracking needs to perform a two-fold purpose as well. Retailers and customers alike prefer real-time tracking updates.

This comes from a backlash against damaged goods and slow delivery. In 2017, 70 percent of consumers lamented lost or late packages.

Meeting these challenges is possible but doing so economically is another story.

The first stop for improved fulfillment has long been automation. More of the work done by machine means more work with a tangible price attached.

Automation only works when implemented according to strong analytics.

The key to all other innovations is knowing where any given item at all times.

Tracking is a huge benefit to retailers/consumers but also creates vulnerabilities within fulfillment processes.

The most powerful tool in the future of warehousing is the analytic data produced every day. Optimization of picking, storage, and transportation needs to be constantly evaluated.

With current big data, analytics can predict what will be ordered and where it is likely to be needed ahead of time. The accuracy of these predictions allows floor space to be measured and dedicated to the fastest changeovers.

Embracing the future of warehousing and fulfillment means relying on industry leaders to see the problems of the future and build up the techniques of today.

Contact us for more information on how our fulfillment network does both.