The definition of a warehouse is evolving rapidly, and automation must keep pace with the change, says Jayesh Mehta, industry group manager with MHI. 

The role of automation in warehouse operations has been radically altered over the last couple of years, in line with consumers’ changing buying habits. The pandemic has resulted in a marked shift toward online buying, requiring new distribution strategies.

Shipments of product that once went to distribution centers now are instead going to directly to stores or shoppers’ homes. That trend has led to the development of micro-fulfillment centers, which are effectively mini-warehouses located in much smaller spaces, often in retail stores. Distributors must adopt systems that can handle products in much smaller lots, as opposed to the bulk shipments and pallets that typify a traditional warehouse operation.

The evolution of distribution was underway even before the pandemic hit, Mehta notes, but was greatly accelerated by the changes wrought by COVID-19. “What constitutes a warehouse today is changing and broadening,” he says. “Automation is exploding so much, and demand has put a strain on supply.”

To keep pace with these changes, Mehta says, distribution software needs to become much more sophisticated, embracing artificial intelligence and supporting robots and other forms of warehouse automation.

The key to today’s automation is flexibility. Systems must be able to adjust to any number of supply disruptions, as well as seasonal peaks and valleys in demand.

Obstacles remain, however, as warehouses struggle to receive material-handling hardware produced overseas and delayed at ports and elsewhere in the supply chain due to severe systemic congestion. Ironically, much of the equipment that’s required to speed up the fulfillment of orders slowed by the current mess is itself hung up on ships, outside ports and in distribution facilities.