"Agility" is a favorite buzzword of logistics providers, especially when it comes to warehouse operations. Ken Ramoutar, chief marketing officer of Lucas Systems, explains what the concept really entails.

“Dynamic” and “agile” are two of the biggest buzzwords these days in the world of logistics and warehousing. But they also have real meaning, Ramoutar says. Distribution centers today are being hit with volatility from both the supply and demand sides, and disruptions are frequent. The way to cope with them is to achieve a level of agility that allows facilities to cope with whatever comes along — not just a best guess as to how the future will play out.

“There’s a lot of industry buzz around ‘future-proofing,’” Ramoutar says. “We don’t think that’s a viable concept because you don’t know the future.”

Bringing agility to an existing distribution center is no easy task. For an effort to succeed, Ramoutar says, “it has to be data-driven.” Only with the right information in hand, generated by both supply and demand, can facilities begin to understand where improvements need to be made. “That’s where all the smarts can be derived from,” he says.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning can help managers to perceive patterns in their operations, so they can begin prioritizing certain processes and group inventory accordingly. Ramoutar promotes the concept of “self-optimizing,” whereby a warehouse can adjust to the actual flow of orders, even as it’s constantly changing.

The term might be taken to mean an operation that’s free of any human intervention at all. Indeed, says Ramoutar, “there are many things that machines can do better than humans.” But people will still be needed in distribution facilities, even as new systems maximize their productivity.