There's been a huge proliferation of automation technology in the warehouse, including automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).

James Malley, chief executive officer of packaging optimization software vendor Paccurate, says it’s pretty much a given that any large business will have one or both of those, and that has led to greater speed, and therefore volume, of goods flowing through a warehouse. As a result, there’s pressure on the "final yard" where businesses are deploying scanning, labeling, applying and manifesting (SLAM) technology, too. 

“Now that picking has been sped up … two or three X, it’s been interesting to see how vendors and shippers are changing the way they think about the last hundred feet,” says Malley. “When I started in this industry, putting things in boxes was the most boring problem in the warehouse.” Now, however, there’s a large number of on-demand packaging companies offering to help keep that end of the operation running fast. “Every year, we see more innovation and entrants into that category.” 

Malley notes there are probably 1,200 vendors of warehouse automation systems out there, offering a range of approaches to solving problems, and all trying to win new business. “It’s less about being the first vendor to really popularize a category,” he says. “Supply chain is a little slower to adopt new ideas than other industries.” He recommends persistence, putting your message and approach out there until you know that what you’re doing matches up with a pain point in the market. 

Malley says vendors can distinguish themselves in a crowded marketplace by “who can create the most success stories the fastest, and the most passionate kind of customers talking about them, too.”