For third-party logistics providers, flexibility is paramount in being able to meet the diverse requirements of today's customers, says Jim Hoefflin, chief executive officer of IFS Softeon.

For 3PLs, the biggest operational “bottleneck” that’s holding them back today is labor, Hoefflin says. The sector experiences close to 50% attrition in the workforce each year. Staffers are quick to desert one facility for another if the wage rate is slightly higher. And the nature of the work — physically demanding, yet often boring and repetitive — serves as a disincentive generally, for those seeking jobs in the industry.

Given that difficult state of affairs, it becomes critical that 3PL-run warehouses get automated systems onto the floor quickly — “in days and weeks, not months and years,” Hoefflin says.

Serving as a barrier to automation, however, are fears of making a big investment in systems, then getting locked into a particular setup as customers, products and the marketplace changes. “You can’t be cemented in,” Hoefflin says. “Your rules are going to change very quickly. Rigidity is the enemy.”

3PLs deriving the most success from automation initiatives are those that have a vision of their needs in the coming months and years, and develop strategies accordingly.

That doesn’t necessarily mean adoption of a “lights-out” operation where there are no humans on the warehouse floor at all. The vast majority of business rules for running a warehouse are too complex for a complete swap-out of people for machines.

At the same time, Hoefflin says, warehouse management systems must become a lot more sophisticated in nature, to the point of being able to “orchestrate” multiple applications and operations within the facility.