Online retail continues to grow at a rapid rate, with a 14.6-percent increase in the category in 2015, totaling $341.7bn. That has major implications for warehouse optimization.

We are living in a new wave of automation. Machines are already performing many tasks previously done by humans, and the increased use of various smart technologies such as machine learning means the changes have only begun.

Past scrapyards, railroad tracks, stacks of old wooden pallets and rusty shipping containers here sits a nondescript warehouse, alongside a snarl of freeway overpasses, with two dozen trucks parked at its docks.

Retailers and logistics companies have been opening warehouses at a record pace to ensure online orders reach customers as quickly as possible. Now they're struggling to find workers to staff them.

It was Amazon that drove America's warehouse operators into the robot business.

Analyst Insight: After 13 years of conducting the Warehousing Education and Research Council’s (WERC) annual DC Measures Study of key warehousing and distribution performance metrics, a pronounced gap remains between "Best-in-Class" and "Major Opportunity" facilities within several key performance indicators. To close that gap by 2020, Major Opportunity warehouses must understand both qualitative and quantitative metrics as they relate to performance improvement. In other words, move beyond the numbers and focus on their processes. –Karl Manrodt, Georgia College & State University; Joseph Tillman, APQC; Steve Murray, Warehousing Education and Research Council; and Michael Mikitka, WERC

Analyst Insight: The impact of omnichannel fulfillment requirements and growth of e-commerce have altered the way companies plan and design distribution facilities. The plan and design processes themselves haven't changed as much as the number of variables that must be considered. Today's distribution facilities require greater flexibility to adapt rapidly to changing customer requirements. - Phil Quartel, senior director of operations design, Fortna Inc.

Analyst Insight: For the past 13 years we've studied metrics used in DCs across the U.S. During that time we've shared benchmarking data, reporting how some of the best firms use metrics to improve performance. Yet, gaps still exist - and bridging them can lead to greater performance gains. For the past two years, we have been examining how companies are using metrics to align to the strategic objective. The results have been surprising! - Donnie Williams, assistant professor of logistics and supply chain management, Georgia State, and Karl Manrodt, professor of logistics and supply chain management, Georgia State

Analyst Insight: The sharing economy has been disrupting and transforming industries, with companies like Uber disrupting the taxi industry and Airbnb disrupting the hospitality industry. Now, even the very mature space of warehousing is in the process of disruption as warehouse-sharing platforms emerge that are providing benefits to both shippers and facility owners. - John Santagate, research manager, IDC