The "lights-out warehouse" is a little like Bigfoot: a mythical idea everyone in the material handling industry has heard about but few have actually seen. It's been a buzzword for years, yet just a handful of companies have made the leap to a fully automated distribution center, despite abundant indications that it would increase efficiency and profit margins.

Product lifecycle management (PLM) and product design have been applications that have been slow to move to the cloud, for a number of reasons. But as companies increasingly switch on to the flexibility, scalability and affordability that cloud platforms offer, so adoption has increased.

Analyst Insight: With the rise of e-commerce, higher customer expectations and skyrocketing transportation costs, the business case for automation has changed. It's not just about accuracy and labor savings anymore. It's also about the incremental revenue and competitive advantage that comes from improving customer service and better managing inventory. – Frank Jewell, Food & Beverage Industry Leader, Fortna Inc.