Omnichannel retail continues to place higher flexibility requirements on warehouse operations.

Creating the warehouse of the future takes vision — literally.

The success of automating at large scale in big warehouses relies on companies being willing and able to rethink their entire supply chains, says Jonas Swarttouw, vice president customer and business development for North America at NewCold.

Many organizations already use mobile robots and plan on expanding their fleets over the next three years. 

Robotics and artificial intelligence are changing more than the warehouse, says Ray Roberts, enterprise sales executive at Logiwa. An example: Autonomous vehicles are becoming more active in trucking.

Automation can help warehouse operators overcome their labor challenges in many ways. But the implementation process requires careful consideration and planning.

Robotics and artificial intelligence are on everyone's mind, but many operators don't need that level of technology at this point, says Jason Joachim, chief executive officer of Cargo Spectre.

Drones equipped with RotoBird's automated winch can now drop off and pick up multiple deliveries without intervention.

The 685,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Northern Melbourne will employ a fleet of robots that will fetch items for packing by Amazon staffers.

JD Logistics’ California distribution center maximizes throughput and operational efficiencies with Hai Robotics’ automated storage and retrieval system.