Regardless of what industry you’re in, running a warehouse is a significant investment. You have to design your layout, organize the movement and storage of inventory, hire and manage staff, and keep everything safe and up to code.

There is nothing simple about the distribution and logistics industry. While the purpose of logistics is to get items from Point A to Point B, there will always be challenges related to decreasing the margin of error, improving delivery speed, and protecting products from loss and theft. When it comes to ways to overcome obstacles in shipping, warehouses are increasingly relying on RFID technology. 

Given that prices are continuing to increase alongside customer expectations, lowering warehouse operating costs has become a growing priority for most distribution centers and any business that finds itself "storing stuff." There's much more associated with the cost of warehousing than just space. Warehouse costs involve obvious factors like rent and utilities, but also other elements such as productivity, accuracy, and safety. 

Of course, most businesses have thought about warehouse automation. But, there are many misconceptions around automating that tend to make it seem scary and expensive. The truth is that it's completely achievable and affordable. Here's what you need to know about the true cost of warehouse automation and what it can do for your business.

Ask a facility manager to list the biggest challenges they face, and they almost unanimously include “space” in their top three, if not number one. This is often a symptom of growth outpacing the ability to expand into more space, but is most often the result of space being used ineffectively. In a perfect world, your facility is full of robots, modular racking that adapts to changes quickly, and A WMS with an AI feature that automatically places everything in its optimal space, ensuring every inch is utilized and every unused inch is known and tracked.