Adaptability is now king

Several years ago, executive editor Bob Trebilcock proposed a series of feature stories called The Big Picture—articles that would break out of our traditional equipment-centric and best practices coverage and focus on the broader role materials handling plays in driving larger company initiatives.

The premise rested on the idea that materials handling operations have “come out of the shadows” due to the increasing pressures of digital commerce and are now directly tied to business operations. With that in mind, we believe that today’s modern warehouse/DC operations are in a position to help build a competitive advantage that creates a measurable impact on the bottom line.

By stepping back for this broader view, these articles are designed to give Modern readers a deeper, more comprehensive look at how warehouse/DC operations are not only tied to success, but in many cases have become the very foundation of the business strategy.

This month, The Big Picture duty falls into the capable hands of editor at large Roberto Michel. As he was on the show floor covering ProMat, he says it became clear that the upbeat software, equipment and automation investment numbers we were pulling from our research was being validated by the “buzz” around the booths.

“The positive feelings were palpable,” says Michel. And as he digested the experience, it was tough to escape the fact that operations are indeed breaking out of their manual methods to transform into highly automated, modern fulfillment “machines” that can process large batches of work faster.

“However, like everything else, it’s become more complicated than that,” says Michel. “Today, the reasons we automate are changing. It’s less about the raw efficiency and more about speed and flexibility in getting e-commerce orders out the door. But at the same time, e-commerce has sent assumptions around order mix and volume out the window, adding yet another level of complexity that can’t be overlooked.”

With that in mind, Michel has gathered a number of conversations with leading automation providers and thought-leaders on the importance of “adaptability” and an operations ability to scale to ever-shifting needs.

“To me, adaptability comes down to being able to stand up automated systems very quickly and also rapidly scale them up or down as demand dictates,” says Michel. In his thoughtful article that begins on page 26, he explains that there’s clearly a physical aspect to being adaptable, be it through modular design or modular elements like mobile robotics or augmented reality.

“But when systems are already up and running, it really comes down to the software you have that determines how nimble you can be in matching your order stream to your available resources,” adds Michel. “While the level of investment is exciting for the industry, in the near future, true success will be measured by adaptability. It’s the new paradigm.”