How Automation Transforms the Meaning of Retail Warehouse Management

I hear a lot of talk about the ways retail enterprises can improve warehouse efficiency, and often there's a basic problem with the discussion: the definition of warehouse is too narrow.

To many, warehouses are buildings where you keep your product. They're the places filled with pallets and forklifts and trucks coming and going. But if your supply chain is where it should be, the definition of "warehouse" is a much bigger concept. If a retail supply chain is automated the right way, the warehouse is wherever your materials or products are right now. That could be aboard a ship or aircraft or on trucks headed to customer outlets.