5-Year Evolution from Cost Center to Growth Area

AIDC Task Force

5-Year Evolution from Cost Center to Growth Area

By Jody Costa, Barcoding, Inc. and Allied Providers Council Chair

The following article is taken from the whitepaper, “From Cost Center to Growth Center: Warehousing in 2018.”

As customer satisfaction and supply chain efficiency become more important drivers of warehousing operations, the industry is re-examining its perceptions of the business. Fewer organizations continue to view warehouses and distribution centers simply as commoditized links between endpoints of the supply chain. Senior business executives across all market segments can no longer afford to simplistically look at warehouses as necessary evils that are fundamentally cost centers.

The movement from linear to complex, multi-node supply chains recognizes this shift in perception, and is being driven by greater volatility, constrained capacity, evolving regulations, major shifts in customer demographics and buying patterns, and increasingly demanding customer and supplier requirements. Overall, the warehouse survey points to more industry professionals seeing the bigger picture and viewing warehouses and distribution facilities as historically underleveraged centers that can drive competitive differentiation and, by doing so, increase profitable growth.

These changes are positive. They provide warehouse management with an opportunity to benchmark their current capabilities against what their businesses, their suppliers and their customers are going to need in the next five years and beyond. They can also take inventory of where their current performance levels are, and how they stack up across their different processes—from inbound handling to storage and inventory control to picking and filling orders and, ultimately, to outbound handling. This reshaped vision of warehouse operations as a fundamental driver of top-line and bottom-line business value points the way to achieving the ultimate objective of flawless fulfillment.

To get the full report, please download it here.