The Future of Fulfillment: Innovations and Technologies to Watch

Life moves fast, especially in the world of fulfillment and logistics. Staying ahead of fulfillment industry trends is essential to meeting growing demand and evolving customer expectations. And change is the only way to maintain a competitive advantage.

After all, warehousing is not just about storing items—it’s a complex process that involves inventory regulation, order processing, greater supply chain management and more. Historically, these processes were manually driven, but in recent years automation and IT-based technologies have transformed warehousing to help operations run more effectively and efficiently.

Embracing change is necessary for direct-to-consumer (DTC) warehouses. It ensures you aren’t left behind. Luckily, emerging fulfillment technologies are more accessible than ever. Let’s look at the top tech trends to watch.

Robotic Enhancement

Of all the new technologies aiding fulfillment, robots are probably the most familiar among warehouse operations. After all, robotics automation has become increasingly common in the post-pandemic era.

Modern robotics has become a game-changer for warehouse operations seeking to keep up with fluctuations in demand, complex fulfillment standards and the ever-increasing pace of ecommerce. The built-in Locus Robotics integration in Logiwa’s WMS makes it easy to optimize warehouse processes and seamlessly adopt autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), conveyor solutions, pallet transport robots, automated carts and collaborative robots (affectionately dubbed Cobots).

Looking for reasons to embrace robotics? How about:

• Easier and faster picking
• Better adaptability to demand surges
• Faster and more accurate fulfillment

By 2025, an estimated 4 million commercial warehouse robots will be installed in over 50,000 warehouses. Fulfillment technology trends show that autonomous robots working in collaboration with warehouse teams provide a significant advantage, optimizing productivity, speed and profitability.

“We’re paving the way to make robotics accessible in your environment today, and not some big, complicated thing you have to invest in three to four years from now.” – Joe Kane, Director of Customer Support, Logiwa

AI-Powered Predictions

Ever worry about stockouts? How about if inventory levels can keep up with the next holiday rush? If you oversee DTC fulfillment operations, you need to incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) into your WMS.

Leveraging AI to improve decision-making is a high priority for supply chain users in all markets and industries. For warehouse managers, there is no better technology to help forecast future demand and optimize stock levels. Data from McKinsey shows that early adopters of AI-enabled supply chain management saw a 15% improvement in logistics costs and a 35% improvement in inventory levels.

With predictive analytics, order routing technology and smart inventory management, Logiwa leverages AI to optimize the accuracy and efficiency of fulfillment processes and ensure positive delivery experiences—and happy customers.

Related: AI for Ecommerce Warehousing – Key to Fulfilling Unpredictable Demand 

The Real-Time Revolution

Real-time inventory tracking is the ultimate tool for the logistics operations. Using the latest technological advancements, it enhances accuracy, efficiency and transparency for flawless inventory management.

Why is this important? According to Forbes, 22% of consumers drop out of an online shopping session because the shipping time is too slow, and warehouse inventory has a direct impact on shipping times. That’s a lot of potential revenue to leave on the digital table.

Logiwa’s WMS with built-in real-time warehouse inventory management software that puts the latest technology in your hands:

AI Algorithms: Inventory allocation driven by automation rules and AI-powered algorithms optimize inventory locations to streamline picking and packing operations and ensure accurate orders, every time.

Advanced Scanning: High-speed QR Code scanners instantly update inventory database during picking for laser-accurate stock counts and verifying order accuracy.

Digitized Data: Logiwa’s predictive analytics gives you a future view of inventory trends by providing near-instant data on orders, reviews and transactions.

The key takeaway here: ramping up your inventory management with real-time visibility leads to greater supply chain efficiency. Efficiency leads to cost savings, increased profitability, and happier customers (not to mention warehouse managers).

Download this whitepaper to see how Logiwa uses real-time tracking to help customers get up to 100% inventory accuracy and increase shipments by 2.5x.

The Future of Fulfillment is Here

Emerging technologies in fulfillment aren’t around the corner; they’re being used in warehouses right now. In fact, research by Gartner predicts that through 2024, 50% of supply chain organizations will invest in AI to make processes run more efficiently.

Don’t get left behind. As warehouses become smarter, it’s crucial for DTC fulfillment and logistics leaders like you to proactively embrace trends that help your operations get ahead and stay ahead.

Embrace the power of innovation in fulfillment technologies, and take your high-volume fulfillment to new heights. Start your transformation today at logiwa.com/request-a-demo.