2017 Warehouse/DC Operations Survey: In the thick of e-commerce adjustments

This is an excerpt of the original article. It was written for the November 2017 edition of Supply Chain Management Review. The full article is available to current subscribers.

November 2017

There are strands of sustainability and corporate responsibility through much of this month’s issue. James T. Prokopanko, the former CEO and president of The Mosaic Company, details how corporate responsibility became his compass for leader ship when he took over the reins of the company back in 2007. Similarly, Joseph Ludorf, the executive director of supply chain for Cipla Medpro, details how revamping the planning process enables the South African pharmaceutical company to prof- itably supply drugs to underserved populations on the continent as part of its corporate mission. We round out the issue with five tips for intelli- gent risk taking in…

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During the adaptation of industry trends, there comes a point when you pass the early stages of adjustment and dive into really doing things differently. Our “2017 Warehouse and Distribution Center (DC) Operations Survey” shows us an industry that’s now in the midst of that change—and we’re getting into the thick of e-commerce adjustments.

The tweaks include more investments in automated order picking, voice-directed systems and other technology. We’re also seeing pain points continue to swell; foremost among these is the struggle to find qualified workers. Also emerging are data that suggest respondents may be reshaping their DC networks with smaller facilities to serve as fulfilment centers closer to the point of demand.

The survey, conducted annually by Peerless Research Group (PRG), drew more than 300 responses this year from professionals in logistics and warehouse operations management across multiple verticals. One of the clearest data points, and the issue that is likely driving change of many types, is the level of e-commerce involvement, according to Don Derewecki, a senior consultant with St. Onge Company, and Norm Saenz, Jr., a managing director with St. Onge, a supply chain engineering consulting company and partner for this annual survey.

In fact, 19% of respondents now say they do omni-channel fulfillment, up 3% from last year, while 37% say they do e-commerce, up by 2% from last year. This steady growth in e-commerce and all the pressures that brings around piece picking, labor management, and cycles times, is driving deep change for respondents, notes Derewecki.

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