Defining the Smart Warehouse

Whether we like it or not, the Smart Warehouse is here. It delivers significant advantages through its efficiency, speed, density and scalability. A Smart Warehouse is automated and connected, meaning that it is data-driven. The physical operation is integrated with the digital processes. The purpose is to cut the need for manual handling and increase the speed, quality, flexibility and efficiency of logistics processes.

Swisslog’s Head of Sales in the UK, Shane Faulkner puts it simply: “It describes the connection of all processes within a warehouse. Just like Industry 4.0 has been transferred to logistics, the Smart Warehouse is inspired by the Smart Factory,” he says.

A Smart Factory is a highly digitalised production facility that relies on data and interconnectivity. It is considered to be the factory of the future and an important outcome of Industry 4.0.

The Smart Warehouse concept is similar in the way that it’s an enterprise that automates workflows using the Internet, IT-systems and sensor technology. The supporting vision for Industry 4.0 is that all "machines" in a value chain are linked and share vital information based on common standards. The human involvement in the warehouse process is almost zero, and it is more about monitoring and supporting the automation. 

Shane explains: “Today's ability to digitalise supply flows down to the item-level creates the possibility of having total control over each item, order and its position in the warehouse. With the help of Big Data and self-learning algorithms, the automated system can also be optimised based on past experiences and other external factors.”