From Walmart to Amazon, the positive role of collaboration in warehouse management is undisputed, and collaboration is on track to revolutionize tomorrow’s warehouse management standards. In fact, both Amazon and Walmart leveraged warehouse management and supply chain management strategies to grow two of the world’s largest retailers. Meanwhile, the demand for more products, more space and faster delivery windows has refocused the role of warehouse management in successful business, and you need to understand how supply chain disruption will shape its future.

Disruption Through Tightening Industrial Warehousing Space Will Require Better Collaboration.

Effective warehouse management is a momentous change in modern retailers. In addition, consumers want a collaborative, seamless shopping experience. Failure to meet these demands may lead to negative feedback and criticism via word-of-mouth, read “social media,” advertising, and better collaboration will help drive warehousing and product storage costs down, reports Adam Robinson via Cerasis.

Stronger Collaboration Is the Natural Successor of Digital Supply Chain Disruption.

Disruptors

 are not necessarily a terrible thing in supply chain management. Instead, they describe actions and technologies that radically change how standard supply chains, including warehouses, operate. In other words, new technologies and digital warehouse management system (WMS) platforms are disrupting supply chains by putting more information in front of decision makers and reducing risk.

For example, the use of electronic data interchange (EDI) systems brought new information and collaboration to the supply chain. It can improve shipment accuracy, increase the speed of delivery, reduce breakdowns in communication between supply chain partners, decrease cycle time, boost documentation and make the entire flow of products smoother. Now, imagine how these technologies can be leveraged within a single warehouse.

Since these technologies have an inherent goal of increasing efficiency and boosting visibility throughout the supply chain, they will allow different supply chain partners, such as vendors and business-to-business (B2B) resellers, more opportunities for collaboration.

What About Next-Gen EDI (API) and Big Data?

The results could lead to faster picking and packaging processes, accuracy in these processes and well beyond. In addition, some companies, like third-party logistics giant, Cerasis, have already moved into the next age of EDI, an Application Programming Interface (API), which breaks down barriers existing due to coding and programming differences in existing EDI systems. Furthermore, Big Data, as part of Business Intelligence (BI) solutions, explains Stephanie Khoury of IT Toolbox, will lead to greater attention to detail and better risk and supply chain management. Consequently, this cohort of new technologies, including predictive analytics and cloud-processing power, will lead to even stronger collaboration.

The Big Picture?

Supply chain disruption, ranging from BI to WMS, will continue to empower supply chain leaders, executives and managers in the future. With the e-commerce industry expecting record-breaking growth, the future is bright, and in fact, automation and innovative technologies are at the heart of expected trends in supply chains, asserts the consulting firm, Aberdeen, reports Scott Pezza of Supply Chain Brain. Clearly, the role of technology will remain integral to better collaboration, matching unused space with goods, reports Erica E. Phillips via the Wall Street Journal, and success in warehouse management.