Creating the warehouse of the future takes vision — literally.

The success of automating at large scale in big warehouses relies on companies being willing and able to rethink their entire supply chains, says Jonas Swarttouw, vice president customer and business development for North America at NewCold.

Many organizations already use mobile robots and plan on expanding their fleets over the next three years. 

Robotics and artificial intelligence are changing more than the warehouse, says Ray Roberts, enterprise sales executive at Logiwa. An example: Autonomous vehicles are becoming more active in trucking.

Robotics and artificial intelligence are on everyone's mind, but many operators don't need that level of technology at this point, says Jason Joachim, chief executive officer of Cargo Spectre.

While large warehouses can have entire teams devoted to technology and new, innovative solutions, most small businesses don’t have that luxury.

The 685,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Northern Melbourne will employ a fleet of robots that will fetch items for packing by Amazon staffers.

Ortega’s family office has paid $109 million to acquire the center in Inland Empire, a logistics hub some 60 miles east of Los Angeles.

SCALI wants to make it easy for visitors to come in and see all the types of supply chain management technology in one place.

The recent drop in demand for services has left many startups in fulfillment and logistics struggling to survive, says Aaron Alpeter, CEO and founder of IZBA.