{"id":1871,"date":"2023-12-22T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-22T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/au\/blog\/smart-warehousing\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T21:46:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T21:46:18","slug":"smart-warehousing","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/au\/blog\/smart-warehousing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Complete Guide to Smart Warehousing: Systems + Solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Table of Contents<\/p>

** Minutes<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

What is smart warehousing?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does smart warehousing benefit retailers?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

7 smart warehousing techniques & technologies to implement<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart warehousing best practices<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ShipBob\u2019s tech-enabled smart warehousing solutions<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ShipBob’s WMS for smart warehousing<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart warehousing FAQs<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Key Takeaways<\/h2><\/span><\/div>
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1<\/p><\/div>

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Smart warehousing uses advanced technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, IoT, and warehouse management systems to automate and optimise inventory storage, management, and fulfilment processes.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

2<\/p><\/div>

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Implementing smart warehousing reduces human errors, improves order accuracy, and enables real-time inventory tracking, which enhances operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

3<\/p><\/div>

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Key technologies in smart warehousing include warehouse robotics, automated guided vehicles, inventory management systems, and interconnected devices that provide centralised data and predictive analytics.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

4<\/p><\/div>

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The adoption of smart warehousing leads to faster order fulfilment, lower operational costs, and greater supply chain visibility, supporting business growth and resilience in the ecommerce sector.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you think about a traditional warehouse, you\u2019re likely imagining a wide-open building with ample space to receive and store inventory.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, with recent technological advancements, warehouses have become more automated. Now you\u2019ll find that ecommerce warehousing<\/a> is equipped a variety of tools like robotics, logistics automation<\/a>, IoT technology, and real-time inventory management<\/a> software. This is known as smart warehousing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart warehousing contributes significant value by integrating technology and automation that enable both efficiency and cost savings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With smart warehousing, you can automate several internal warehouse processes, track operations in real time, and analyse warehouse performance to make more informed supply chain decisions<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re an online retailer looking to improve warehousing operations, this article focuses on what smart warehousing is, its benefits, and industry best practices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is smart warehousing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Smart warehousing refers to the use of supply chain technolog<\/a>y to power warehouses and fulfilment centres and simplify, accelerate, and improve logistics operations.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By investing in technology and automation to improve warehousing<\/a>, online retailers are able to grow their business by meeting customer expectations and optimising logistics costs<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of smart warehousing is to improve speed, accuracy, visibility, and transparency within the warehouse, so they can stay competitive and build a more resilient supply chain<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where did smart warehousing come from?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Smart warehousing, also referred to as \u2018warehouse digitization<\/a>,\u2019 was established in response to the rise of ecommerce and the demand for on-demand logistics<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supply chain snafus brought on by the pandemic, primarily to companies that had embraced just-in-time logistics<\/a>, forced companies to invest in the latest supply chain technology sooner than later.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As peak-pandemic supply chain obstacles have been resolved, smart warehousing is becoming more of a standard practice. Now online retailers that are looking to expand their businesses are looking for solutions to cost-effectively move away from traditional warehousing to smart warehousing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The smart warehousing market is currently valued at $20.4B USD<\/a> and is growing rapidly at an annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.6%. This means the smart warehousing industry is expected to reach $40.5B USD by 2028. The growth of the market can, in part, be attributed to growing numbers of ecommerce businesses adopting multichannel sales strategies and improved technology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does smart warehousing benefit businesses?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Smart warehousing improves logistics operations<\/a> so online retailers can grow their business while maintaining transparency and warehouse control<\/a>. The more visibility an online retailer has into warehouse performance enables smarter decisions and the ability to establish a more agile supply chain<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few of the benefits of investing in smart warehousing to grow an online brand. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reduces human errors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Warehousing is a complex and volume-driven process with many moving parts. When executed manually, human errors in the warehousing picking<\/a>, packing and shipping process are likely to creep in. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, with the right smart warehouse systems, you can significantly reduce human error while also saving on labour costs. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it\u2019s as simple as implementing an inventory scanner system<\/a>, integrating an automated order processing<\/a>, or investing in an automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to receive, pick, and ship orders, digitizing warehouse processes improves order accuracy<\/a><\/span>, so you can <\/span>further enhance the customer experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improves inventory management<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Not only is order accuracy important, but so is accurate inventory tracking. With proper inventory management<\/a>, you can keep track of the flow of inventory throughout a supply chain in real time to improve <\/span>inventory accuracy<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, tech-enabled 3PLs integrate inventory tracking systems with a warehouse inventory management<\/a> solution. This allows merchants to track their inventory from the receiving stage to shipping, as well as returns.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, managing or fulfilling from a single warehouse is no longer an option if you\u2019re looking to offer affordable 2-day shipping to your customers while also expanding into new markets across the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Successful online brands operate out of multiple warehouse networks, also referred to as fulfilment centres, to improve shipping and last-mile delivery<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By centralising inventory tracking into one system, you get accurate inventory data across your logistics network<\/a>. Over time, you can analyse warehouse performance<\/a> and get answers to questions like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n