Distribution and fulfillment applications are looking to automated storage to do what it does best—plus a little bit more.

At this point, it’s clear that automation will continue to permeate materials handling as warehousing and distribution operations reshape themselves to meet unprecedented demands. Familiar and previously specialized technologies have been adapted to suit a broader range of applications, bringing the capabilities of large and expensive automated systems to smaller operations. As inventory engines, automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) are among the most potentially transformative systems. They stand at the center of many goods-to-person methodologies buffering and sequencing strategies and the overarching need for accuracy, density and speed.

High school, technical school and college graduates will play an important role in shaping what comes next. In the meantime, the expert insights in this article are a small sampling of the wealth of opportunities in this space.

Read the entire article in Modern Material Handling here.