The Future-Proof Warehouse Rethinking Logistics for What’s Next

Hello OmniTalk Fans!

When it comes to upgrading a logistics network, there is one question that sounds simple but is anything but: When do you upgrade what you already have, and when do you start over?

Do you retrofit an aging facility? Add more automation? Expand your existing footprint? Or consolidate multiple buildings and build something entirely new? And perhaps the hardest part of all, how do you make those decisions based not just on what your business needs today, but on what it might need 10, 20, or even 30 years from now?

That was the question at the center of my latest Retail Technology Spotlight conversation with Julian Sellan, Senior Supply Chain Engineer at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, and Nick Cianfarani, Senior Account Manager at Dematic. Through the lens of Southern Glazer’s ongoing logistics transformation, we talked about what goes into deciding between retrofit and greenfield facilities, how to build scalability into a warehouse without wasting space, why software needs to be part of the conversation from the very beginning, and why the people behind a new system can be just as important as the technology itself.

Here are my biggest takeaways from the conversation:

Future-Proofing Does Not Mean Building Everything Today

One of the things I found most interesting about Southern Glazer’s approach was the idea of designing for the future without necessarily paying for all of that future capacity upfront. In Louisiana, the facility was designed around decades of expected growth, but that does not mean every piece of automation required for that eventual growth was installed on day one. Instead, the operation was designed with room to expand, whether that means adding more pick modules, increasing shipping capacity, or building out other parts of the system as demand requires it. And importantly, that space does not simply sit empty waiting for some hypothetical future to arrive. It can still be used productively until the business grows into its next phase. To me, that is really the difference between overbuilding and future-proofing. The goal is not to predict exactly what your business will look like in 20 years but rather to make sure you have options when you get there.

Sometimes the Best Upgrade Is Starting Over

Of course, future-proofing starts with figuring out what you are working with in the first place. Southern Glazer’s had multiple facilities in Louisiana that were reaching capacity, along with off-site storage required to house additional inventory. So the question was not simply whether new automation could make an existing building more efficient. The company had to look at the entire network, including the cost of operating multiple facilities, the complexity of moving inventory between them, the disruption that would come with a retrofit, and what the operation would ultimately need to support customers well into the future. In this case, Southern Glazer’s and Dematic evaluated both approaches, putting real designs, costs, timelines, and operational requirements behind the question of retrofit versus greenfield. The eventual decision to consolidate into a new facility cam down to understanding which approach made the most sense for the business.

The Hardware May Move the Product, But Software Runs the Operation

We spent a good portion of the conversation talking about the physical side of a modern warehouse: the pick modules, the conveyor, the sortation systems, and all of the machinery required to get the right product to the right truck at the right time. But as Nick explained, all of that equipment is really the hands and feet of the operation. The warehouse control system is the brain. It is making decisions about what gets picked, when it gets picked, how product moves through the facility, and how the entire operation stays in sync. At the same time, that system needs to communicate seamlessly with the warehouse management system so that what is physically happening inside the building matches what the business believes is happening with its inventory, orders, shipments, and billing. That is why one of the clearest lessons from this conversation was that the software conversation cannot happen after the hardware has already been designed. The IT teams, automation providers, and operational leaders all need to be aligned early because, at the end of the day, a warehouse is only as smart as the systems connecting everything together.

Standardization Makes the Next Project Easier

Another theme that kept coming up was standardization. The first time Southern Glazer’s and Dematic connected their systems, there was understandably more complexity, more support, and more learning involved. But once they established a common approach to how the warehouse control system and warehouse management system communicate, each subsequent rollout became easier. By the time they reached Louisiana, much of what had previously been custom work had become closer to a repeatable playbook. And what I found particularly interesting is that this standardization extended beyond the technology itself. When a new facility comes online, Southern Glazer’s can bring in people from other locations who already know the systems and understand the workflows. Their knowledge moves from facility to facility alongside the technology, helping turn what could be an entirely new and unfamiliar operation into something employees can learn from people who have already lived it.

The Ramp-Up Is Where Technology Becomes Real

That leads directly to another important point from the conversation: You can have the best-designed system in the world, but the real test begins when people actually have to use it. Julian and Nick discussed Southern Glazer’s approach to “hypercare,” where teams from across the organization, along with Dematic, stay closely involved during those critical first weeks of a new facility’s operation. Experienced employees can help train new workers, troubleshoot problems, and provide the kind of real-time support that makes a massive transition feel more manageable. Julian made what I thought was a particularly important observation: people remember the ramp-up. You can execute everything perfectly leading up to a go-live, but if the operation struggles once employees are asked to actually run it, that difficult start can become the entire story. Technology adoption is still, ultimately, people adoption. And getting employees to understand, trust, and take ownership of a new system may be just as important as getting the technology itself right.

A Future-Proof Warehouse Is One That Can Keep Changing

The early results from Louisiana are certainly encouraging. Southern Glazer’s was able to double its throughput in cases sorted per hour, and the increased efficiency allowed the company to reduce delivery frequency from five days a week to four. But I think the more interesting takeaway is what those results represent.

Consumer demand will change. Product volumes will change. New technologies will emerge. The companies that build the strongest logistics networks will be the ones that understand how to build for today while leaving themselves room to change tomorrow.

You can listen to or watch my full conversation with Julian Sellan and Nick Cianfarani wherever you get your podcasts.

Want to go deeper on Southern Glazer’s automation journey?

Check out Dematic’s case study on the transformation and Modern Materials Handling’s System Report, “Perfecting the Automation Mix at Southern Glazer’s.”

Dematic Case Study | Modern Materials Handling

You can listen to or watch my full conversation with Antons Sapriko wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Soundcloud | Amazon Music | YouTube

Be careful out there,

Chris and the OmniTalk Team

Over 8 years and nearly 200 episodes, the Retail Technology Spotlight Series has featured some of the biggest names and boldest thinkers in retail. Explore the full archive here: https://omnitalk.blog/category/spotlight-series-podcast/

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