Beverage warehouses turn to software to coordinate people, stock and automation

Broader product ranges, mixed-case orders and persistent labour shortages are pushing beverage distributors to use warehouse software to improve accuracy, safety and throughput.

Beverage warehouse operators are under mounting pressure from a familiar mix of problems: more stock-keeping units, more mixed orders, tighter delivery expectations and a labour market that remains difficult to stabilise. According to industry specialists cited by Beverage Industry, those forces are pushing warehouse software from a back-office utility to a core operational tool, helping companies coordinate staff, inventory and automation more precisely across increasingly complex facilities.

As beverage portfolios broaden and promotions become more frequent, distribution centres are being asked to handle a wider range of pack sizes, temperature requirements and order profiles. That complexity is particularly pronounced in operations where mixed-case pallets have become more common, because each pick and putaway decision carries more consequences for accuracy, space use and speed. The article says software is increasingly being used to manage those variables by directing work, balancing inventory and ensuring the right product reaches the right process at the right time.

The shift is also being shaped by labour constraints. Matthew Getman, vice-president of supply chain advisory at Blue Yonder, told Beverage Industry that warehouse operations, once largely dictated by other functions, are being brought into closer alignment with customer service, logistics and planning as companies look to improve service levels and contain costs. He said larger, more automated case-picking environments are allowing operators to redesign outbound flows, while agentic coordination between people and machines can help reduce bottlenecks and improve efficiency. In practical terms, that can mean separating robotic pick areas from main human pick lines, using automation for high-volume items and assigning slower-moving goods according to handling needs.

The article also points to a wider safety and ergonomics dividend. OSHA’s warehousing guidance highlights the risks associated with powered industrial trucks, material handling and repetitive strain, underlining why beverage companies are paying closer attention to reducing unnecessary travel and heavy manual work. Getman argued that software can improve conditions by removing wasted motion and issuing live guidance that helps workers avoid congestion and unsafe routes, while Danny Blessing, senior software consultant at Dematic, said software-directed goods-to-person systems and voice-directed picking can reduce walking, bending and reaching. He added that vision and perception tools, if deployed with proper safeguards, may also help identify patterns linked to ergonomic risk.

Automation is not the only answer, however. Francis Said, senior vice-president of integration and engineering at DMW&H, told Beverage Industry that beverage makers should focus less on labels such as warehouse management system or warehouse control system and more on whether the software actually performs the functions they need. In many cases, he said, that means managing inventory inside the warehouse, accepting orders, creating waves, tracking cases, producing manifests and integrating with subsystems. His comments reflect a broader theme running through the feature: the best platform is the one that fits the operation’s real workflow, rather than forcing the business to adapt to a software category.

That makes implementation as important as selection. Blessing said beverage operators should begin by identifying where current systems are falling short and defining measurable objectives, whether that is better order accuracy, higher throughput, improved visibility, lower cost per case or better use of space. He also stressed the importance of integration, cybersecurity, access controls, disaster recovery and business continuity, noting that most facilities rely on a mix of enterprise systems, warehouse applications, controls and manual processes. Blue Yonder’s Getman added that companies should consider how updated software will affect collaboration across supply chain, transport and yard management, and whether AI-enabled tools can shift operations from reactive problem-solving to more proactive planning.

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Source: Fuse Wire Services