The impact of e-commerce on warehouse operations

Abstract

Background: We often encounter opinions concerning the unusual nature of warehouses used for the purposes of e-commerce, most often spread by providers of modern technological equipment and designers of such solutions. Of course, in the case of newly built facilities, it is advisable to consider innovative technologies, especially in terms of order picking. However, in many cases, the differences between standard warehouses, serving, for example, the vehicle spare parts market, and warehouses that are ready to handle retail orders placed electronically (defined as ecommerce) are negligible. The scale of the differences between the existing standard warehouses and those adapted to handle e-commerce is dependent on the industry and supported of customers' structure. Methods: On the basis of experiences and on examples of enterprises two cases of the impact of a hypothetical ecommerce implementation for the warehouse organization and technology have been analysed. Results: The introduction of e-commerce into warehouses entails respective changes to previously handled orders. Warehouses serving the retail market are in principle prepared to process electronic orders. In this case, the introduction of (direct) electronic sales is justified and feasible with relatively little effort. Conclusions: It cannot be said with certainty that the introduction of e-commerce in the warehouse is a revolution for its employees and managers. It depends on the markets in which the company operates, and on customers served by the warehouse prior to the introduction of e-commerce.