1、 2023 Boston Consulting Group1Leading consumer-focused businesses are automating their warehouse networks,generating stepchanges in service and cost performance.Some companies have already unlocked 20%to 50%improvement in service levels while generating a 25%to 50%reduction in fulfillment costsall w

2、hileboosting their resilience amid todays acute labor shortages.Despite these success stories,however,many consumer-focused businesses are finding it difficult tomake an adequate return or meet their automation design goals in their initial pilot,stopping theproject in its tracks.Others have run suc

3、cessful pilots but struggled to scale the technology across theirentire warehouse network,and some have been hesitant to restructure their network,preferring toAmplify Your Warehouse Automation ROIMARCH 09,2023 By Michael Hu,Arnold Kogan,Michael Ryba,Vivek Vashishth,and Sumit ChadhaREADING TIME:15 M

4、IN 2023 Boston Consulting Group2focus directly on warehouse design instead of addressing the broader network strategy.Still others arestruggling to create a comprehensive benefits case,making it difficult to gain buy-in across thecompany.To overcome these hurdles,businesses should work step by step

5、to understand each of theirwarehouse archetypes and develop the most critical use cases within those archetypes.They should digdeeply into their existing warehouse operations to amplify ROI before automation begins.And theyshould fully commit to an agile automation effortarticulating a clear busines

6、s case at the C-level,establishing a high-performing transformation management office,and finding the right balancebetween in-house and external support to carry the transformation forward.The Automation ImperativeLess than a decade ago,large-scale warehouse automation was considered too costly to g