Today, automation is considered almost a panacea for many of the problems that exist in a warehouse. However, before throwing all your effort into searching for a miracle solution and drafting a technical specification for programmers, it is important to honestly answer one fundamental question: will the automation, in the form you currently imagine, truly be able to solve the problems your warehouse is facing?
Automation is not a universal solution. It is important to honestly assess whether the chosen technology can solve the specific problems of the warehouse.
For smaller companies, cloud-based WMS or rental solutions are especially relevant, as they do not require significant initial investments.
When selecting a contractor, preference should be given to companies that specialize in warehouse automation and have successful case studies.
Each year, the automation of warehouse processes is gaining greater importance and demand. Aleksandr Tsagareishvili, the director of SEVKO and an expert in comprehensive warehouse solutions from the initial stages of construction to ensuring uninterrupted, European-level warehouse operations, notes that demand at their company has grown by 10 to 15 percent. The forecast for 2026 indicates an even larger increase in client flow. What explains this rising interest?
According to Aleksandr Tsagareishvili, the primary reason is the requirement to maintain unit-level tracking in the Honest SIGN system for an increasing number of products.
Unit-level tracking requires the ability to monitor each specific product unit throughout the entire chain, from the manufacturer or importer, through all wholesale intermediaries, to the final seller.
As more companies integrate this type of end-to-end control into their processes, the need for technological solutions capable of ensuring transparency and manageability at every stage will continue to grow. Among these solutions, WMS systems hold a key position.
How can you determine which direction to take in warehouse automation?
To understand this, it is useful to look at the approaches to warehouse technologies that exist today. Aleksandr Tsagareishvili identifies two fundamentally different models: the first is “the human goes to the product,” and the second is “the product goes to the human.”
The technologies of the first group include robotic conveyors, sorters, and other complex automated systems. They are impressive in terms of technological sophistication, but they also require significant investment.
According to Aleksandr Tsagareishvili, this approach is accessible to only a small number of companies, as a warehouse must operate around the clock without interruption — 24/7, 365 days a year — for such systems to be effective.
For most enterprises, the technologies of the second model are far more accessible. These are solutions that simplify and accelerate employee tasks: they reduce the time required for searching and picking orders, help build optimal routes, and practically eliminate errors caused by the human factor. WMS systems, through which all processes are managed, have become an indispensable tool.
SEVKO develops its competencies specifically in the second segment. With more than 20 years of experience, Aleksandr Tsagareishvili highlights several key challenges faced by warehouses that use second-type technologies.
Product accounting is no longer limited to simply counting the number of units stored on racks. It is necessary to know the production date, batch number, and sometimes details such as color, scent, or caliber, depending on the specifics of the product.
There is an enormous burden on personnel. Remembering and managing hundreds of parameters is almost impossible without software support. In addition, it is important to design routes intelligently so that operators do not move back and forth through warehouse aisles unnecessarily.
For smaller companies, cloud-based WMS and rental solutions are particularly popular, as they do not require large investments in IT infrastructure, such as purchasing servers or licenses.
According to Aleksandr Tsagareishvili, this approach allows the process to be automated faster and at lower cost, since the company simply rents the software and uses cloud resources.
However, there are also more capital-intensive options that involve installing the system on the client’s own servers, which requires additional investment in infrastructure and ongoing maintenance.
What is preventing the widespread adoption of automation today?
On the path toward effective automation, warehouse owners encounter various barriers, each reflecting the specific approaches and strategies of different companies. Some entrepreneurs rely on their own programmers: they create a technical specification and develop solutions themselves. Others turn to external firms that specialize in automation; these firms develop software according to defined parameters, trying to understand the specifics of the warehouse. But there is also a third path, which SEVKO has adopted. This path is narrow specialization. According to the speaker, the company does not aim to cover as many economic niches as possible or to implement automation everywhere. The main objective is to integrate and automate all processes in the warehouse as effectively and efficiently as possible, in a complete and sequential manner.
According to Aleksandr Tsagareishvili, the first and second approaches are flawed. For many years, they have observed warehouse owners attempting to implement various solutions on their own or with the help of external companies. Only after experiencing all the difficulties and setbacks, analyzing their mistakes, and accumulating enough experience over a year or two, do they turn to professionals who specialize entirely in warehouse process automation.
Several recommendations for choosing a partner for warehouse automation
When choosing a company for warehouse process automation, you should consider not only the contractor’s technical capabilities but also their experience, reliability, and approach to solving specific problems.
Here are several recommendations from Aleksandr Tsagareishvili:
Give preference to companies that specialize specifically in warehouse process automation. You can identify this specialization by evaluating the content of their official website: review detailed service descriptions and successful case studies.
Avoid working with companies that have been on the market for less than ten years. Younger organizations carry a higher risk of “teething problems,” such as incomplete solutions and the absence of well-developed methodologies.
When selecting contractors, conduct a competition or tender. However, do not limit the companies from preparing a rigid technical specification. It is better to describe the key issues and tasks of your warehouse and ask potential partners to prepare presentations demonstrating how they would address the challenges you have outlined.
At the end of the third stage, arrange visits to specific facilities and reference sites. The goal is to familiarize yourself with implemented projects and see firsthand the professionalism and reliability of the chosen company.
These requirements can be clearly demonstrated using the example of SEVKO. The company has focused exclusively on warehouse automation for 20 years. Its team includes technologists, IT specialists, and warehouse equipment experts. The contractor’s portfolio includes overcoming various technical barriers and working with different clients, products, and logistics processes, which allows them to understand the specifics of warehouse operations more deeply.
In summary, the warehouse automation market is showing stable growth in demand, driven by the need to increase the transparency and efficiency of logistics processes. More and more companies recognize the importance of implementing specialized solutions that reduce personnel workload and improve the accuracy of inventory tracking at all stages of product movement. However, to ensure that the adoption of new technologies is as efficient as possible, it is important to carefully and thoroughly select the contractor.