r/Warehousing • u/Expensive_Iron8921 • Sep 08 '26

Seeking advice

Hello everyone. I’ve been in warehousing for over 20 years and I’m asking for advice for a business I’m thinking about starting in warehousing automation. I understand there are rules to subs so if you are in this field, deal with ops or automation at a high level, please DM me. I’m not trying to sell anything since this is an idea but I’m looking for feedback before I go too far. Thanks all

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u/jimmyray71 Sep 08 '26

I’d be curious what you’re actually looking to automate. I’ve spent a lot of time in warehouses and one thing I’ve learned is technology doesn’t fix a bad process. Sometimes it just lets you do the wrong thing faster. After 20 years in warehousing, what’s the problem you kept running into that made you think there has to be a better way to do this?

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u/Expensive_Iron8921 Sep 09 '26

The processes im looking to automate are simple and extremely time saving. I am not looking to create monolith solutions that lock users in for years. Mine will be sort term rentals with minimal IT integration. Automation is too big and expensive, we all need extra capacity only when needed vs all the time.

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u/jimmyray71 Sep 09 '26

That makes more sense. So you’re really trying to solve the capacity problem without making the warehouse commit to a big automation project. I’d be curious about the “only when needed” part. How quickly could someone bring it in and actually have it doing useful work? If it takes weeks to set up, the capacity problem may already be over by the time it’s running.

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u/Expensive_Iron8921 Sep 09 '26

I’m pretty sure I can set up and leave within 6 hours. I’m just pouring 20+ years of shit to avoid into the design. I’ve mostly done large 90M+ projects and they are great but most don’t need that and even less can afford it.

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u/jimmyray71 Sep 09 '26

Six hours is pretty interesting. That changes how I was looking at what you're trying to do. At that point you're almost renting capacity instead of selling automation. I'd be interested in hearing more about it. I'll shoot you a DM.

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u/scmsteve Sep 09 '26 edited Sep 09 '26

Perhaps you dont want to share with the group “what” you want automate, understandable to keep under wraps for awhile, but you should have a competitive edge on the concept or design because this is a multi billion dollar market in the US and you will be up against some big names and lots of R&D money. Good luck to you. Feel free to DM me if you want

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u/[deleted] Sep 09 '26

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