Warehouse Automation The Next Necessary Frontier Of Logistics Digitization

Due to strong consumer spending, the growth of e-commerce, and other factors, transportation companies are incorporating more automation and tech into their operations to streamline administrative tasks and give more visibility to customers. The industry's digital transformation is well underway. Based on a PitchBook report from 2020, venture capital investment in warehousing automation technology, in particular, saw a 57% increase from 2019 to 2020.

Last month, 3PL Central, a cloud-based warehouse management system (WMS), announced a partnership with cross-border asset-based brokerage ENERGY Transportation Group. This latest warehouse enhancement positions ENERGY as a one-stop-shop for customers' needs, whether those needs require assets, logistics solutions or warehousing services ⁠— be it long or short term, cross-dock, or container stripping and palletization.

With a WMS, ENERGY's customers now have access to a personalized web portal, which provides real-time information on their inventory levels, ability to place orders and request cycle counts. Billing is automated and more accurate, and with barcodes assigned to all items, customers can track items as they move throughout the warehouse, which maximizes time and space for ENERGY's team. 

"We knew with the right WMS that we could dramatically reduce administrative tasks and free up 40% to 50% of the time for our warehouse team members," said Michael Cinquino, president at ENERGY Transportation Group. "Our customers are growing, and we are growing, so we are driven to think differently about how we continue to add value to our customers' experience. That's why we selected 3PL Warehouse Manager to automate our warehouse. With its ease of use, flexibility, and ability to scale with our business, it provides the reliable and integrated platform upon which we can continue to innovate."

This partnership announcement closely follows the opening of ENERGY's fifth brokerage division in Chattanooga, Tennessee, furthering its penetration into the North American transportation ecosystem. Founded more than 14 years ago in Montreal, ENERGY's other offices are in Toronto and Chicago, working together to service customers moving both dry and refrigerated cargo anywhere in North America. While it owns both dry van and reefer trucks, ENERGY also leverages an extensive network of carrier capacity. 

For over a decade, California-based 3PL Central has managed billions of dollars in warehouse inventory and regularly processes more than 1 million customer orders a week. 

"ENERGY Transportation Group doesn't shy away from new technology, they embrace it," said Dan Salazar, chief revenue officer at 3PL Central. "With their continued focus on growth and plans for rapid expansion, 3PL Central knew our WMS could enable them to eliminate manual tasks, automate billing and invoicing, and provide their customers with greater visibility to inventory. Efficiency enables scale. With this investment, they have laid the foundation for future growth."