As we look back on the developments in the warehouse and distribution industry from 2025, it’s apparent that technology and automation have accelerated at an impressive rate, with AI and robotics becoming key parts of processes in distribution centres.
Disclaimer: This text was originally written in English and translated using AI.
While the same trends look set to form some of the most impactful trends of 2026, it’s also important to look back at the key learnings that came from the advancements of last year and what they reveal about the state of the industry.
Although new technology is becoming more and more useful, technology on its own is never a solution; technology utilised expertly to certain situations or requirements is.
Understanding fully what must be taken into account from 2025 will ensure better optimisation and utilisation of technology in 2026 to optimise processes, streamline workflows, and create distribution centres that are effective.
The top learning from 2025 is that distribution centres must be able to act with flexibility.
Increasing demands and unexpected spikes in demand have meant that the distribution centres that are struggling are the ones that continue to work in linear manners and expect traditional patterns to work for them.
The internet age, social media, and the pandemic have meant that spikes in orders do not just correlate with seasonal fluctuations – they also include viral moments, marketing campaigns, and a consumer base who expect next day deliveries as the standard.
In order to protect costs, reputation, and operators, the distribution centres that have thrived in the last year have been the ones who have added flexible adaptations, from pouch sorters to robots, and ensured that they can easily scale up or down capacity as needed.
While 2024 saw AI emerging in meaningful ways, by 2025 it was becoming vital in order to provide a competitive solution.
Although the principles of logistics can be thought of as mostly dependent on human labour and machines, AI is still extremely relevant. Acting as a central control board, AI can help warehouses with everything from integration to optimisation, from planning shifts to keeping track of sensor points for maintenance and repair, and much more.
Success in 2025 looked like integrating AI successfully, and the same will remain true through 2026. AI offers superior decision making, optimised supply chains, more accurate demand forecasting, and much more. Understanding the areas where your distribution centre could benefit from AI and making changes based on this will be key for success in 2026.
Automation is no quick fix. It’s extremely helpful for warehouses and distribution centres and adds benefits in terms of efficiency, speed and accuracy. However, effective automation takes a significant setup.
Rather than just installing automation, the distribution centres that saw the most impressive results are the ones who focused on introducing automation to the parts of the flow that required it the most – adding automation in ways that were modular and would more easily be scaled up or down as needed. They also integrated automated systems that prioritised data, monitoring, and targeted deployment to ensure the biggest impact.
When cybersecurity attacks are successful, they can result in systems that are offline for a significant amount of time, causing both a loss of money and a loss of reputation. Warehouse systems are not immune to cyber attacks – conversely, they are being targeted more and more.
It’s no longer sufficient to have cybersecurity as part of a general IT concern. It requires active plans, expert teams, and business prioritisation in order to minimise risk and know it can be quickly solved if a successful attack were to occur.
Data shows that consumers are willing to pay more or accept a longer delivery time if it is a more environmentally friendly option. Alongside this, new ERP rules in the UK and EU for packaging and waste regulation show that there is a strong focus on sustainability within the warehousing industry.
Distribution centres need to be aware of their carbon footprint, and that of all the different processes that are involved in their operations. From ensuring options are climate-friendly to having the correct reporting setup, sustainability is something that will continue to be a high factor.
2025 showed that the events of the outside world can pose a significant impact on warehouse and distribution – once again showing why flexibility is so vital.
From international trade tensions to shipping rerouting, and conflicts that led to instability, it became clear in 2025 that warehouses and logistics centres are vulnerable to events outside their control.
Ensuring that there are real-time updates, flexible setups and clear communication are a few of the ways in which warehouses can stay ahead and plan for optimisation in case of future issues.
Regionalisation has been a growing trend in 2025. Companies have moved towards regional distribution centres in key markets rather than a few large, centralised warehouses.
This means faster delivery times, strategies that offer agility and alternative routes when adverse situations occur, such as geopolitical concerns, and lower transportation costs. It marks a change from the large centralised warehouses and means that warehouses are preparing for a future where they can offer resilient and efficient services. Those who cannot do so risk falling behind in reputation and services.
A shortage of workers has posed a risk to efficiency in 2025, and the industry needs to be prepared in order for this to not become a serious issue.
Examples of ways to prevent this difficulty include upskilling operators, for example on digital tasks rather than just manual labour, prioritising a human and robotics workforce for better optimisation, and using automation and AI where possible to improve workflows, safety concerns and efficiency.
Data analytics were a core part of how distribution centres were run in 2025. As a result of increasing automation, AI, and IoT, they allowed a new level of sophisticated automation.
AI is able to take into account many, many data points, including historical data, and these can be used for optimisation – from recognising bottlenecks to planning shifts. The advantages offered by this are revolutionary to providing more efficient logistics services, however just having the data is not sufficient. Specialists must understand how to use this, and an expert team is necessary for ideal utilisation.
As more warehouses are looking to change geographically, there are issues with brown field sites and the ability to purchase land with sufficient space – especially with demand only growing.
Systems that utilise space within a distribution centre effectively are the way to ensure these limitations do not continue into 2026. From pouch sorters that make better use of vertical space as well as horizontal – while also providing a host of benefits for smalls – to sorters that can be expanded in capacity if designed for this, warehouses must think wisely about how they can do more with what they have and ensure that space limitations don’t limit workflow.
Overall, the challenges faced in 2025 and the limitations they caused speak to warehouses that need to be resilient in the face of changes. Whether these are technology advancements that need integrating into existing systems or geopolitical conflicts that cause unexpected disruption, the way to avoid limitations becoming problems is by a flexible setup that can manage in an intelligent and resilient manner.
