Technology has been instrumental in improving warehouse operations over the years. With Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the forefront of many of the latest technology integrations, warehouses can now better streamline inventory management, optimize the workforce and increase safety, just to name a few perks.
“AI is definitely poised to revolutionize the warehousing and fulfillment industry, and is already doing so in several important ways,” says FORT Systems partner and co-founder Jim McClellan. “By embracing AI, companies can streamline operations, reduce costs, improve customer satisfaction and stay competitive in a rapidly changing marketplace.”
AI Improving Warehouse Optimization
Recently, Lucas Systems conducted a case study on one of its customers, Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC), to showcase just how much its technology and AI implementations have helped the company grow.
For more than 20 years, Lucas Systems has been helping RNDC to optimize its distribution centers by providing warehouse voice picking and adjacent technologies. Utilizing different systems such as Jennifer™ and the Lucas Management Console, RNDC has doubled bottle picking productivity while also improving accuracy to an impressive rate of over 99%, as stated in the case study.
“I think that we’ve really helped them to grow their strategies, both in terms of acquisitions and volume,” says Lucas Systems CMO Ken Ramoutar. “The technology has become an important part of their business and they really wouldn’t be able to grow without it.”
The Lucas Warehouse Optimization Suite, or Jennifer™, works as the brains of RNDC’s warehouses. The system is at work in both the case pick and bottle pick areas, serving as an imperative part of RNDC’s fulfillment system.

Jennifer™ is AI-powered intelligence that optimizes and orchestrates warehouse operations. According to Ramoutar, Jennifer™ processes all of the orders that come in and then distributes that work to employees out on the warehouse floor through a headset.
“What Jennifer™ does is she instructs the workers on exactly what to pick for every customer in the most efficient way possible,” he says. “This system helps streamline the entire bottle picking process, allowing warehouse workers to use both hands while listening to what Jennifer™ tells them to do, without complications.”
Jennifer™ is what has helped RNDC reach an accuracy rate of 99%. In an industry where both companies and employees are under a lot of pressure to send out accurate orders in a timely manner, this AI-powered system is helping RNDC do just that.
Aarti Dhapte, senior research analyst at Market Research Future, notes some other examples of how AI has helped streamline warehouse optimization.
“In April 2024, SAS developed a generative AI-powered digital assistant for warehouse space optimization, integrating SAS Viya for backend analytics,” Dhapte says. “This solution enables both technical and non-technical users to manage inventory distribution and warehouse operations through conversational language, minimizing suboptimal decisions and reducing manual time spent on tasks.”
Additionally, in December 2024, Lenze, in collaboration with Fraunhofer IEM, developed an AI-based maintenance assistant for its high-bay warehouses, according to Dhapte. This system uses machine learning to predict and detect potential failures in critical components, such as drive wheels, before they cause downtime. The assistant integrates with existing sensor systems, allowing for easy retrofitting without cloud dependency, processing data through embedded and edge devices for enhanced security and efficiency.

AI Streamlining Inventory Management
Another unique way that AI is boosting warehouse operations is through streamlining inventory management. AI-driven systems, like predictive analytics and intelligent inventory management tools, are enabling warehouses to anticipate demand and minimize overstock or stockouts, according to Michael Jung, CFO of DeepBrain AI.
“An example of this is how machine learning algorithms analyze historical sales data and market trends to optimize stock levels, reducing wasted space and resources,” he says. “AI-driven solutions can cycle through large amounts of inventory to produce the desired result.”
McClellan echoes Jung’s statement on AI optimizing stock levels, explaining that this is done through analyzing historical data, sales trends and market conditions.
“In the future, AI systems will become even more advanced, incorporating external factors like weather patterns, global supply chain disruptions or sudden shifts in consumer behavior to adjust inventory levels,” says McClellan. “This predictive capability allows businesses to respond to changes in demand proactively, ensuring smooth operations and better customer satisfaction.”
AI Increasing Warehouse Safety
Safety is an often-overlooked selling point of AI and technology, according to Auto-FC founder Ryan Chesterfield, especially in the beverage industry where heavy lifting is unavoidable.
“For example, Verve Motion has developed exosuits that assist warehouse workers by reducing the physical strain of heavy lifting,” he says.
By monitoring environmental conditions like temperature and humidity, AI systems can even predict risks associated with expiring products. If certain beverages require cold storage and the temperature rises, the system sends immediate alerts to take corrective action, according to Alan Johnson, managing director, chemical and workplace safety at 3E.
“Better yet, AI-managed chemical compliance data helps streamline regulatory compliance reporting, including Tier II and TRI submissions, saving time while keeping businesses compliant and teams safe,” he says.
AI has become a game-changer for warehouse safety, offering smart solutions that address risks proactively to keep workers safe and operations compliant.
Johnson notes safety platform Intelex specifically, which uses AI to “monitor real-time compliance, flagging issues such as uncertified equipment use before they become problems.”
Warehouses heavily rely on their equipment and machinery to operate, so if they break down or encounter a problem, it can cause operations to halt and cause ripple effects in the warehouse.
“AI is proving to be quite helpful with being able to predict when machinery may need maintenance ahead of time so that warehouses are able to take care of those things in a timely manner before they become a problem,” mentions GPTZero CEO Edward Tian.
Similarly, AI-enabled tools can analyze incident reports to uncover patterns — such as frequent slips in a specific area ― and recommend fixes like improving floor traction.
“This kind of continuous oversight not only streamlines compliance but also promotes a safer working environment,” says Johnson.

AI Automating Repetitive Tasks
Arguably one of the more popular ways in which companies utilize AI is to help automate repetitive tasks, freeing up employee time to work on more important projects.
“Automation through AI is taking over repetitive, time-consuming tasks like picking, packing and sorting, allowing employees to focus on higher priority tasks,” says DeepBrain AI’s Jung. Static content like documents, schematics and receipts can be converted into engaging video content using AI, creating more dynamic and appealing materials that can be shared across systems.”
Robotics integrated with AI vision mechanics can also handle delicate tasks like opening or counting, speeding up processes and ensuring consistency across operations.
“You can automate daily functional tasks that need to be done in order to help operators move on to their next project, such as automatically printing bills,” mentions Amy Dean, VP of Operations for SC Codeworks. “Technology can automate all of these processes to keep things moving forward.”

Aside from automating repetitive tasks, AI assistants can also support workers by streamlining communication, providing real-time updates on orders and offering guidance for complex tasks.
“They use interactive assistance to receive answers through voice, on-screen text and images, making the information visually engaging, informative and easily accessible,” notes Jung.
To assist in the customer service aspect, AI humans can use a wide variety of voices and languages to communicate, enabling efficient use of time and cost savings. This not only reduces the likelihood of errors, but also allows employees to focus on higher-value activities, driving operational efficiency, according to Jung.
The Future of AI and Technology in Warehouses
With how quickly AI is being adopted in different industries, the technology will only continue to develop and act as a catalyst for reshaping efficiency, accuracy and scalability in warehouses.
Market Research Future’s Dhapte predicts that AI will become even more integrated into personal and professional atmospheres, “driven by user-friendly platforms that allow nonexperts to use AI for business, individual tasks, research and creative projects.
“The rise of Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS) would further make AI-driven technologies accessible to businesses by developing subscription-based models,” Dhapte continues. “Subscriptions will continue to reduce the economic barrier to new robotics and automation technologies.”
“It’s both fascinating and exciting to see the integration of AI into warehouse operations as technology is rapidly revolutionizing safety protocols in the beverage industry,” says 3E’s Johnson.
“It is my sense that as AI continues to evolve, its potential to cover additional areas of warehouse safety—such as environmental monitoring for chemical hazards, emergency response coordination and advanced robotics to perform physically demanding or hazardous tasks—will only grow, promising a future where technology and safety are seamlessly integrated,” he continues.