Revisiting the warehouse research through an evolutionary lens: a review from 1990 to 2019

Abstract

A warehouse covers a wide spectrum of operations for the distribution of goods in a supply chain network. The advancement of technology and the changing global business environment have compelled the transformation of a warehouse. The present study attempts to revisit the warehouse transformation from 1990 to 2019 through an evolutionary lens. A systematic literature review is conducted to answer a few basic research questions: what were the issues that warehouses faced during the time period, and how did the academic world approach it? And what would be the research agenda for the warehousing in the era of Industry 4.0? The analysis of the literature shows that warehousing research has changed from a traditional storeroom to a more automated and integrated warehousing system characterised by better efficiency and effectiveness. This study contributes to the development of warehousing research by discussing the development trends, addressing the research gaps, and recommending future research directions. The study also reflects the dominance of developed countries in warehousing research and alludes to more opportunities for practitioners and academicians in developing countries. Based on the decade-wise analysis of literature, an evolutionary framework for warehouse research is proposed which is expected to ensure the supply chain resilience proactively.

KEYWORDS:

• Warehousing
• evolution
• systematic literature review
• Industry 4.0
• smart warehouse

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shashank Kumar

Shashank Kumar is pursuing a PhD in Industrial Engineering and Manufacturing Systems from the National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai, India. He received MTech in Manufacturing Engineering from the IIITDM Jabalpur, India, in 2017 and BE in Mechanical Engineering from RGPV university, Bhopal, India, in 2015. His research fields are the Warehouse Management, Performance Measurement and Supply Chain Management.

Balkrishna E. Narkhede

Balkrishna Eknath Narkhede received D.Sc.(Sc. & Tech.) and Ph.D. (Mechanical Engineering) from University of Mumbai. He is an Associate Professor in Operations & Supply Chain Management Group at National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) Mumbai, INDIA. He has also served at VJTI Mumbai, AIT Bangkok, DTE Mumbai & Tara Jewels Export Ltd Mumbai in various capacities. He is member of Institute of Industrial & Systems Engineers. His research interest includes Industrial Engineering, Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing Systems. He may be contacted on [email protected] / [email protected]

Karuna Jain

Karuna Jain is a Professor of Technology & Operations Management at Shailesh J Mehta School of Management (SJMSOM), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. She has served as Director, National Institute of Technology (2013–2019), Dean SJMSOM IIT Bombay (2007–2012) and MHRD IPR Chair IIT Bombay (2011–2014). She has published extensively in journal of repute like DSJ, EJOR, NRQ, IJPE, IEE-TEM and TFSC to name a few. She has presented her research in national (ORSI SOM, PMIRAC, ISDSI, POMS India) and international conference (POMS, DSI, IAMOT, PMI).