This past September, for a short period of time, Amazon hit a market capitalization of $1 trillion, only the second company after Apple to reach the milestone. Though Apple was first to hit this mark, Amazon accomplished the feat much faster. While Bezos and company are now exploring other avenues for business, such as purchasing Whole Foods and offering web hosting services, Amazon has paved its way to success by mastering one area in particular: e-commerce.

E-commerce has taken the retail industry by storm, and is expected to continue growing in the coming years. Along with this, we’re seeing changes in consumer spending habits, as well as changes in the way suppliers and manufacturers deal with this growth. In particular, the rise of e-commerce is changing the way warehouses are designed and operated.

Designing Warehouses for New Technologies

Traditional forms of warehouse management are simply not able to keep up with the ever-shifting retail landscape. Today’s consumers are able to review, compare, and purchase items faster than ever. And the rise of Amazon Prime has led many consumers to expect low-priced — yet incredibly fast — processing, shipping, and handling.

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