Your warehouse is the beating heart of the supply chain. Every order, shipment, and replenishment depends on its rhythm. But as automation, robotics, and labor challenges reshape the logistics landscape, the heart can’t beat on its own. It needs the brain, nerves, and muscles working together to keep operations strong and efficient.
That’s where warehouse execution systems (WES) come in.
According to Gartner’s Use the Right Software to Support Warehouse Automation and Robotics (2025), by 2028, 80% of warehouses will deploy some form of automation, and by 2030, one-third of medium and large warehouses will have at least one robotics platform. The research warns that, without the right supporting software, automation often fails to meet expectations, leading to idle equipment and missed service levels.
A WES is emerging as the connective tissue that empowers warehouses to keep pace with these changes. For food and beverage logistics providers, it may be the most important investment of the decade.
The brain of the operation: Strategic intelligence
A warehouse execution system functions as the brain inside the warehouse ecosystem. It processes information from the WMS, robotics, conveyors, and human workflows to orchestrate tasks with intelligence.
Traditional warehouse management systems (WMS) excel at tracking inventory and enforcing process integrity. In a modern food warehouse, where e-commerce and temperature-sensitive handling are involved, that’s not enough.
A WES applies advanced logic, such as dynamic order release, labor balancing, and predictive analytics, to make smarter choices in real time. For example, it might reprioritize an urgent retail replenishment order over routine e-commerce picks or adjust task allocation when an AMR fleet hits capacity.
The nervous system: Real-time connectivity
If the WES is the brain, its nervous system is the real-time connectivity that keeps the warehouse in sync.
Food supply chains are highly dynamic. Think of last-minute grocery orders, urgent recalls, or demand spikes around seasonal events. Without a responsive nervous system, the warehouse can’t adapt.
A WES integrates across a WMS, conveyors, sorters, and labor management systems, ensuring that the right signal reaches the right place instantly. Gartner highlights this capability as a key differentiator in hybrid environments where people and machines must work together, a WES helps avoid bottlenecks, idle assets, and costly rework.
The muscles of fulfillment: Operational strength
Every supply chain heartbeat needs strong muscles to power movement from receiving pallets to shipping customer orders.
Here, a WES delivers strength by driving efficiency and accuracy. Instead of static wave planning, a WES enables waveless order fulfillment, releasing work continuously and dynamically. This ensures that both manual pickers and automated systems stay productive throughout the day.
For food and beverage companies, this operational muscle also translates into greater compliance and traceability. By tightly coordinating lot tracking, expiration date management, and cold chain requirements, a WES strengthens the integrity of fulfillment operations while meeting customer expectations.
The heartbeat of innovation: End-to-end optimization
Finally, a WES represents the heartbeat of innovation for food logistics organizations. It’s built to handle change, from labor shortages to more products and extra services like kitting and repacking.
According to Gartner, many companies suffered in the past by investing in rigid automation that couldn’t adapt to changing needs. A WES avoids this mistake by serving as a flexible orchestration layer that evolves as the business evolves. Whether introducing new robotics fleets, expanding to micro-fulfillment centers, or scaling e-commerce operations, a WES ensures continuity and optimization.
Partnering for a healthy supply chain
Of course, the heart can’t function alone. It relies on the circulatory system working in harmony with other organs. Likewise, a WES thrives when paired with the right ecosystem of automation and robotics partners.
Industry leaders are increasingly turning to collaborative solutions that combine WMS, WES, and multi-agent orchestration platforms (MAO) to integrate diverse fleets of AMRs, AGVs, conveyors, and other intralogistics technologies. By aligning with the right partners, warehouses can scale without being locked into a single automation vendor.
Conclusion: Keeping the pulse strong
The warehouse is the heart of the supply chain, and today, that heart faces greater stress than ever. Labor shortages, rising customer expectations, and increasing automation complexity all put pressure on operations.
A warehouse execution system acts as the brain, nerves, muscles, and heartbeat that keep the warehouse strong and resilient. Backed by insights from Gartner and proven results, WES is becoming a must-have for food logistics companies in 2025.
