Innovative solutions in the warehousing processes of manufacturing companies towards sustainability

Development of technologies and innovations encouraged companies to look for and implement innovative solutions in their practice seeking not only to increase the efficiency of activity but also towards sustainability. In this context, the aim of the research is to reveal innovative solutions for the improvement of the warehousing processes towards sustainability in the case of manufacturing companies. The methodological setup consists of two steps. First, a comprehensive literature analysis was conducted seeking to reveal and present a theoretical model based on the conceptual framework on this topic. Then, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 8 managers holding managerial positions in four Lithuanian manufacturing companies. The manufacturing companies were chosen for the research due to their durable experience in the market, which use advanced warehouse management methods in their operations. Main findings showed, that innovative solutions such as Big Data Datasets, smart networks, Drones, Robots, Internet of Things and etc., are important for the efficient warehousing processes. Furthermore, it is also necessary to emphasize the benefits of implementing of innovative solutions in warehousing processes not only in economic terms, but also for solving of social and environmental issues towards sustainability. The novelty of this study lies in its dual objective of filling a theoretical gap and of drawing the attention of companies and policy makers to the importance of innovative solutions implementation in the warehousing process towards sustainability.