Robots have already impacted many large scale wholesale and distribution operations, with Amazon being the most publicised example. Many wholesalers have now sub contracted warehousing to the larger multinationals such as Amazon and this trend will continue.

Wholesale industry is under threat from increased globalisation of the supply chain with manufacturers being able to ship directly to retailers or use big wholesalers like Amazon and Alibaba, bypassing smaller wholesalers.

Warehouse workers are wearing wrist screens to direct them to product locations enabling worker performance to be monitored and compared. Tasks are increasingly being automated and it will not be long before warehouses are completely automated, with stackers being replaced by robots.