Double your warehouse capacity without moving: the case for brownfield automation
Brownfield automation means adding robotics, shuttle systems, or automated guided vehicles to a warehouse you already operate, instead of building a new one. Done well, it can double storage capacity within the same four walls, without a single day of relocation.
That’s not a projection. It’s what happened when TD SYNNEX added a 3,200 m² automated hall to its 28-year-old warehouse in Aalst, and when Distrilog rolled out automated guided vehicles across an active site without missing a single customer order.
Why more companies are automating instead of relocating
Land in strategic locations is scarce, permits take longer, and capital costs more than it used to. Relocating also puts your most experienced people at risk of not making the move. Three factors tend to decide the outcome: available space, the scale of investment actually needed, and the risk to staff retention.
Brownfield automation doesn’t compete with building new. It’s the answer for warehouses that are still in the right location, just not yet running at full potential.
The myths that quietly stall projects
Three misconceptions come up again and again: that automation will disrupt daily operations, that it has to be all-or-nothing, and that it will fix problems that were never about automation in the first place. None hold up once a project is properly scoped and phased. A short warehouse assessment usually settles which of these actually apply to your site.
Two warehouses, two outcomes
TD SYNNEX turned a full-capacity site into 12,000 tote storage positions and up to 200 boxes saved a day, without leaving the building. Distrilog automated part of its fleet with AGVs to offset driver shortages, and stayed fully operational throughout. Both cases, including the specific feasibility factors, phasing, and results, are broken down in full in our whitepaper.
People still decide whether it works
Automation changes how warehouse teams work, and that only succeeds with the right change management from day one. We cover this in more depth in no automation without people. If you’re mapping out the process step by step, our brownfield automation checklist is the place to start.
Want the full picture?
Feasibility criteria, phased roadmaps, real project data from TD SYNNEX and Distrilog, and where warehouse automation is heading next: it’s all in our free whitepaper, built with our automation partners Movu Robotics and DCwise.