282: Inside a Warehouse Automation Project: How Sumitomo Drive Technologies Is Transforming Logistics and Reshoring Operations

About this episode

This episode explores how Sumitomo Drive Technologies is transforming its logistics operations through warehouse automation.

Running out of warehouse space doesn’t always mean you need more of it. For Sumitomo Drive Technologies, it meant rethinking the whole operation from the ground up. In this episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, Chris sits down remotely with Tony Barlett and Shawn Lambert from Sumitomo Drive Technologies for an inside look at a live warehouse automation project underway at their Chesapeake, Virginia headquarters. The project combines AutoStore, an automated storage and retrieval system, with automated guided vehicles to compress 30,000 square feet of high-bay racking into a 7,500 square foot footprint, with robots handling the picking and every transaction flowing through a single digital interface. The conversation runs from the 2021 decision all the way through to where the project stands today. The business case, the technology choices, and what it takes to bring automation into a facility that has run on pen and paper for years. They get into the workforce question too. What this means for the people on the floor, how Sumitomo plans to grow 50 percent over the next five years without scaling headcount at the same rate, and why the digital foundation they're building now is what…

People in this episode

Host: Chris Luecke

Guests: Tony Barlett, Shawn Lambert

Topics covered

• warehouse automation
• logistics
• AI integration
• business transformation
• digital technology

Keywords

• warehouse automation
• Sumitomo Drive Technologies
• AutoStore
• logistics
• AI integration
• digital transformation
• automated guided vehicles

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Sumitomo Drive Technologies

Products: AutoStore

Places: Chesapeake, Virginia

More episodes of Manufacturing Happy Hour

• BONUS: Factory Orchestration: The Next Frontier of Manufacturing Operations with Harmoni Co-Founder David Caputo · June 12, 2026 · 1h 0m
• BONUS: What Manufacturers Can Learn from Central Wisconsin's Workforce Strategy (LIVE from Wausau, WI) · June 5, 2026 · 44 min
• 290: Why Danny Gonzales Thinks Manufacturing Has a Storytelling Problem · June 2, 2026 · 49 min
• 289: Beyond the Hype: How Autonomy Is Scaling Across Critical Industries (LIVE from Pittsburgh) · May 26, 2026 · 56 min
• 288: Inside the Sisterhood of Trades: Why Women Are Choosing Skilled Trades Careers · May 19, 2026 · 22 min
• 287: The Art of Precision Manufacturing: Why Humans Still Matter on the Factory Floor | Live from The Manufacturing Exchange in Rochester, NY (Powered by Fathom) · May 12, 2026 · 49 min