WSI (Warehouse Specialists, LLC) has released How Manufacturers Are Structuring Warehouse Operations in 2026.
The report is the result of a survey of 306 supply chain, operations, and logistics leaders at U.S. manufacturing companies across chemicals, metals, food and beverage, building materials, electronics, and other industrial sectors.
Three-quarters of leaders say their warehouse network evolved organically over time rather than being strategically designed, and nearly the same share say their current model was built for an operating environment that no longer exists.
The survey found that legacy infrastructure and prior capital investments are constraining agility for most manufacturers. Key findings include:
- 88% expect their U.S. warehouse and distribution footprint to change in the next 18 months through expansion, consolidation, or a shift in operating model.
- 75% agree their network evolved organically rather than by design, creating structural inefficiencies that optimization alone cannot solve.
- 67% have grown more likely to consider switching their 3PL provider due to friction in the past 12 months.
- 53% experienced a warehouse-related compliance incident, audit finding, or safety event in the last two years.
The report also examines how manufacturers are balancing resilience investment against cost pressure, what is driving consolidation, and where warehouse strategy is headed as companies make divergent bets on outsourcing, insourcing, and footprint redesign.
