Cybersecurity is no longer viewed solely as an IT issue in automated distribution centres. As software takes on a larger role in managing warehouse operations, companies are increasingly focusing on resilience, recovery capabilities and business continuity to safeguard operations and customer deliveries.
“Customer expectations have changed significantly in recent years,” says Antti Olenius, Team Lead, System Management at Cimcorp. “Today, companies are looking beyond traditional system performance and availability. They want to understand how operations can continue and recover if a cyber incident occurs.”
Historically, cybersecurity discussions in industrial environments focused on compliance and basic system protection. Today, customers increasingly want to understand how automation suppliers can support business continuity and recovery planning. According to Cimcorp, this shift is particularly visible in food and grocery distribution, where automated distribution centres have become a critical part of daily operations.
“If a cyber incident disrupts a distribution centre, the consequences can extend far beyond the facility itself,” explains Olenius. “In food distribution, delays can affect product availability, create waste and disrupt the supply chain. That is why business continuity planning has become such an important topic.”
Customers are also placing greater emphasis on areas such as disaster recovery, system monitoring, backup strategies and lifecycle management when evaluating automation investments. As many large grocery companies are also part of the critical national supply chain, their need for resilience is high.
The changing role of cybersecurity is closely linked to the growing importance of software in warehouse operations. Modern Warehouse Control Systems (WCS) co-ordinate material flows, inventory movements and automation equipment across the distribution centre. As a result, software has become a critical operational layer connecting physical automation with business processes.
“The WCS has effectively become the operational backbone of the distribution centre,” says Juho Nässi, Product Manager, Services at Cimcorp. “When software orchestrates the entire material flow, resilience becomes just as important as performance. If critical systems become unavailable, operations can quickly slow down or stop.”
According to Cimcorp, organisations are increasingly recognising that cyber resilience must be built into automation environments from the beginning rather than added later. Secure architectures, network segmentation, continuous monitoring, lifecycle management and tested recovery procedures all contribute to maintaining operational continuity.
“Cyber resilience is strongest when security is designed into the solution from day one,” continues Nässi. “Organisations that invest in proactive monitoring, maintenance and recovery capabilities are better prepared to minimise disruptions and maintain performance when unexpected situations occur.”
Looking ahead, Cimcorp expects cybersecurity requirements to continue growing as automation platforms become more connected and cloud-enabled.
“In the future, distribution centres will not only compete on throughput and efficiency. They will also compete on resilience and their ability to keep goods moving when disruptions occur,” concludes Olenius.
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