The following is written by Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow:

Last week, I was meeting with one of our industrial businesses in the north end, and they were telling me that they are testing robots to move products around the warehouse.  Apparently, this is a new generation of distribution that is changing warehouses across the country.  And, it increases the efficiency of distribution centers, meaning they can move more of the products that you order by using a smaller space.  That’s great news when you think about land use.

When we order something online or reach for something on a shelf in Fred Meyer or even A Picket Fence, I don’t think we realize the supply chain it took to get that item there.  Unless you’re buying directly from an artisan, someone is making that product somewhere else, and it’s being shipped through a port and a distribution center.  If that supply chain goes down, either from the transportation or the distribution center, you don’t get the item you want.  Unfortunately, that means more than an inconvenience to you as the consumer: it means jobs are threatened and entire industries affected.

Few people realize that Sumner’s traffic problems and flooding worries can impact the entire state, and in some cases, the nation.  Thankfully, this year, that message is being heard more and more by our neighbors as well as State and Federal officials.  Whether we shop online or buy items in stores, we are all part of the system.  What I like to hear is that Sumner is helping to grow a new crop of technology that makes that system work more efficiently, employing more people but needing less space.  It’s that type of efficiency that we are also pushing for on the transportation side by both encouraging expansion of SR167 as well as getting cars off the road by improving access to commuter options such as Sound Transit.  Seeing those robots was an eye opener that all things change, even Sumner.  It’s our job to plan and prepare for that change that is here even today.