Why has it taken so long for warehouse-management and warehouse-control systems to move to the cloud? And which of the two is more likely to survive in the years ahead? Kevin Reader, chief marketing officer of Invata Intralogistics, has some answers.

When Amazon announced its $775m cash deal to buy Kiva, a robot automation fulfillment center player, it put many of its existing retail clients in a bind. This includes current Kiva clients - Walgreens and Saks, among others - plus other recent (and possibly current) customers, such as Gap, Crate & Barrel, Staples, Dillard's, Toys 'R' Us and Office Depot.