How a warehouse fire sparked innovation at Gap

© Alexey Novikov

Do you remember when Gap’s distribution centre in Fishkill, New York, caught fire a couple of years ago? Well, this interesting article by Fast Company reveals how – albeit perhaps unwittingly – the fashion retailer turned the disaster into an opportunity. The article notes: “Through this process of solving one problem after another, something interesting happened: a wave of innovation began to sweep through the entire corporation.” Gap was able to update its technology and machinery, creating new efficiencies. Initially, it created a pop-up packing facility, and boosted productivity in its other centres, and then rebuilt Fishkill. “Fishkill became an incubator, of sorts, for the newest warehouse technology, and when a new machine proved to be a great investment, it would get rolled out to other Gap distribution centres.” An uplifting tale.