Cost of Material Handling Equipment (MHE) and it’s maintenance is a factor in influencing the cost of operations. In the same way the industry is driven by strong IT systems such as Warehousing Management Systems (WMS) that require professionals to handle them. Again, this is a critical element bearing in mind that any glitch in the WMS system effectively halts physical warehousing operations hour by hour. Raw materials such as wood for pallets, steel for racking systems, Diesel for forklifts and trucks, and energy costs like electricity and water may be quoted on a global value system thereby also influencing pricing.