Because retailers want more products more quickly, distribution centers and warehouses are being forced to change their fulfillment processes, according to the new white paper, “Big Picture: The Evolution of the Traditional WMS/WCS Roles” issued by Forte Industries.
Picking and order fulfillment has become more complex thanks to an increased demand for smaller pack sizes and faster response rates. As a result, the ways warehouse management systems (WMS) and warehouse controls systems (WCS) are used to fill orders has been forced to change. The lines between the two have been blurred, said Dwight Klappich, vice president of Gargner, an industry analyst firm.
“There used to be a clean delineation between the WMS and the WCS,” Klappich said. “With this convergence, the WCS is not only controlling the automation but is also taking on business logic processes, like pick and p ass, task interleaving to drive automation, and business analytics.”
Traditional Roles Changing
Under the traditional model, WMS controls receiving, put-away and inventory management by using pick faces and assigning shipping lanes. WCS then controls the order management system by communicating replenishment requirements.
In the past, the WMS could group thousands of orders together into a wave. But because end-users now want smaller packets of more diverse products, the WMS has to break down these picking tasks through the facility’s pick-to-light system and direct packing stations. This requires more of an interplay between the WMS and the WCS, according to Jeff Ross, Forte’s vice president of consulting. He suggested giving this new layer the new title “warehouse execution system” or WES.
“Historically, these specific areas of focus had a clear divide in roles: WMS equaled people and the WCS equaled automation,” Ross said.
“Increasingly, the real-tinme needs of automated facilities demand more business process logic in what has traditionally been the WCS layer. This is where this emerging layer of functionality comes into play.”
Integrated Human-to-Digital Systems
What many DC and warehouse operators are looking for today is a WCS that makes decision about what to pick and release and also speaks directly to the voice or light system, the sorter, the packing stations and the shipping sorters simultaneously.
This makes it easier to process a high volume of small orders and complex order profiles that are becoming increasingly common for retail distribution and direct-to-customer businesses such as online retailers. Such systems use mixed SKU and aisle-ready pallets and have been used by the food, beverage and wholesale grocery industries for many years.
WES can be used to speed up the fulfillment process by doing such things as turning conveyors and sorters on and off at the right time to optimize fulfillment protocols. It also can improve communication between human pickers and warehouse workers and computerized delivery and reorder systems.
The biggest benefit of all is that efficiencies in productivity mean reduced costs and, as a result, higher profits. Plus, DCs and warehouses are better able to satisfy Internet-generation customers who have come to expect lightning fast, accurate delivery of the products they order online.