The Satellite Review Magazine The Satellite Review Magazine Vol 1 | Page 6

Warehouse Execution Systems:
The answer to simplifying the warehouse process

By Dave Williams,

Director of Software and Solutions Delivery, Westfalia Technologies, Inc.

With the increased emphasis on automation, today’s manufacturers and distributors are realizing the
importance of software applications in running their operations as efficiently as possible.
Typical software applications utilize both a Warehouse
Management System (WMS) and a Warehouse Control
System (WCS) to help move product more quickly and
efficiently, reduce inventory levels and increase order
fulfillment accuracy; however, the WMS/WCS combination
is quickly proving inefficient for some.
In many typical warehouses, the WCS and WMS are
separate applications that talk to one another. The WCS
receives commands from the WMS and in turn, tells the
equipment what to do. In essence, the WMS manages
pe ople and the WCS manages the automation. The use of
interdependent applications can increase the complexity of
transaction processing, ultimately becoming less efficient

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for the operator. Having a single system controlling all
WMS and WCS functionality within a warehouse greatly
reduces the complexity of operation that is typically seen
when several “function-specific” applications are utilized.
This is where the Warehouse Execution System (WES) is
introduced to help simplify warehouse processing. WES
applications provide a solution for manufacturers and
distributors that are challenged with increased order
volumes, and high throughput needs.
Unlike using separate software applications, a WES offers
customers an integrated set of WMS and WCS features
within the same application. The WES maintains inventory,
order management, billing, work-path flow, as well as the

www.WestfaliaUSA.com