The Satellite Review Magazine The Satellite Review Magazine Vol 3 | Page 6

WAREHOUSE SOFTWARE
CONTROLS

AUTOMATING

THE

FUTURE

WITH WAREHOUSE SOFTWARE CONTROLS

G

rowing warehouse trends
suggest that those companies
looking to upgrade their
warehouse management system (WMS)
to avoid reaching legacy status should
also consider implementing a warehouse
control system (WCS) to coordinate the
automated aspects of the warehouse
operations. Or, you can go one step
further and take the integrated approach
by introducing a warehouse execution
system (WES). A WES is able to replace
separate WMS and WCS applications
while still allowing users to have the flexibility to utilize the specific functionality
needed to address their warehouse needs.
If a company has not yet introduced
automation warranting a WCS, it would
be best to choose the WES option. This
allows the organization to utilize needed
WMS capabilities immediately. Then,
should they choose to automate the warehouse, the organization can “turn on” the
WCS functionality when appropriate.
Taking this approach shortens system
start-up duration, allows operators to
familiarize themselves with the application and reduces training time.
A warehouse containing automation
requires the use of a WCS that is
designed with that automation in mind.
It is also imperative that the WMS and
the WCS are tightly coupled in an automated solution. If not, product traceability could be compromised because of gaps
between the separate solutions. When
utilizing a WES, the WCS functionality
allows a customer to easily run and manage multiple, often complex, automation
activities simultaneously from within the
same application that houses the WMS
functionality.

Software Developer, Westfalia Technologies, Inc.

The Satellite Review

1. Do your homework. Finding and
selecting the right software partner
for your business takes time and
effort. Bigger isn’t always better.
Rather, you need to work with a
company that you can trust and who
will be willing to take the time to
understand your individual business
needs.
2. Don’t underestimate the importance
of training. The ability to identify key
operators and system users early in
the process is crucial to success. The
more familiar operators are with the
system, the more comfortable they
will be with how it operates. Proper
training is invaluable.
3. Keep management and other key
personnel within the organization
informed and involved from the
beginning. These people will make or
break the success of the system.
As SKU proliferation continues to
increase, the ability to easily manage
inventory for production planning and
order fulfillment is a must. A flexible
warehouse software system that can
manage the tasks of several areas simultaneously while supporting seamless
addition/removal of equipment is a must
in today’s fast-paced manufacturing and
warehouse environments. Warehouse
execution systems continue to play an
ever-increasing role in controlling
material movement and efficient order
fulfillment from within the warehouse.

A good WCS is flexible, allows you to
optimize your current software investment and is able to easily adapt to the
needs of additional automation and
material handling equipment. For those
companies considering adding automa-

By Chris Chappell

6

tion to their warehouses, there are three
key factors to consider before implementing an integrated WMS/WCS, like
Westfalia’s Savanna.NET® WES:

www.WestfaliaUSA.com

www. WestfaliaUSA.com

The Satellite Review

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