Warehouse Automation: Why software is the star
Summary
Conventional wisdom posits that the market for warehouse automation is exploding because companies with fulfillment operations can’t find enough workers to stick with largely manual processes in the face of rapidly growing e-commerce volumes. But market observers say that what is happening now with software is less about governing the speeds and feeds of each zone of automation and more about orchestration of the entire DC as a system, as well as knowing when and how to adjust specific resources to accommodate peaks. “When implemented properly, WES does carry out this vital orchestration role where the software acts much like an orchestra conductor, getting multiple assets to work as one, so you can achieve the throughput and customer service you are after,” Turner says. This order release function can be thought of as the starting point for orchestration, with WES’s ties to lower-level control systems alerting of any unexpected events, or bottlenecks, that might be developing, with some software offering “load balancing” features to help adjust to the present reality on the floor. “We may never have a generic, one-size-fits-all dashboard because of the different systems used by customers, but there is value in a more unified approach to visualizing operational trends.” Warehouse execution software manages order release, offers visibility into throughput, and provides a user interface for goods-to-person workstations.
