Bridging the Gap

Bringing together order execution and material flow control in a real time environment

By Steve Lankford, Vice President of Software Engineering & Controls, Diamond Phoenix

Throughout the last 10 years, the material handling industry has offered Warehouse Control System (WCS) software, which routes material through an automated system that has an existing Warehouse Management System (WMS). A WCS was necessary to interface to equipment that required a faster response time than a traditional WMS could provide. Although the WCS concept has been expanded over time to include features that help to optimize facilities (tote routing, wave planning, buffer management, etc.), it has its limitations. A WCS provides little, if any help if you do not have an automated system.

An entirely new class of software has been introduced that is designed to "bridge the gap" between your existing inventory control/WMS software and the movement of material throughout your facilities. The DiamondWare™ Warehouse Execution System WES™ 3.0 is a revolutionary concept that restructures the traditional software hierarchy, bringing together all facets of order execution and material flow control in a real time environment.

Comprised of five unique modules, WES™ 3.0 plans and manages order execution from start to finish, driving productivity to the highest possible level.

Work Planning Module
Proper work planning is critical to achieving high productivity. Put-away, slotting and order management are all integrated to plan work efficiently. By verifying that inventory and labor are available, orders are released to fulfillment areas in a manner that ensures maximum productivity.

Order Processing Module
With just one WMS interface, WES™ 3.0 controls all automated and mechanized equipment within the facility; with a single download, items for orders are picked, routed and consolidated. This module ensures that the various pieces of the orders are sent to the correct areas for processing (case erectors, pick to light, carousels, voice, etc). Manual or automated order start, manual or automated picking, integrated order routing, order cubing, and a single host interface work together to enable the highest productivity rates.

Material Flow Control Module
As orders are picked they often need to be routed throughout the facility to visit different areas and/or be combined at a specific point. Sortation control intelligence allows tightly integrated fulfillment with any type of automated sortation equipment. Software driven sortation drives higher throughput with less equipment, maximizing ROI.

Shipping Module
In this "new paradigm" architecture, WMS systems still manage inventory and the business aspects of warehouse management. This includes producing invoicing documentation for outbound shipments. However, WES™ 3.0 plays an important role in the pack/ship process. Barcode and RFID are fully taken advantage of here. Quality control and order accuracy is maintained, container contents are tracked and reported, and value-added services are directed.

Management Support Suite
It’s critical that you understand what is happening within your facility to ensure that you are operating at maximum productivity levels. The Management Support Suite combines data from all of the other modules, tying together the mechanical systems, fulfillment software and supervisory personnel in a powerful way to ensure a well managed fulfillment operation. In addition, the graphical user interface provides access to a wealth of reporting, including real-time order status and detailed reports of operator productivity. Mobile computing is included, allowing access to vital reports from anywhere in the facility.

A software-managed order execution system significantly increases productivity and efficiency by synchronizing your entire material handling system.

Maximize utilization of equipment:

• Implement the system with reduced amounts of equipment due to synchronized management of all system components
• Increase ROI on capital equipment
• Shorten overall project schedules

Minimize labor idle time:

• Keep warehouse employees more productive throughout the day
• Reduce overall labor requirements

Single host interface:

• Reduces in-house labor to develop multiple interfaces
• Decreases risk of multiple communication channels
• Eliminates multiple vendor meetings and associated costs

WES 3.0™ also interfaces with the complete line of DiamondWare™ Transaction Processing software:

• PowerPick™ – optimizes the picking and replenishment of carousel pods
• DirectPick™ – optimizes the picking and zoning in a pick to light system
• PowerPut™ – optimizes the put and shipment of inventory in a carousel pod
• DirectPut™ – optimizes the put and shipment of inventory in a put to light flow rack
• AutoRoute™ – optimizes the routing of cartons/totes and data in a sortation system

The DiamondWare™ Warehouse Execution System WES™ 3.0 is a change for the better. With its implementation, you will see a drastic reduction in capital expense, while increasing your labor and equipment efficiency and utilization, and maximizing your return on investment.