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Industry 2.0 Magazine Profiles Deciding Factors in Warehouse Control Systems

In the newest issue of Industry 2.0 magazine, leading manufacturing journalist, Thomas R. Cutler, described the “Deciding Factors in WCS (warehouse control systems.) According to Cutler “The reason WMS (warehouse management systems) are no longer providing this transactional role is that when a WMS operates more than a single warehouse, they are generally located off site, and tend to lose transaction speed. WCS offers configurability and flexibility.”

The result is making warehousing a key element in enterprise strategy much more so than just five years ago. The concept of renewed centrality of warehouses within supply chains may be a paradigm shift more about how new warehouse control systems are part of lean efficiency, than simply the new role of warehouses in strategic thinking.

If a large company wants to know the cost to install at multiple sites as well as the stability, financial status and size of the WCS company, it is quickly addressed by establishing referrals and a strong industry reputation. Depending on the organization’s objectives, source code availability may also be a concern.

The cost of doing nothing may be most expensive.

Rich Hite, President of QC Software, (www.qcsoftware.com) suggests, “The most important aspects of WCS for major distributors include dependability, modular functionality, configurable flexibility, and reliability. WCS is more dependable because…it uses standardized modules that are field proven, versus customized software. Many of the WCS modules have been running for over more than six years.”

Hite goes on to say, “WCS modular functionality is important because additional functionality can be added as required. The system can grow as the customers need to grow. You don’t lose your initial investment when new functionality is needed. We’ve seen this growth in clients ranging from Tommy Hilfiger to Under Armour to Arbonne.”

WCS reliability is not a ‘buzz word’, it provides a specific benefit according to Hite, “When a WCS goes down, the lost man hours, late shipments and cost to the warehouse, can be tremendous – add diminished customer satisfaction, and it can literally cost the client significantly more money. The WCS market has grown because it has taken on the traditional ‘transactional’ processes that the warehouse management system (WMS) historically provided, such as order fulfillment, shipping and localized inventory control.”

QC Software is the leading provider of Tier 1 warehouse control systems to the warehousing and distribution industries. Since 1996, QC Software, utilizing state of the art technology combined with extensive research, development, and rigorous testing, has developed the QC Enterprise suite of products. Designed to be modular in nature, easily configurable, and platform independent, this highly scalable solution satisfies the needs of any size warehouse.

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Metalworking Production and Purchasing Magazine Profiles Warehouse Control Systems

Leading Manufacturing journalist, TR Cutler profiled the vital changing role of warehouse control systems in the current issue of Metalworking Production & Purchasing. According to Cutler, “Defining a Tier 1 warehouse control system (WCS) is necessary for appropriate technology selection. Distributors and manufacturers handling distribution functions are seeking guidelines and criteria to determine if a generic warehouse management system (WMS) sold with a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) will suffice; it will not and here is the explanation. The primary feature of WCS is its control capabilities versus simply a visual interface as provided by a human machine interface application. The primary objective of WCS is to manage the routing of product, work-in-process, and inventory through a network of material handling equipment. Other features of WCS are that it provides a uniform interface for a variety of equipment to the upper level management systems; it is highly modular with the ability to be easily reconfigured to adapt to changing business requirements or layouts; provides both historical and real-time information; and enables real-time control decision based on data-centric information.”

The distinctions between a WCS and a WMS are significant. The role of WMS comprises responsibility for the entire warehouse; material handling automation, and static locations. WMS also acts as a business system focusing on the “business needs” of the warehouse. At the same time, WMS maintains a vast amount of information such as inventory data, customer orders, and historical data. It processes large amounts of data in a non real-time mode to arrive at the daily workload of what is to be processed by the material handling system on a day-to-day basis. WMS employs highly standardized software products that provide well defined services. Customized modifications to WMS can be extremely costly and threaten future upgrades and support.

Machine Controls/programmable logic controllers (PLC) are responsible for a localized area of the warehouse, such as a conveyor segment, machine (crane, carousel, palletizer) and are focused on the mechanization and implementation needs of the warehouse. However, machine controls/PLCs are bit manipulators not data manipulators. They lack functionality to handle data strings and files. Other features of machine controls/PLCs include being able to respond to events in real-time; custom programmed to the warehouse site; and are developed in a technician friendly language (ladder logic), which allows for easier trouble-shooting techniques.

According to Jerry List, vice-president of QC Software (www.qcsoftware.com), “The integration of functionality occurs because the warehouse control systems’ scope encompasses the entire material handling automation. It coordinates the interfaces between the various localized automation controllers, such as conveyors and AS/RS (Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems). The WCS also establishes data management responsibilities in real-time and accomplishes this by working with a subset of data provided by the WMS. Unlike the WMS, the WCS is a modular control system that is custom configured to plant layout; it provides a combination of Supervisory Management screens as well as Diagnostic utilities for the warehouse technicians.” Typically, a WCS is for high volume distribution centers; companies that process thousands or orders per day and utilize conveyor. There are corresponding technology features that must be identified to ascertain Tier 1 WCS standing.

QC Software is the leading provider of Tier 1 warehouse control systems to the warehousing and distribution industries. Since 1996, QC Software, utilizing state of the art technology combined with extensive research, development, and rigorous testing, has developed the QC Enterprise suite of products. Designed to be modular in nature, easily configurable, and platform independent, this highly scalable solution satisfies the needs of any size warehouse.

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World Trade Magazine Profiles Warehouse Control Systems

In the December issue of World Trade magazine, leading manufacturing journalist, Thomas R. Cutler, described the current nature of “Dynamic Warehousing.” According to Cutler there is ‘buzz’ that heightened concerns about supply chain resiliency are prompting tactics of ‘regionalization’ of the supply chain process, keeping inventory closer at hand, if not necessarily taking possession sooner. The result is making warehousing a key element in enterprise strategy much more so than just five years ago. The concept of renewed centrality of warehouses within supply chains may be a paradigm shift more about how new warehouse control systems are part of lean efficiency, than simply the new role of warehouses in strategic thinking.

Jerry List, Vice President of Cincinnati, Ohio-based QC Software (www.qcsoftware.com) debunks that any paradigm shift has taken place. “When did warehousing ever go away? The most significant impact on warehousing has been the need for real-time warehouse data via WCS (warehouse control systems.) In today’s economy, distribution centers need to be more dynamic to meet the ever changing demands of the global economy. They must constantly re-invent themselves, whether it is simply expanding an existing footprint, adding new operational processes such as value added services, or finding better ways to fulfill orders quicker. Warehouses cannot remain stagnant.”

The ability of a warehouse to be dynamic depends on the configurability and scalability of the WCS.

The warehouse control system enables an automated warehouse or distribution center to reach peak operating performance. These new technologies remove the inefficiencies commonly associated with under or over element of lean manufacturing and elimination of waste, a warehouse control system pulls product through an automated warehouse or distribution center increasing overall productivity and throughput.

Some solutions offer that the key to the optimization of material flow by warehouse automation is tracking key performance indicators such as the current and anticipated workloads at workstations in order to make key material routing decisions; inbound and outbound order tasks to make key material release decisions.

QC Software is the leading provider of Tier 1 warehouse control systems to the warehousing and distribution industries. Since 1996, QC Software, utilizing state of the art technology combined with extensive research, development, and rigorous testing, has developed the QC Enterprise suite of products. Designed to be modular in nature, easily configurable, and platform independent, this highly scalable solution satisfies the needs of any size warehouse.

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