Warehouse Control System vs. Warehouse Management System

WMS vs. WCS Jim Iversen, CEO Mark Kushner, COO Lloyed Lobo, Director of Business Development

Agenda AL Systems Company Overview The Role of a WMS WCS Why A WCS The Traditional Role of a WCS The Evolution of the WCS The WCS Today Do I need a WCS? WMS & WCS – Working Together Simon & Schuster Case Study Q&A

Company Overview Over 30 years of long-standing client relationships Strong team of Distribution Experts - Systems Analysts, Engineers, Software Developers, Project Managers & World class Customer Support Design-Build Model - Operations Assessment, Design, ROI Analysis, Build and Implement, & Support Best of Breed - Lights, Voice, RF, MHE… Functionally rich, configurable, personalized Single connection to WMS, ERP and/or enterprise systems Productivity Management, Reporting & Resource Balancing AL Systems provides clients with Warehouse Control and Order Fulfillment solutions that optimize the flow of merchandise through their distribution centers.

The Role of the WMS WMS made their debut in the mid 1980s The WMS acts as a business planning system focusing on planning the "business needs" of the warehouse (POs, Orders, Inventory Locations, Labor) As the “System of Record” the WMS maintains and manages a vast amount of information such as inventory data, purchase orders, customer orders, and historical data. The WMS 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 systems and labor resources on a day-to-day basis The WMS manages the non-automated operations in a DC Manages information across multiple facilities and the system can physically reside offsite 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.

Why A WCS? The Warehouse Control System (WCS) evolved from the industry’s need for a new breed of bolt-on software functionality for the management of real-time communication , the integrated control of many types of automated equipment, and the lack of functionally rich, configurable order fulfillment solution . The speed and nimbleness of the WCS makes it uniquely designed to focus on the exchange of real-time communications, command processing, discrete equipment signals, and the optimization of material movement and traffic control tasks where response is measured in milliseconds, and conditions change at a moments notice.

Traditional Role of WCS Warehouse Control Systems emerged 20 years ago to bridge the gap between higher level information systems, such as Warehouse Management Systems, and the warehouse floor by allocating, balancing, managing , and monitoring tasks executed by disparate automated material handling equipment and subsystems in real time Using business rules , and real time data , a WCS synchronizes the activities of multiple automated equipment subsystems, human resources, and material flow, and drives control decisions and exceptions . A WCS provides a uniform interface for a variety of equipment to the upper level management systems such as WMS A WCS optimizes asset utilization A WCS operates within the four walls of the facility and the system is resident in the facility Modular in nature. Employs easily configurable and customizable software to meet the unique, and ever-changing business process requirements of an industry or company

Making Beautiful Music Together “ Think of your operation as a symphony orchestra. The Warehouse Management System is the composer , creating a musical score that features reeds, woodwinds, and strings, together making beautiful sounds. But anyone who has ever heard the dreadful noise that an orchestra makes when tuning up knows that it needs the conductor to pull it all together. In this case, the conductor is the Warehouse Control System, making sure the material handling “instruments” perform in perfect harmony and efficiency.” John T. Phelan Jr., P.E

Traditional WMS-WCS Landscape User Interface Reports Alerts Host Interface Manage Inbound POs & Receiving Manage Outbound Orders & Shipping Inventory, Storage & Location Management User Interface Reports Alerts Host Interface Equipment Communication & Control DC Activity Execution Receiving, PutAway, Replenishment, Picking, Packing, Shipping WMS WCS B-O-B

The Evolution of WCS So….. WMS – manages information and controls inventory and WCS – drives equipment and people But….. The Line between the two has become blurred over time and functions sometimes overlap Resulting in….. The WCS that was once a bridge between a WMS and a PLC – has now grown in functionality The WCS has begun to play a larger role in order fulfillment and warehouse management execution Different vendors offer different functionality

WCS Today WCS Today…. Information flow drives Material flow in the DC Managing execution of tasks by disparate automated material handling equipment and subsystems in real time Directing Human Task/Activity Control Such As: Receiving Put Away Replenishment Order Picking Consolidation Sortation Providing Human Interface Control at point of Action Workstation Displays RF Terminals & Displays Light Directed Communication Voice Directed Communication Provide enterprise visibility of real-time operational conditions Managing exceptions and control decisions in real time Providing historical performance data and resource productivity metrics

The New Landscape User Interface Reports Alerts Host Interface Manage Inbound POs & Receiving Manage Outbound Orders & Shipping Inventory, Storage & Location Management User Interface Reports Alerts Host Interface Equipment Communication & Control Activity Execution Receiving, PutAway, Replenishment, Picking, Packing, Shipping WMS WCS

Do I Need a WCS? Your current process is inefficient and it takes too long to get a product out the door Your conveyor system has cartons everywhere, but going nowhere fast You’re creating back orders even though the product is in stock You’re shipping the wrong products, the wrong quantities or to the wrong location Your order profile is changing; More orders, Smaller orders, Fewer lines per order Your shipping customized orders (Value Added Services, customer specific paperwork, Labeling, Cartonization) Current operation requires too many “work-arounds” Unable to measure & track individual and overall productivity

Do I Need a WCS? You’re growing fast and can’t handle the volume, without adding more people and more space It is getting expensive to keep modifying your WMS system to meet your operational requirements Information flow is not automatic Employees travel long distances between actions Too many SKU touches are required Picking SKU’s in item number sequence rather than optimized pick path Still using paper (or RF) for directing activities Adding automation and equipment to your process Need for a lot of decision points

I need a WCS - So now what? Baseline current performance so you can measure progress Take a good look at your current operation and create profiles of your SKUs Purchase Orders Customer Orders Inventory Identify any future events that will impact your operation in the future Take a good look at your current processes. Re-engineer where appropriate to optimize material flow through automation and human control Determine whether your WMS can provide the complete functionality needed to support your specific new process requirements. If so, at what cost? Don’t compromise! Where it cannot, put these on the list of processes to be supported by the WCS Find a WCS that can provide the functionality required to at an acceptable cost –

Other Considerations…. Balance the roles of the WMS and WCS Utilize WMS components for functionality that WMS products typically do well Utilize WCS components for functionality that WCS products typically do well Minimize overlap of functionality and data - Assign functionality to a single component to avoid maintenance in multiple systems Data Share core data whenever possible to avoid data synchronization problems Define what data is “owned” by the WMS and what data is “owned” by the WCS? How much data is duplicated between the WMS and the WCS? For duplicated data, what is the risk of data becoming out of sync and how is data re-synced? What data is shared between the WMS and the WCS?

Other Considerations… I nterfacing Determine interface requirements What is the optimal method (or methods) of interfacing based on the required touch-points between the WMS and WCS? What is the cost of interfacing the WMS and the WCS? Reporting and Monitoring Can the WMS and the WCS utilize a single reporting solution? If not, can data from both systems be merged into single report? Can the WMS and the WCS components be monitored through a single mechanism?

Pre-2008 WCS Manhattan WMS – RF Receiving, Putaway, Replenishment, Inventory Management Order Picking by Labels (paper) AL Systems DynaTrack – Controlling the movement, auditing, sortation and tracking of Vendor Cartons & Customer Orders throughout Hytrol Conveyor

Benefits of Paperless INSERT TABLE OF FUNCTIONALITY FROM Oracle Article

2008 Replaced Paper Picking with Voice Picking Unique design that automatically distributes the work to areas that need it. Consolidated from 2 to 1 DCs $5 mil savings - Less than 1 year payback “ We had a choice of putting voice picking in our WMS, in our WCS, or standalone. We decided to use the voice picking system provided by our WCS system, largely because there is a close interface between order picking and our conveyor systems because orders are on the conveyor system, and that is controlled by the WCS. We see the WCS as the backbone of our operation” -Dave Schaeffer-VP Distribution and Fulfillment

Recap WMS and WCS fill two very different complimentary roles WMS WCS Planning the business (Composer) Executing the business (Conductor) Manage the non-automated operations Control the automated equipment , human resources, and operations Process vast amount of non-Real time data to plan and manage the business Use of real time data & business rules to control execution of activities in the DC Multi-facility Within the four walls of the DC Manage the expected Manage the exceptions Highly standardized, well defined functionality, expensive to change Modular, highly configurable and customizable, inexpensive to change

Recap Assess your business issues to determine if adding a WCS will benefit you If the benefit is there, don’t rush in. Review your current operations and processes to understand where you can improve the process Find the right WCS that provides what your WMS does not. Don’t compromise. Where overlapping functionality exists in both, select the component that best meets your process requirements Design how the WMS and WCS will work together Functionality Data Interfaces Reporting

Other Resources Upcoming Events: http://www.alsystems.com/events AL Systems YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/alsystems White Papers: http://www.alsystems.com/white-papers Further Information: Lloyed Lobo 973-586-8500 x223 [email_address]

Warehouse Control System vs. Warehouse Management System

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