SSI Schäfer: WMS in combination with modern automation technology

In conjunction with the desire for automation, driven by rising land prices and high labour costs as well as the Industry 4.0 initiative, this results in an increased need for intralogistics to optimize operational processes.

Very often, it also turns out that many production and service processes in Western countries can only be managed in an economically sensible way - as required - with an increased level of automation. In this context, internal logistics now plays a leading role in almost all industries. Especially when logistics is one of the core processes in a company. In the context of system leadership, the question arises as to what should be considered when introducing a WMS if logistics is also entering the world of automation.

Requirements for WMS for process optimization

In addition to the constant availability of systems, the time factor and reliability, standardization also plays an important role here. At first glance, developments tailored specifically to a customer may appear interesting and correct, but on closer inspection these solutions also harbor economic risks and are often not competitive in the future.

A standardized WMS solution should therefore have a modular structure so that it can be used both in manually managed warehouse areas as well as in partially or fully automated areas. And this despite the fact that the requirements are different. If a WMS solution can now cover manually managed and automated areas and does not require any interfaces, it can be referred to as an integrated system.

Theoretically, there are the following WMS providers:

• Warehouse technology providers: Here, the WMS is usually seen as a supplement to the existing product portfolio; warehouse management usually only covers the automated area ("the warehouse machine"). The systems of these providers are often referred to as Warehouse Control Systems (WCS). It is often discussed whether inventory management can be handled in the customer's ERP system or whether it should be handled by the WCS itself. Manually managed warehouse areas are often left to the customer's ERP system.
• Suite providers: Suite providers offer the WMS as a supplement or as a module of a suite. As there is no high affinity to automation, the direct connection of automated trades to WMS modules from suite providers is usually correspondingly difficult.
• Pure WMS providers: Pure WMS providers usually have somewhat more in-depth knowledge of the processes in a warehouse operation or distribution center, but the solutions offered must also be evaluated here.
• Providers of production planning systems: Providers of production planning systems usually have a rudimentary form of warehouse management, but an adequate level of inventory management. For the complex planning of production processes and their optimization, it is essential to have the inventory of all raw materials and semi-finished products available. Experience has shown that the integration of WMS and ERP systems in this constellation is a real challenge.

However, the question is always the same: Can the automation technology not only be controlled and managed with the solution offered, but can the usually already existing manually managed work processes be integrated in a standardized WMS in addition to the automation technology?