There are many automation options available, but how do you integrate it into your current systems and process to achieve expected ROI?
These are exciting times in the field of warehouse automation to be sure. After decades of dominance by established pallet-case automation solutions, there are now dozens of high-volume each and flexible automation options available – from Kiva-inspired goods-to-person to robotic arms. Warehousing technology has never been more exhilarating – or mainstream.
Unfortunately, many companies start to get a dose of reality as they put together the business case. For a pilot project or POC, data loads might be sufficient, but achieving the projected ROI will almost always require real-time integration. True warehouse optimization requires flow control. How can the flow of work be optimized when each system is housed in an unintegrated silo?
Major players have proprietary warehouse control or execution systems (WCS/WES), but these solutions are not intended to support third parties in an open API ecosystem.
As a result, many companies are left looking for a path to introduce the latest automation but are held back by closed ecosystems and the integration capabilities of their legacy packaged or in-house warehouse management system (WMS).
Another piece of today’s challenge is that many of the new players have accelerated to market by focusing primarily on logic that enhances their hardware capabilities and analytics, leaving the issue of end-to-end orchestration to implementation or a WES-like solution. Major players have proprietary warehouse control or execution systems (WCS/WES), but these solutions are usually not intended to support third parties in an open API ecosystem. As a result, many companies are left looking for a path to introduce the latest automation but are held back by closed ecosystems and the integration capabilities of their legacy packaged or in-house warehouse management system (WMS).
The answer is a new layer of software-based automation to drive warehouse orchestration.
As warehousing leaders start their automation journeys, many express to us that they have a gut feeling that WMS alone is no longer enough. Inventory tracking, WCS, and batch picking got us through the early days of e-comm but will not be enough to power the DTC shift of the next 10-20 years. There are too many potential players and too much uncertainty to remain tied to linear, batch-based work execution models. The future of warehousing requires advanced connected worker technology and automated flow control to orchestrate the new digital workforce (humans, robots, and AI).
The LogistiVIEW Platform
LogistiVIEW harnesses the untapped power of the connected workforce and creates technology that improves operational productivity and job satisfaction for workers in manufacturing, logistics, and retail. This cloud-based software automation platform orchestrates frontline work execution and leverages the power of modern industrial mobile computers to connect people with augmented reality, artificial intelligence, existing information systems, connected sensors, and collaborative robots.
LogistiVIEW is the platform for what’s next – whether you need frontline process optimization today, dynamic put walls tomorrow, or robots next week.
Ready to start your automation journey? Contact us today to request your customized automation assessment.