Archive for Warehouse Management Systems
A few months ago, a client asked me to help him put together a short list of best-of-breed warehouse control system (WCS) vendors. Here is the problem he faced: his company uses a warehouse management system (WMS) that worked well when it was initially implemented. Over time, the company added various material handling systems, each with its own interface and “island” of control logic. The company now wants to upgrade… Continue reading
About a year and a half ago, I completed a report on the ROI and best practices associated with Voice Recognition solutions for the warehouse. The price for voice systems has been dropping in recent years, as more companies use nonproprietary, mobile computers from companies like Motorola. These computers provide the local computing power for the voice headset, and they enable either voice or scanning driven processes depending on… Continue reading
A Strategic Hole in the WMS Market
· CommentsARC recently published my new Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) Market Outlook study. In a previous Logistics Viewpoints article, I highlighted the fact that the largest WMS suppliers continue to grow as the market shrinks. However, despite that, I believe that these leading WMS suppliers have a strategic hole in their supply chain execution portfolio that could make them vulnerable.
Obviously, having a larger suite of solutions has… Continue reading
Top Five Postings on Logistics Viewpoints
· CommentsLogistics Viewpoints reached a new milestone this week: the site exceeded 10,000 pageviews since it was launched a little over two months ago. This is a nice accomplishment, considering we haven’t done any external promotion of the site. So, thank you for visiting the site, submitting comments, and spreading the word.
Also, a big “thank you” to our sponsors (listed on the sidebar) for helping us launch Logistics Viewpoints… Continue reading
Over the past two months, I’ve been interviewing Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) vendors, as I update our annual Warehouse Management Systems Worldwide Outlook study. Many vendors told a similar story of woe about 2008. The year started well, and then selling cycles began to lengthen in the third quarter. Many suppliers, particularly mid-size and smaller vendors, were not able to close any new software deals in the fourth quarter… Continue reading
When it comes to IT architecture, you might hear acronyms like SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) or BPM (Business Process Management). But I’ve often believed the most applicable acronym was MEGO – My Eyes Glaze Over!
However, if you are contemplating buying a Warehouse Management System (WMS), the sad truth is that architecture does matter. So, here’s my (perhaps ambitious) attempt to tell you why it matters and what to… Continue reading
I hate multi-tasking. Give me one task at a time, and sufficient time to accomplish it, and I’m fairly happy. But that rarely happens. Even so, my work life has to be easier than a warehouse manager’s. Their main job, of course, is to make sure that customer orders are fulfilled accurately and on-time every day. This alone is more than a full time job. But consider all the other… Continue reading
I came across a working paper recently from the Harvard Business School called “Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting.” Although hundreds of studies have shown that setting specific, challenging goals can drive behavior and boost performance in powerful ways, the authors of this paper argue that goal setting has been “over prescribed”. In their words, “goal setting has powerful and predictable side effects…and should… Continue reading
