Why is WMS in such high demand? Why does the market continually grow? Picking, packing, and moving items in warehouse seems very operational – tactical at best. That is what I thought as a recent MBA graduate. Maybe my perspective as a business school graduate is telling? And maybe its a learning experience for executives with a similar background, coming to “know what they don’t know” that keeps WMS and execution functions relevant. […}
Transparent logistics data from analytics systems helps you find the strategies necessary for mastering the peak workloads of the peak periods. Past experiences are used in addition to what the forecast says about the volumes that are expected to come in for processing. The warehouse management and control systems implement the derived strategies in the form of system configurations and system parameters to reach the expected result. As soon as the warehouse management and control systems are set up with stock and warehouse modelling, a plan
DHL held its inaugural DHL Robotics Hour media event earlier this week. DHL successfully piloted two Dorabot DoraSorter systems – one Sort-to-Gaylord and the other Sort-to-Bag. The proprietary drawer-shaped, conveyor belt end effector is the characteristic I found most innovative about this solution. Rather than grasping and item, it supports and balances items from below.
Warehouse management systems (WMS) solutions providers (in aggregate) experienced accelerated growth in 2021 This above-trend growth is primarily a result of the longer-term factors influencing the markets’ growth, supplemented by a surge in pent-up demand from COVID-19 related hesitancy in 2020. A number of factors are currently influencing both the growth of the market and the shift in WMS users’ requirements and priorities. WMS suppliers indicated that […]
Warehouse labor has been in the news quite a bit lately. Most recently, attempts at unionization at a number of Amazon warehouses have been in general news and business publications. A vote in Alabama was rejected, followed by a vote in New York that passed. My interest lies in understanding the negotiating points – or points of contention between the warehouse workers and the employers. In particular, I am interested in labor as a critical resource at these facilities and ways of improving productivity, with the understanding that workers are people. It is difficult to overstate how much the unionization, negotiation […]
MODEX 2022 kicked-off on Monday and I spent the full-day Tuesday on the floor. Needless to say, it was liberating to be back at a trade show in person – my first since March 2020. From the looks of the high attendance and the extensive booth displays, there was clearly some pent-up demand for the […]
E-Commerce is clearly a growth engine. But to what degree is it profitable? It is difficult to measure widespread e-commerce profitability. And even more difficult than profitability is the detailed cost-structure of e-commerce channels. Transportation costs account for a large percentage of costs. As does reverse logistics (returns). These costs can be charged to customers – at the risk of losing customers due to uncompetitive pricing. Or they can be absorbed by the seller – greatly diminishing profits. What about that other big expense – warehousing and fulfillment costs? Warehouse investments can reduce variable costs, but with significant […]
