Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies - October 2008 - (Page 57)

Pick-to-light is another mature technology that has helped distribution centers process more orders with greater accuracy. Light-directed systems work best in highvolume, “each-pick” operations, says Honious. Of more recent vintage are radio frequency applications employing twodimensional barcodes. The symbols can capture multiple serial numbers off a product and greatly speed up the scanning process, he says. The latest WMS suites can be deployed effectively in non-DC environments, according to Sherman. As companies bypass traditional DCs to save time and money, manufacturing centers take on order-fulfillment responsibilities. Or they might seek greater control over stockrooms feeding the assembly line. Work orders can be handled as picking waves, Sherman says, ensuring that components don’t arrive at the line too early or too late. Traditional WMS can even be deployed in non-manufacturing areas such as customer maintenance shops, repair depots and spare-parts centers. “Whether you’re doing light assembly or packaging as part of a postponement strategy, or [running a] manufacturing center that does some order fulfillment, you’re going to see the lines between those two types of facilities blur,” Sherman says. Warehouses needn’t acquire the most sophisticated WMS software to reap the benefits of new technology. Cincinnatibased QC Software Inc. is a vendor of warehouse control system (WCS) applications, which tend to manage smaller facilities that don’t require a tier-one WMS. WCS is best suited for piece-pick environments, interfacing directly with material handling systems, says vice president Jerry List. WCS can be combined with pick-to-light and even voice, although QC hasn’t worked with the latter technology. “Voice is more well-suited for product that’s a bit larger, or for less densely populated picking areas,” List says. A number of smaller companies have had success with pick-to-light. QC customer Lia Sophia, a direct-to-consumer seller of fashion jewelry, uses the technology along with an A-frame picking system to speed up the processing of orders. The company previously relied on a manual picking operation that couldn’t accommodate growth, List says. As with any technology, companies must strike a balance between need and cost. That’s why many providers offer several tiers of WMS, pegged to the sophistication of a given operation. Says Honious: “Every customer has its own identity and its own personality.” To access this article online, visit The Digital Edition at www.SupplyChainBrain.com. Resource Links Aberdeen, www.aberdeen.com APL Logistics, www.apllogistics.com Cadre Technologies, www.cadretech.com DSC Logistics, www.dsclogistics.com Forte Industries, www.forte-industries.com Infor, www.infor.com Oracle, www.oracle.com Ozburn-Hessey Logistics, www.ohlogistics.com QC Software, www.qcsoftware.com RedPrairie, www.redprairie.com www.SupplyChainBrain.com GLOBAL LOGISTICS & SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES 57 http://www.SupplyChainBrain.com http://www.aberdeen.com http://www.apllogistics.com http://www.cadretech.com http://supplychain.utk.edu http://www.dsclogistics.com http://supplychain.utk.edu http://www.forte-industries.com http://www.infor.com http://www.oracle.com http://www.ohlogistics.com http://www.qcsoftware.com http://www.redprairie.com http://www.SupplyChainBrain.com

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Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies - October 2008

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