SCDigest Editorial Staff
Even as core Warehouse Management System (WMS) solutions become more and more capable out of the box, reducing the need for customizations of core distribution center processes, the integration with material handling automation systems is generally a source of customization that adds to project cost and risk.
That could be changing, as some WMS vendors are looking to better package WMS integration with material handling systems and equipment.
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 There are dozens of potential equipment types/vendors and WCS packages in the market, as opposed to a sub-system like Voice, where there are just a few providers and WMS vendors have successfully pre-built integrations.
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At a high level, there are two types of WMS integration with material handling systems:
- Direct integration between the WMS and the material handling sub-system, such as a carousel.
- Integration of the WMS to a Warehouse Control System (WCS), which in turn communicates with materials handling equipment, such as a sortation system. (See The Role of the Warehouse Control System in the DC.)
In many instances, both approaches are used in the same facility, with the WMS perhaps communicating with a WCS that is controlling conveyors and the WMS integrating directly with carousels, an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS) or other automation sub-systems.
Rarely have either of these integrations been well-packaged. In a few cases, WMS providers have built integration to the WCS of select material handling vendors, but these have generally not been well-maintained, and usually still require some costly integration efforts. Pre-built integrations between the WMS and individual automation systems/vendors have been equally spotty.
But Jeff Gantt, a senior product manager at supply chain software vendor Manhattan Associates, says that situation is likely to change.
Gantt says WMS vendors such as Manhattan are working on a concept he calls MHE (Material Handling Equipment) Extensibility.
“The approach to material handling integration in the past was definitely a very customized one,” Gantt told SCDigest. “Those message mappings, however, can be built natively right into the WMS. When you need to integrate with some type of automation equipment, when I need to send a message to the MHE, you pick the vendor and equipment, and the WMS selects the right data elements that are needed in that message string, the right format for that data, and what protocols are required for that specific integration.”
Gantt added that this becomes a “much more MHE agnostic approach” than the industry has seen to date.
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“The WMS and automation interfaces, whether they are direct or though a WCS, always add cost, time and risk to the project,” Holste said, based on his more than 30 years of experience in the distribution industry.
