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About the Author

by John P. Reichert
WMS Product Marketing Manager
TECSYS Inc.

John Reichert is a senior supply chain management expert with a focus on warehouse management systems. His career encompasses more than 25 years of experience; as a consumer and also as a supplier, in product development and management of ERP systems for domestic and international companies in Canada, the U.S., Europe and Asia. Since 1998, Mr. Reichert has been instrumental in providing innovative WMS solutions to Fortune 1000 organizations in healthcare and complex high-volume distribution. Mr. Reichert holds a Bachelor Degree in Engineering and a Master’s Degree in business.

For more information, please visit www.tecsys.com.

Supply Chain Comment

By John P. Reichert, WMS Product Marketing Manager, TECSYS Inc.

November 15, 2012

Paper-Trail to Dynamic, Digital Warehousing - From Snail to Swift

The Future Frontier: Taking Key Tools and Empowering Management and Warehouse Operators with Innovations

Complexities in Supply Chains

Supply chains of the 21st century are extremely complex; congested with products and processes. The number and variety of products has exploded, lifecycles have shrunk, and interdependencies between organizations are at an all-time high. Natural disasters such as hurricane Sandy have a far-reaching impact on supply chains and the need to get products, spare parts and medical supplies from point A to point Z has never been more urgent.

Challenges in the Warehouse

Reichert Says:

Today's distribution operations demand warehouse management solutions compatible with today's technologically advanced world; slick user interfaces with dynamic and productive tools.

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Since the mid-1980’s, the warehouse management system (WMS) industry has steadily evolved to the point where thousands of distribution centers are now being managed by sophisticated real-time software systems, enabling companies to automate their business processes; turning manual logistics into paperless distribution operations. At the time it was enough for operational managers to see their paper trails turn into guided automated processes, yet a lot remained to be read, understood and thought about before execution at the floor level occurred! Having accurate, relevant information immediately accessible and understandable by workers delivers better results and enables them to act immediately, make faster decisions and complete logistics cycles much more swiftly.

The Android/iOS Era

According to industry research, at the end of 2011, there were 6 billion mobile subscriptions in the world, equivalent to 87 percent of the world population. Over 700 million of those were smart phones (Androids, iPhones and the like), which is equivalent to the population of all Europe and twice the population of North America. All in all, the digital age is here and is exploding at a far reaching pace across the consumer and business world; white-collar workers or not!

The Android/iOS era is defining the mobile technology platform and consumers are getting accustomed to and demand no less from other technology application areas. Today, not only young adults, but adults alike demand ease-of-use. They are intolerant to inefficiency and have much higher expectations from the tools they use. They expect tools to be interactive, intuitive enabling them to get productive work done with the least amount of effort.

Visual in Logistics – The Warehouse Execution Path Redefined

Today’s distribution operations demand warehouse management solutions compatible with today’s technologically advanced world; slick user interfaces with dynamic and productive tools. Visual Logistics is a breakthrough technology that enables operators to attain new heights in efficiencies because operators receive visual information to speed up the time required to find products, units of measure, lot numbers and manufacturers’ specs and knowhow.

Industry experts recognize that language-independent visual information enables people to interpret and validate work instructions faster and more accurately than text-based information. This is the main reason that traffic signs around the world are primarily visual-based.

Collaborative Visibility – A Leap in Supply Chain Visibility and Execution

Furthermore, in this modern era, distribution operations must collaborate to survive by using electronic, real-time information sharing from multiple sources in a single actionable environment – in other words leveraging collaborative visibility to drive through the logistics’ challenges and meet customer demands.

Collaborative visibility is optimizing visibility though collaboration. In essence, interactive dashboards ̶ pulling data from various sources; operations, outlets, customers and manufacturers, to support strategic as well as daily operational decision making. This collaborative visibility will become the standard used for everyday warehouse transactions—from receiving to shipping.

Imagine an android-like technology that provides real-time information and cues to management and workers in the distribution center for such important information as status and delays of critical shipments, or enables workers to access in real-time manufacturers’ inspection guidelines with one click; or notifies shipping clerks of a change in shipping service and automatically presents them with alternate shipping options.

None of this could be accomplished without a collaborative platform for complete, real-time visibility with dynamic visualization across the supply chain. This is the future frontier: taking key tools and empowering management and warehouse operators with innovations that matter in this digital age.

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