Gartner is fresh out with its Magic Quadrant (MQ) analysis for Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) 2023.
Supply Chain Digest Says...
|
 |
Gartner also says that WMS offerings continue to differ in areas such as usability, adaptability, decision support, scalability both up and down market, use of emerging technologies and life cycle costs.
|
 |
What do you say? |
| Click here to send us your comments |
 |
| |
|
In that report, available to Gartner clients, Gartner says there are five categories of WMS providers. Let’s take a look, starting with:
Application “mega-vendors”: These vendors offer broad portfolios of applications across many application categories (e.g., back-office financials, human capital management [HCM], customer relationship management [CRM], customer order management, manufacturing, enterprise resource planning [ERP] and supply chain management [SCM]). While these vendors might offer a variety of supply chain management (SCM) solutions, they do not necessarily offer an integrated platform.
SCM suite vendors: These vendors offer a holistic WMS, plus a portfolio of two or more applications focused primarily on SCM. This can include aspects of logistics (e.g., warehousing, transportation and global trade), supply chain planning (SCP), customer service (e.g., order management and omnichannel management), manufacturing or sourcing and procurement, but not other functional areas such as financials, CRM or HCM. While these vendors might offer a variety of SCM solutions, they do not necessarily offer an integrated platform (although some do).
Specialist WMS suite vendors: These are independent software vendors (ISVs) that focus primarily, but not necessarily exclusively, on holistic WMS suites. In addition to WMSs, they might offer complementary capabilities, but these remain modest percentage of their business.
Material handling equipment/automation vendors: Most MHE vendors primarily focus on providing the electromechanical aspects of large-scale, automated warehouses. However, many of these vendors also offer some WMS capabilities as part of their portfolio of products.
Independent WMS component vendors: These vendors are specialized ISVs that focus exclusively on offering stand-alone components that can be used to supplement a WMS; they do not offer a full WMS. Examples of these components include workforce/labor management, slotting optimization, multicarrier parcel management, yard management, dock/appointment scheduling, warehouse control systems (WCSs), warehouse execution systems (WESs) and other specialized add-on solutions.
Take your pick.
(See More Below)
The Gartner note observes that “Despite being a very mature market, recent macro factors and disruptions have spurred innovation. However, the overall WMS market is forecast to exceed $3.35 billion by 2027 with a five-year compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.9%.
Gartner also says that WMS offerings continue to differ in areas such as usability, adaptability, decision support, scalability both up and down market, use of emerging technologies and life cycle costs.
The report also says “customers increasingly favor suites that can support end-to-end supply chain and logistics process orchestration.”
Gartner refers to these areas as supply chain convergence and supply chain execution convergence (related to convergence of operational activities).
Any thoughts on these WMS provider types? Let us know your thoughts at the Feedback section below.
|
