Food Logistics

JAN-FEB 2015

Food Logistics serves the entire food supply chain industry with targeted content for manufacturers, retailers, and distributors.

Issue link: https://foodlogistics.epubxp.com/i/467905

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 46 of 59

www.foodlogistics.com FOOD LOGISTICS • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 47 For more information: AFS TECHNOLOGIES, 877-821-3007, afs.com CASESTACK, 866-828-7120, ww2.casestack.com FORTE INDUSTRIES, 513-398-2800, forte-industries.com HIGHJUMP SOFTWARE, 800-328-3271, highjump.com JDA SOFTWARE, 888-441-1532, jda.com KNAPP LOGISTICS AUTOMATION INC. 678-388-2880, knapp.com LOGFIRE, 678-261-9000, logfire.com MANHATTAN ASSOCIATES, 877-596-9208, manh.com MATERIAL HANDLING INSTITUTE, 704-676-1190, mhi.org POWER AUTOMATION SYSTEMS, 209-249-1616, powerautomationsystems.com PRISM LOGISTICS, 925-838-1691, prismlogistics.com RETROTECH INC., 585-924-6333, retrotech.com SOFTEON, 703-793-0005, softeon.com SSI SCHAEFER, 800-876-6000, ssi-schaefer.us TRANSTECH CONSULTING, 614-751-0575, transtechconsulting.com VIASTORE SYSTEMS, 616-977-3950,viastore.com C O N N EC T C O N N E C T D I S C O V E R Wes t i n S a van n a h H ar b o r M ar c h 8 - 1 0, 2 0 1 5 T he In t e r n a t io n al W a r e ho use L o gi sti c s As s ocia t i on pr ese nt s t h e p r emi e r edu c ationa l a n d n e t w o r ki ng c o n ferenc e for w a r ehouse lo g i s t i cs pr of e s s ion a l s . In clu d es sp ec i a l IW LA Food C o u n c i l Me e tin g. R E GIST E R A T W W W. I WLA . C O M. manufacturers," he says. viastore systems, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based international systems integrator, has upgraded its software solution for AS/RSs to include the ability to pick orders as they are received, says John Clark, marketing man- ager. "We do a waveless picking approach," he says of the company's software. "We've combined a warehouse control and ware- house management solution into a warehouse execution system that can talk to automation and can talk to conventional (picking) as well," he says. Forte Industries, the Mason, Ohio-based software provider, has developed its Smart Warehouse Suite of Warehouse Execution Software (WES) designed to provide WMS- like capabilities in lieu of a full-fledged WMS, says Tom Rentschler, vice president of sales and marketing. The software offers func- tions typically found only in WMS packages. This can include receiving, put-away, replen- ishment, inventory tracking and cycle count- ing, and waving. "We can handle anything relating to fulfilling the order once it has been released to us from an ERP or order manage- ment system," Rentschler says. Some clients have deployed Forte's WES warehouse director module in place of a WMS. "It's getting its execution from an ERP," Rentschler says. In many cases, the WES can supplement existing legacy WMS or enterprise resource planning warehouse mod- ules and eliminate the need to invest in a new WMS package, he says. "A lot of companies don't need all the functionality a tier 1 WMS provides," Rent- schler says. "Fully implemented, it (tier 1 WMS) is certainly more than a million dol- lars for most companies and could be quite a bit more than that." Specific concerns building interest in both WMS and WCS solutions are: food safety regulations, a need to replace legacy software, and the dynamics associated with order fulfill- ment in a multi-channel distribution world. For companies to deploy new technologies successfully, they need to have a technology implementation plan, according to logistics consultant Tony Vercillo, Ph.D. Vercillo notes that half of warehouse technology implementa- tions fail, usually due to poor planning. At many companies, the supply chain func- tion lags the commercial side of the business when it comes to capitalizing on the power of analytics, the MHI report notes. As technolo- gy evolves, the supply chain will play a bigger role in determining a company's success. ◆

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Food Logistics - JAN-FEB 2015