Warehouse Control System, coupled with warehouse management system is a force to reckon with. While WMS looks after the overall operation within the distribution centres, WCS manages and gives directives to the automated material handling equipment.
With the evolving face of technology, supply chain industry is also changing its features and dynamics. Greater stress is being laid on automation and it is being expected that within a few decades, the entire gamut of supply chain would be fully automated. This change is particularly conspicuous in the process of warehousing where the facility owners have largely implemented material handling automation systems to meet the customer demands of quick delivery and end-to-end visibility. In tandem with the rapidly changing face of warehousing, warehouse control system or WCS has also come into existence to render an additional layer of software support to the logistical operations.
What is WCS?
WCS is a software application that integrates with warehouse management system or WMS to orchestrate warehouse functions so that the day-to-day operations run smoothly within the distribution centre. WCS manages and gives directives to the automated material handling equipment. This may range from simple tools such as conveyors or carousals to complex systems such as automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), pick-to-light systems, goods-to-persons systems, sorters, palletizing/depalletizing modules.
How is WCS different from WMS?
WMS is a proven software support that manages inventory flow across the warehouse an assigns work to workers and orchestrates the entire flow of work starting with generating ASN and receiving to picking and loading. However, WMS does not operate the units of equipment in the facility centres. WMS needs an additional buttress in the form of WCS to underpin the end goal of optimizing warehousing experience. WCS provides the equipment operators with an optimized route or pick-path so that the resources are efficiently dealt with and their utility is maximized.
Functions of WCS
1. Exchange data with legacy system or WMS to help and run the warehousing functions smoothly.
2. Assigning the most useful and optimized route to the equipment controllers
3. Managing, controlling, monitoring the automated systems
4. Seamless coordination across various material handling sub-systems.
Advantages of WCS
1. Optimized management of resources.
2. Determination of the most efficient routing within the warehouse.
3. Storage optimization.
4. Maximizing the efficacy of the material handling systems.
5. Increased efficiency of the warehouse associates.
WCS is designed in such a way that it is not data-heavy. Therefore it can operate smoothly and renders nimbleness to the warehouse operations. In this era of digitization, give your business the added touch of automation that it truly deserves. Implement WCS within your facility and see the efficiency and capacity of your DC getting maximized and optimized and ROI getting handsomely yielded.