3 New Warehouse Execution System (WES) Qualities that Create Success
Modern order fulfillment, with its heavy reliance on automation and technology, would not be possible without communication.
Customers must communicate with companies to place orders; individual warehouses and facilities must communicate with one another in order to efficiently route inventory and fulfill the orders that customers place; equipment and systems within each facility must communicate with one another to process, pick, sort, pack, and ultimately ship orders.
Without clear, consistent, and reliable communication between all of these parties, there would be so many opportunities for error that most operations simply would not be able to function in the way that they need to function in today’s global, omni-channel economy.
Traditionally, much of this communication was handled by one of two (sometimes both) systems, each of which had a different set of capabilities: A Warehouse Management System (WMS) or a Warehouse Control System (WCS).
But in recent years, an additional solution has entered the fray—the Warehouse Execution System (WES), which blurs the lines between a WMS and a WCS.
Below, we explore the different types of warehouse software systems (WMS, WCS, and WES) and outline the key characteristics that you should look for when choosing a warehouse execution system for your operations.
What is a Warehouse Execution System?
A warehouse execution system (WES) software application is an indispensable tool that seamlessly orchestrates, optimizes and manages labor, equipment, and automation technologies within a warehouse or distribution center (DC). By providing real-time visibility into activities and resources, this robust application empowers management and operations teams to efficiently monitor and control their operations and eliminate islands of automation.
With its ability to synchronize and optimize workflows, a warehouse execution system (WES) software system helps reduce labor, enhance productivity, and helps improve the performance of equipment throughout the facility.
Because WES systems utilize and are built on more current platforms and tools, it will often replace existing Warehouse Control Systems (WCS) and take on some of the WMS responsibilities depending on how well the WMS performs those functions.
WES vs. WMS vs. WCS: What Are The Key Differences?
Warehouse Management System, Warehouse Control System, and Warehouse Execution System software are all used in different phases of a facility to enable an operation to store, pick, pack, sort, fulfill, and ship orders. The means in which they accomplish this, though, are very different.
Traditionally, order fulfillment operations have used Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) to manage and control the flow of inventory within their facilities, from receipt of product to putaway, replenishment, and eventually shipping. The system has been traditionally used to manage certain labor activities related to picking and wave building. In order to accomplish these tasks, the WMS will know the inventory locations and quantities within the facility. Of the three softwares, WMS has been around the longest (around 40 years) and is therefore the most mature. Depending on your specific WMS and customizations you have made to it over the years, it may or may not accomplish its basic functionality to an organization’s liking.
A Warehouse Control System (WCS), on the other hand, was designed to control the physical flow of product (whether individual units, cartons, or pallets) on various types of automated technology. This may include anything from standard conveyors to more advanced sorters, automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), goods-to-person, palletizing/depalletizing, print and apply (PANDA), putwalls, other technologies. Managing the machine controls is what WCS did best and made it successful.
A Warehouse Execution System (WES) falls under the WMS and will most commonly replace the WCS. Typically, a WES will include all of the features of a WCS as well as some of the features of a WMS. This will depend on the existing WMS’s performance on specific functions. This can include basic receiving, replenishment, and shipping functionalities, the management of picking systems (electronic, radio frequency [RF], and voice), wave planning, and order processing.
The WES provides a level of real time visibility and logic which allows it to communicate and orchestrate each zone (and technology) within the facility. This allows each zone to increase its performance and minimizes the impact of a zone’s performance because of being starved or full.
The WES will also allow the software to be run on tablets, cell phones, and devices running Chrome. This dramatically increases the productivity, visibility, and ease of use that operators and managers can employ while working. Likewise, being able to view and use up to four different views simultaneously on a screen increases visibility and the ability to manage at a glance.
The relationship between the three systems is perhaps best explained in the diagram below:
The Importance of WES in Warehousing
Modern warehousing relies heavily on warehouse execution systems to optimize operations. Through seamless integration, WES can complement warehouse management systems and automation technologies to minimize delays, reduce errors, and improve labor management. By providing valuable data, WES accurately meets key performance indicators. Integrating WES into operations can augment existing AMR systems and significantly impact wave, waveless, or overlapping wave picking. During stress testing of over one million transactions per installation, WES proves its coding and database integrity to help assure years of bug free operation and meeting customer demands.
How to Choose a Warehouse Execution System
It is important to note that the exact mix of WMS, WES, WCS that an operation requires will depend on the specifics of the business and industry. Factors such as an operation’s level of automation, the specific types of automation, and the ways in which inventory and product flows through a facility will all influence which software(s) are required to support the operation’s business plan.
That being said, many operations can, and do, realize powerful benefits by integrating a WES within their systems. A trusted systems integrator can help you determine which solution (or solutions) are the best fit for your business.
When you decide a WES makes sense for your operation, the next hurdle is in choosing the right system for you. While this will again depend upon the specifics of your operation, we typically recommend that any WES that you consider should exhibit the following three characteristics:
1. Configurability
WES configurability is unique because it can allow organizations to make changes instantly without having to involve the software programmers. This not only saves time, but avoids costly change orders and contributes to the programs rock solid coding and serviceability. This provides tremendous value and long term cost of ownership.
There are hundreds of configuration parameters coded into the software. An organization can simply select a parameter via a drop-down menu and select the new setting to meet their changing needs… and the code is instantly changed.
Some examples of the configurations that can be changed include: scan points, diverts, condition directives, route directives, destinations, settings, host, machine controller and many others.
2. Modularity
It’s important that the WES be a truly modular design. In today’s world, this means software in which you acquire additional functionality in modules which are added to the base software as required and as programmed. Yesteryear the entire software package would be installed on your local server. Then as you needed functionality, you would license (the vendor would activate) specific functionality often called modules.
This practice bloats your IT infrastructure and adds risk of bugs, leaks and conflicts that simply shouldn’t exist. Updates and support become more challenging (time consuming and costly) because of all the non-used additional coding.
A modular WES avoids this bloat, by relying on a single core module into which a series of other pre-designed modules can be “plugged” in order to build a complete system that meets every organization’s unique needs. This creates a core of tested code from which the vendor can pull, ultimately reducing commission time and making software support easier (and required less frequently).
3. Ready-to-Run
A truly state-of-the-art WES should include external device emulation, which is leveraged to completely test, troubleshoot, and debug the software prior to it being put in place within an operation. The host interface, PLC, scanners, and other external devices are all emulated to ensure that the WES performs as it must in the field. In fact, Horizon WES runs a minimum of 1,000,000 transactions on every piece of software prior to deploying.
Choosing The Right WES System For Your Operation
As stated above, each operation, business, and industry must contend with its own unique challenges and realities. These realities influence many aspects of the operation, including the type of software (WMS, WES, WCS, or combination) that will help you meet the demands of your operations and supply chain. By integrating these software solutions, you will be increasing the efficiency and real-time visibility of your operations.When choosing which type of system to implement, it is important to consider both your current state as well as future goals—including expansion and growth. A skilled and trusted systems integrator can help you determine your best path forward.
Originally published in April 2019. Updated for accuracy and relevance.
