Posts Tagged ‘Warehouse’
Hosted by TriFactor, LLC, distribution professionals attended the seminar, which was held in both Lakeland and Jacksonville. Presenters were Jerry List, Vice President of QC Software, Inc., who discussed Warehouse Control Systems, and Kevin Tedford, Principal with KT Consulting, LLC, who discussed Warehouse Management Systems. Topics focused on how the technology can reduce labor costs and improve both productivity and accuracy.
The recent seminar by a leading provider of integrated material handling systems, based in Lakeland, FL, helped companies evaluate if a Warehouse Management System or Warehouse Control System Technology is the right choice for their operation.
Tedford described how Warehouse Management Systems first took hold in the 1980s, and how many companies knew the time was right to implement a WMS into their distribution center operation when they saw delivery and labor costs start to escalate, and the need to control inventory increase. “It was the moment they first began to realize they had no control,” Tedford told the audience. “A Warehouse Management System changed all that.”
List addressed the Warehouse Control System side of the seminar by stating that companies still need to be educated on what a Warehouse Control System does. List explained how Warehouse Control Systems came into existence as Warehouse Management Systems began to take on more responsibilities, creating a gap that Warehouse Control Systems nicely filled.
“A WCS works in real time and adapts to situations on the spot,” explained List. “It is able to make a ‘last-minute decision’ based on current activity and operational status.” List commented that Warehouse Control Systems are newer and haven’t been around as long as the WMS. “Hopefully, those who chose to attend now have a better understanding of its capabilities, and what it can do to make them more productive,” said List.
“We put together the seminar in order to give attendees the knowledge they needed to make an informed decision as to the benefits of a Warehouse Management System and Warehouse Control System,” said J.J. Phelan, Chief Operating Officer for Trifactor, LLC. “Jerry and Kevin did an excellent job answering a lot of the questions that came up. Hopefully, everyone left with a little more knowledge on this important topic.”
TriFactor, LLC has extensive expertise in planning, designing and implementing innovative material and information handling solutions that shorten the order-to-delivery cycle for manufacturers and distributors.
QC Software (www.qcsoftware.com) is the leading provider of Tier 1 warehouse control systems to the warehousing and distribution industries. Since 1996, QC Software, utilizing state of the art technology combined with extensive research, development, and rigorous testing, has developed the QC Enterprise suite of products. Designed to be modular in nature, easily configurable, and platform independent, this highly scalable solution satisfies the needs of any size warehouse.
QC Software, Inc.
Jerry List
(513) 469-1424
QC Software is the leading provider of Tier 1 warehouse control systems to the warehousing and distribution industries. Since 1996, QC Software, utilizing state of the art technology combined with extensive research, development, and rigorous testing, has developed the QC Enterprise suite of products. Designed to be modular in nature, easily configurable, and platform independent, this highly scalable solution satisfies the needs of any size warehouse.
Manufacturing journalist TR Cutler, profiled QC Software in a recent issue of Industry 2.0. The full feature can be read at http://trcutlerinc.com/Cutler%20Speak%20-%20Nov06.pdf.
Experiencing exponential growth, Arbonne, a leading cosmetic distributor, needed to re-engineer its distribution operations. Arbonne achieved this by implementing a third picking line that was fully automated, enabling them to double their output. A major component of this new system was QC Enterprise, by Cincinnati-based QC Software, Inc. (www.qcsoftware.com). QC Enterprise is a warehouse control system, which communicates in real-time with the host WMS as well as the material handling hardware. It manages the entire conveyor routing process and the operational aspect of the picking and shipping (order fulfillment) functions within the distribution center.
The QC OMS (Order Management System) module allows Arbonne to pick orders directly into shipping cartons
Utilizing cartonization logic. This ensures that each carton is not over packed based on product dimensions and weight. When the orders are downloaded to QC Enterprise, the volume and weight of the items are calculated, with a ‘dunnage’ factor for packing materials, and suggests the proper size carton for the order. Also, if it is determined that the order is comprised of more than one carton, QC Enterprise will allocate SKUs in such a way to minimize the route cartons must travel and avoid multiple cartons being diverted into the same pick zones.
Other inefficiencies of the ‘pick and pass’ process were overcome by implementing zone skipping. Cartons traveling on an automated conveyor are now routed only to the required pick zones, decreasing the actual throughput time and drastically reducing the number of times a carton is touched throughout the picking process. “Imagine driving down the road and stopping at every exit, even though it’s not your exit, just because it’s there. That’s what zone skipping prevents,” according to Tom Verzi, vice-president of QC Software.
Modifications to the shipping process were also put into place. This included automatic printing of packing documents and the implementation of QC SMS (shipment management systems) powered by ConnectShip (a UPS product) providing a single server, multi-carrier shipping system. Further streamlining the process involved installing ‘print and apply’ technology which automated the printing of shipping labels and applying them directly to the shipping carton. This eliminated the need for manual shipping stations.
The solutions provided by QC Software (www.qcsoftware.com) enables companies to streamline their warehouse operations with the lowest total cost of ownership in the industry ensuring increased corporate profitability. With a commitment to total customer satisfaction QC Software is the obvious choice for warehouse control, order management, and inventory management needs.
QC Software is the leading provider of Tier 1 warehouse control systems to the warehousing and distribution industries. Since 1996, QC Software, utilizing state of the art technology combined with extensive research, development, and rigorous testing, has developed the QC Enterprise suite of products. Designed to be modular in nature, easily configurable, and platform independent, this highly scalable solution satisfies the needs of any size warehouse.
ConnectShip’s goal is to make shipping management as easy as possible. Distributors who ship product via the world’s system of small package carriers are able to utilize a product line to ship efficiently including:
• ConnectShip Warehouse – A shipping management application designed for companies with mid to high volume shipping needs; ConnectShip Warehouse provides reliable and efficient small parcel and LTL shipment manifesting for distribution operations.
• ConnectShip Advisor – A shipment rating application designed to assist shippers with carrier/service selection decisions. ConnectShip Advisor provides comprehensive shipping advice and allows integration with order management, ERP and other backend systems.
• ConnectShip ChainLink – A suite of browser-based applications that support shipping functions throughout the enterprise, ConnectShip ChainLink includes shipping applications to support desktop shipping requests, customer service inquiries, and small parcel and LTL shipment manifesting.
• ConnectShip Merchant – An electronic routing guide for traditional and online order entry systems, ConnectShip Merchant provides functionality to determine preferred shipping methods and accurately calculate shipping charges at time of order entry.
According to Rich Hite, co-founder of QC Software, “Being a ConnectShip reseller is vital to our clients because it gives us total visibility as the outbound floor manager for the distribution facility, which allows us to provide a complete, rather than disjointed, system to our clients. ConnectShip is a flexible, extremely customizable product that allows us to meet each client’s unique needs and requirements. Additionally, the ConnectShip suite supports multiple major carriers which allow customers more shipping choices and flexibility.”
The solutions provided by QC Software (www.qcsoftware.com) enables companies to streamline their warehouse operations with the lowest total cost of ownership in the industry ensuring increased corporate profitability. Clients include Tommy Hilfiger, Under Armour, and Arbonne. To see if WCS software is appropriate QC has developed testing methodology at http://qcsoftware.com/wcs_factors.html.