© 2012 Material Handling Industry®. Copyright claimed as to audiovisual works of seminar

sessions and sound recordings of seminar sessions. All rights reserved.

Welcome to Session 129

Sponsored by: Presented by:

Material Handling in Manufacturing and

Distribution – Optimized Intelligence

Mark Lewis Director, Value Chain Execution – Oracle

Norman Saenz Senior VP & Principal – TranSystems

Justin Anders Business Analyst - Golfsmith International

The idea for this session came from an article last June in Supply Chain Digest :

Logistics New: Where Does the Intelligence Belong in Automated

Material Handling Systems?

"The WMS should have all the information it needs to make all the decisions,“…

… "The WCS should just take that decision about where a carton goes, deliver

it, and then tell us that it's there. With this approach, you avoid a lot of potential

issues about where the logic for something really lies.“

- SCD, June 28, 2011

What Does “Optimized Intelligence” Mean?

2

Warehouse

System 1

Manufacturing Procurement Order Management

Warehouse

System 2

Warehouse

System N

RF /Automation

Integration and Operation Complexity, Localized Solutions

RF /Automation RF /Automation

Material Handling as Part of a Broader Whole

3

Think in Terms of Solution Capabilities as a single whole

Transaction Integration

Process Synchronization

Converged

Optimization Analytics

Order Management

Order Capture

Solution(s)

Order Management

Transportation

Management

Warehouse

Management

Fleet

Mgmt

Global

Trade

Automation

& RFID

Labor

Inte

gra

ted

Op

tim

izati

on

In

teg

rate

d

Bu

sin

es

s In

tellig

en

ce

Quality Production Service

Integrated via a single Architecture

4

Seamless

Integration

Warehouse Management Solution Solution Part I

Transportation Manufacturing Fulfillment Purchasing

RTVs Orders Transfers

RMAs Purchases Transfers Tailorable

Rules &

Workflow

Process Global Visibility

RF Support

Inspect Receive

Ship Pack Directed

Pick

Cost

Assemble

WIP Issues

Transfer

Count

Move

Replen- ish

Label

Cross Dock Putaway

5

BACKEND

WMS/ERP

MATERIAL

HANDLING

EQUIPMEN

TS

Configuration Layer

Directive Configuration Device Configuration

Pick and

Putaway

Tasks

WMS Device

Definition

WAREHOUSE CONTROL SYSTEM (WCS)

Business

Event

Association Transport Layer

Process Layer

Carousel Bridge

Process Directives

Device Simulator

Custom MHE Integration Process XML/CSV File

Monitor Equipments

Material Handling Control System Solution Part II

6

- From “WMS vs. WCS”, HK Systems, 2010

This “Discussion” has been going on for years Is There a “Best” Answer?

7 7 7

Recent advances in WCS technology are enabling these

systems to perform some of the fulfillment processes

traditionally reserved for a WMS.

Similarly, many WMS now provide interfaces to manage

automated handling equipment – a task traditionally

managed by a WCS.

What should you be looking at to make the right decision

for your operations?

WMS, WCS or BOTH?

8

TRADITIONAL HIERARCHY ENTERPRISE SYSTEM

PLANNING

Demand Mgmt

APS

Customers

Suppliers

Carriers

Customers

Suppliers

Carriers

ADMIN/FINANCE

Purchasing

Order Management

EDI /

WEB

EDI /

WEB

Material Handling Device Control Data Entry Devices

WMS LABOR

MANAGEMENT

YARD

MANAGEMENT

TMS

W i r e l e s s o r L o c a l A r e a N e t w o r k

E n t e r p r i s e N e t w o r k

MANUFACTURING

MRP

MES

Task

Mgmt

Order

Plan/

Release

Inventory

Mgmt Shipping Receiving Storage

Staging

Loading

Picking

Replen

9

1990’s: WCS EMERGE

Customers

Suppliers

Carriers

Customers

Suppliers

Carriers

EDI /

WEB

EDI /

WEB

WCS Data Entry Devices

WMS LABOR

MANAGEMENT

W i r e l e s s o r L o c a l A r e a N e t w o r k

E n t e r p r i s e N e t w o r k

ENTERPRISE SYSTEM

Conventional Material Handling Automated Material Handling

Task

Mgmt

Order

Plan/

Release

Shipping Receiving Storage Staging

Loading

Picking

Replen

Inventory

Mgmt

10

WAREHOUSE CONTROL SYSTEMS

1990’s: PLC’s for

material handling

storage & conveyor

equipment control &

diagnostics to speed

item flow from receipt

to order release,

picking & shipment.

11

Today: PC’s & expanded

functionality including

order analysis, release &

status monitoring, AIDC

management & a host of

additional equipment

interfaces coupled with

line & activity balancing .

WAREHOUSE CONTROL SYSTEMS

12

THE LINES ARE BLURRING

13

If both make sense for your requirements, develop detailed

specifications that define which system controls which

functions, data synchronization processes and timing,

exception handling – AND, who is accountable for overall

system performance.

Avoid customization – it adds cost, lengthens implementation

time & increases risk.

“WMS and WCS have complementary solution sets that need

to work together. Instead of looking at this as a battle between

WMS & WCS, solutions providers need to look at finding the

right balance of both that results in the best answer for the

customer’s operational needs.”

FINAL THOUGHTS

14

Golfsmith International, Inc.

Founded in 1967

Largest golf-specialty retailer in the world – which

includes 82 retail locations, a UK wholesale-distribution

center, catalogs and a website

250,000 square foot shipping and distribution facility

15

Pre-Implementation Systems

Existing ERP Application – implemented in 1999

Warehouse Management and MHE

• Custom WMS developed out of ERP application

• Conveyor system in direct-to-consumer shipping, controlled by a

custom WCS – installed circa 1997

o Tote “married” to order at induction

o Tote diverted to picking aisle

o Paper-based pick

• Pick-to-Light system in retail shipping - installed circa 1998

o Pick by zone

• Scanners used only in receiving and 2 retail-replenishment

subinventories – implemented in 1999

16

ERP/WMS/WCS Change Process

2010 - Golfsmith decided to upgrade our ERP to current version

Do we use ERP WMS, or another 3rd party vendor?

Points of Considerations on choosing a WMS:

Ease of implementation

System maintenance and upkeep

Does it fulfill our process requirements?

Does it help improve our processes?

Cost savings and ROI

Labor Management and Resource Planning

Room to expand?

17

MHE Issues & Considerations

Direct Conveyor Control System Server issues

Written in Visual Basic

Lack of knowledge in coding – ability to make changes

Pick-To-Light System Hardware failures

Replacement parts obsolete

Server issues

Questions in efficiency and cost savings with our current

processes

18

MHE Changes Pick-to-Light

• Decided to remove the existing PTL system

• Now pick via wireless handheld using ERP WMS (Note: all picking in the DC via mobile devices)

• Benefits

Pick times

Material costs

Conveyor control system • Decided to upgrade our existing 3rd party control system

• ERP WCS would work, but required customizations to fit

current conveyor and pulling methodology.

• Required customizations were not supported in base WCS.

( Note: can provide technical specifics if needed. Please ask in Q/A due to time

considerations.

• System was re-coded in .NET

• Improved interfaces for induction and control

• Migrated to improved hardware

19

Timeline

ERP implementation process began in May 2010.

Went live with latest ERP version on October 2, 2011 (16 months)

Warehouse implementation could have been rolled out in 12

months. This includes ERP WMS and all supporting systems and

hardware - WMS, mobile , labels, scanners, printers, etc.

20

Results

Entire shipping and distribution now integrated with ERP WMS. All

picking performed with handheld scanners.

Allows us to track performance and labor metrics.

Decrease in “mis-pulls” and missing items

Material cost savings

Task management

Future Goals

Voice-picking

Improved cross-docking

Warehouse cycle-counting

Improved labor management – proactive, rather than reactive.

21

Questions?

22

© 2012 Material Handling Industry®. Copyright claimed as to audiovisual works of seminar

sessions and sound recordings of seminar sessions. All rights reserved.

For More Information:

Speaker: mark.a.lewis@oracle.com

Visit MODEX 2012 Booth #207