Warehouse Management

Recent issue of Modern Material Handling has a list of top 20 materials handling systems suppliers. Among this list you will find suppliers of warehouse automation equipments, storage solutions, shelving and other allied accessories. Here is a souped list of top suppliers in Warehouse Automation area. Please note that the list is not necessarily in the order of their size:

The MMH article concludes that the next big wave in development of Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is software. The first wave as we all know was all about RFID tags, RFID readers and standards. In the last few years we have seen a plethora of readers,  tags and standards emerge and then become obsolete. The newer tags and readers based on Class 1 Gen2 standard protocol hold tremendous potential: interoperability between heterogeneous tags and readers, better and faster read rates, uniform tag standards for use in extended supply chain, improvised security etc. The EPCIS standards would make it easier to share RFID data. With hardware and standards issues mainly addressed, the next wave of development will be software. What will be some of the development in this wave? Some thoughts:

• Software improvements for RFID enablement: RFID enabling an application flow is still a cumbersome process. Expect improvements in this area that makes it easier to orchestrate an RFID flow.

• Mobile RFID Applications: Advances in RFID hardware mean that RFID reader can be small and powerful enough to be deployed in a mobile environment. Already these handheld devices are commercially available from Motorola, Intermec and others. What does this mean for handheld transactions that are designed for barcode entry? With RFID reader deployed on a mobile device, its possible to simultaneously read multiple products/containers. This requires a paradigm shift in current crop of mobile applications that are designed to serially process each barcode read.
  

• Packaged software for RFID applications: As RFID software evolves, expect more choices for off the shelf software involving little or no customization.

• Sensor based computing: RFID is just another sensor based technology. There are many more areas where a physical world device needs an interface to the application systems. Manufacturing applications needs interface with manufacturing execution systems. WMS needs integration with material handling equipments like conveyors, guided vehicles, robots, etc. A unified approach to handling all sensor technologies is clearly beneficial to all.

• Feature rich software at lower price points: As software evolves, one can expect more robust functionality. Wider adoption and usage would also lower the price point for standard software.

• Collaboration and Analyitcs: RFID software can generate vast amount of data in the extended supply chain. A number of smaller suppliers to big box retailers, see little value or ROI in complying with RFID mandates. Even the raw data coming from such systems may be meaningless without sophisticated collaboration mechanism and analysis. Software can come to rescue here. It can facilitate data sharing and provide meaningful analytics.

Just like the RFID technology, RFID software is also evolving. Very rapidly if I can say so! I will elaborate on this chain of thought in a subsequent post. Meanwhile some useful links:

Oracle RFID and Sensor-Based Services

Oracle WMS Data Sheet

Warehouse Control System (WCS)/Material Handling Equipment (MHE)  Integration

Voice picking in warehouses work in a similar fashion as RF devices. Instead of picking tasks displayed on an RF screen, warehouse operators listen to task information on their headsets through a voice systems connected to WMS through a Wi-Fi network. Voice picking also allows task confirmation through spoken commands. Voice picking has numerous advantages in a warehouse such as:

• Voice Picking makes the data entry operation hands free. You do not need to hold an RF device or scan a barcode to confirm a pick task thereby leaving both hands free for physical movement of goods. This significantly boosts operator productivity.

• Picking by voice improves accuracy and as I indicated in a previous post, importance of accuracy can not be underemined

• Voice Picking  is particularly suitable for environments where punching data on RF devices is not feasible such as freezer section for storing perishables. In such an environment you can imagine the plight of the warehouse operators with gloves fumbling and punching data on keyboard

Does it make sense to use voice picking in the entire warehouse? Possibly not. Voice picking may not make sense for warehouse area with low volume or pallet picks which can be done equally effectively using traditional RF devices.Voice picking is also most effective for repetitive tasks. If the warehouse operators perform a large number of different transactions, voice picking may not be very effective. A careful cost-benefit analysis is needed to determine what areas of the warehouse can benefit from voice picking.

If you wish to enable Voice-picking, Oracle WMS has capabilities to interface with any external voice picking system such as VoCollect. It also gives you the flexibility to have voice picking enabled for certain areas or operations of the warehouse e.g. use voice picking for high volume unit picks and RF pick for pallet picks, putaway, receipt and inspection transactions.

The approach needed to interface with a voice picking system is similar to the interface with any other material handling equipment. The interface with voice picking can be initiated at the time of pick release. Its possible to define a business event at pick release for certain areas of the warehouse to compile the task information and interface it to a voice picking systems. Subsequently voice picking system dispatches the tasks and sends a confirmation back to WMS.

This is of interest to all of you who worry about finding storage space for your items. Especially those with large number of items and multiple storage options :)

My previous blog posts (here, here and here) on stocking policy for your pick area can guide you in finding the optimal location for items. However if you have certain types of storage options in the warehouse with fixed cubic volume, what you need is the most cost effective way to slot items into various types of storage options commonly available in the warehouse. Art Avery has tried to do just that in this article. Art was also kind enough to send me the spreadsheet with the number crunching.

Sure, parameters in your warehouse may be different. The important thing is to understand the simple and yet elegant concept behind it and use it in your situation.

Here is a new short video of Mobile Speech Client developed by Voice Insight in use along with Oracle WMS. In the past I have blogged about the benefits of speech client and especially how it can helps you deploy voice technology using your existing hardware and minimal capex. It also scales very well i.e. start voice picking for high volume pick area or certain selected items and roll out to other areas as you realize the benefits.

http://www.voice-insight.com/Videos/MSC_Video.html

It's 4 minutes long and demonstrates the benefits of voice and mobility in a nutshell:

1) works "out of the box" for Oracle mobile applications (e.g. WMS)
2) improve productivity with hands free operations (reduce data entry)
3) requires no middleware or modification of the host system
(location alias / check digits available for any version)
4) runs completely on the mobile device (from Motorola, LXE, etc.)

Check it out. Fascinating stuff!