Lucas Systems Offers Warehouse Optimization Warehouse management systems, once known as supply chain execution systems, have evolved significantly. They have transitioned from mere work executors to planning solutions with optimization capabilities. This transformation was brought about by the incorporation of algorithms that enhanced worker productivity. Today, for many professionals, “WMS” is synonymous with “warehouse optimization.” It shouldn’t be. Optimization is no longer limited to WMS software. Adjoining systems—like Voice Recognition, Vision-directed Workflow solutions, and Robotics s ..read more

I am coming to you from the sunny confines of San Diego, CA where I am attending the 2024 Körber Elevate conference. This is my first time attending Körber Elevate, and it did not disappoint, with over 800 attendees, 60 thought provoking sessions, and lots of networking and learning opportunities. The theme this year was “Chart Your Course” which Richard Stewart, EVP Americas at Körber Supply Chain pointed out, is all about overcoming supply chain complexities and challenges. And while the industry faced a lot of complexities and challenges in 2023, we continue to face more every day. Sean El ..read more

Over the past decade, the main battleground for China’s WMS market has been in the consumption industry; but more recently the battleground has returned to the manufacturing industry. Overseas suppliers have always ruled the top end of the market in this segment. However, local Chinese vendors have been growing rapidly over the past few years and have the potential to compete with overseas suppliers. In terms of the competitive landscape, China’s WMS market has many competitors but very little concentration. In other words, there are opportunities for every company. According to the character ..read more

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. This article is from Scott Mullins, EVP of Operations and COO at Lucas Systems, and looks at self-distribution in healthcare systems. Self-distribution is an increasingly popular option for healthcare systems to consider when deciding how to manage their supply chain. The challenges brought about by the pandemic made many rethink strategy when it came to inventory, stock on hand, secondary options and the ability to guara ..read more

A few weeks ago, I sat down to speak with Mike Noble, SVP of Technology and Jonathan Mitchell, Director of Software Services at Open Sky Group. In this conversation, we discussed seeing your supply chain through a new lens, and how this can help to achieve improved visibility. Specifically, I asked Mile and Jonathan to give me some background on Open Sky Group, as well as a rundown of the Kaleidoscope platform, and the different components that link the end to end supply chain. Below are some of the key takeaways from our discussion, as well as a little background on the supply chain technolo ..read more

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article comes from Kyle Franklin, Senior Solutions Consultant, Lucas Systems, and looks at warehouse distribution errors. Being a veteran of the warehouse industry throughout my career has given me a unique insight into many aspects of distribution interaction. It becomes most apparent when being personally on the customer side. Three recent online buying experiences highlighted different ways inaccuracies could occur in th ..read more

I am adding the finishing touches to ARC Advisory Group’s research on the global WMS consulting market. This research is an update to the report my colleague Steve Banker developed a couple years ago. At that time, Steve also authored an article titled 20 Things to Know about WMS System Integrators. It is a great article and I recommend checking it out. I decided to focus my update to this research on the consultancies that I consider to be “WMS specialists.” I defined specialists to be those organizations that derive a substantial amount (15 percent of more) of their business from WMS-relate ..read more

Note: Today’s post is part of our “Editor’s Choice” series where we highlight recent posts published by our sponsors that provide supply chain insights and advice. Today’s article comes from Open Sky Group and helps to decipher some myths around buying a WMS. Buying a warehouse management system (WMS) is a big decision. Many people haven’t even purchased a house that costs as much as a WMS and the search process can be overwhelming. The WMS buying process and the succeeding implementation involve thousands of details that are easy to overlook. Add the fact that each WMS provider’s information ..read more

I am placing the finishing touches on ARC Advisory Group’s research on the warehouse management systems (WMS) market (https://www.arcweb.com/market-analysis/warehouse-management-systems). ARC has been publishing structured research on the global WMS market for over 20 years and this history provides us with valuable context for understanding the changes that occur and serves as an anchor to our five-year market forecast. The WMS market continued its persistent growth in 2022. Although the growth is obscured by some technicalities. In fact, I chose the metaphor of growth “beyond a reasonable d ..read more

Manhattan Associates hosted its annual user conference, Manhattan Momentum, in Phoenix, AZ this week. “Move Life and Commerce Forward” was the theme of the conference. I believe many of us can relate to this theme on a business and personal level, as the impacts of COVID-19 were felt by virtually all businesses and individuals. But the worst of that appears to be behind us – making forward progress especially appealing. Of course, moving forward also sets the tone for discussions about how Manhattan Associates customers are moving their businesses forward and how Manhattan is moving forward ..read more