WMS feels the squeeze

For decades, warehouse management system (WMS) software has had a clear-cut role to play in the DC. Once your fulfillment operation got big enough, this was the software you needed to maintain visibility over your inventory, maximize the flow of goods from dock door to pallet to rack and back again, and direct the flow of activity inside the building.

But recent developments have muddied the picture, creating something of an identity crisis for the traditional WMS. That’s partly due to the arrival of software like warehouse execution systems (WES) and warehouse control systems (WCS), both of which can provide operating instructions to automated equipment. And it’s partly due to the rise of automation—particularly the self-directed, autonomous robots and vehicles that operate independently of a WMS. 

Depending on who you talk to in the logistics tech community, the line that divides the WMS from other DC software has begun to blur—or even disappeared entirely. That rapid evolution has created a confusing space for businesses seeking the best way to use their WMS products in 2023, says Jordan Mitchell, senior director, product management at the Atlanta-based systems integrator Fortna.

ROBOTS SEIZE THE SPOTLIGHT

As noted, much of that change has been driven by the arrival of large fleets of robots in facilities that are looking to rev up their e-commerce and omnichannel fulfillment operations. A case in point is the autonomous mobile robot (AMR), which is becoming an increasingly common sight in DCs. As its name suggests, an AMR is designed to be, well, autonomous, meaning it can carry out its mission without step-by-step guidance from a warehouse management system. And that’s true whether the AMR connects directly to a conveyor or automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS), operates as a collaborative robot (“cobot”) that works in conjunction with humans, or simply whisks items—totes, cartons, or pallets—around the warehouse floor. 

The advent of AMRs and their more-static robot cousins has even sparked the development of a new breed of warehouse software, called the “multiagent orchestration platform.” Some large DCs use this app, which acts as an extra layer between the WMS and the automated equipment, to help manage the complex interplay between human associates, automated storage and retrieval systems, goods-to-person robots, articulated picking arms, and other devices.

What all this suggests is that in order to remain relevant, the traditional WMS will have to expand its social circle—meaning it will need to be able to handle real-time data inputs from humans, robots, and a growing array of internet of things (IoT) sensors, Mitchell says. If it simply stays in its lane, companies will have less of a reason to invest in a top-of-the-line WMS, he adds. For instance, smaller fulfillment centers with just one or two types of automated equipment might decide they no longer need a complex, “tier one” WMS and instead opt for a basic WMS that they can pair with their AMR control software, Mitchell explains.

Other DCs may skip the WMS entirely, choosing to link their WES directly to the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software that serves as an umbrella over all of a facility’s applications, says Samay Kohli, CEO and co-founder of GreyOrange, a Georgia-based mobile robotics developer that also offers a WES, or “fulfillment orchestration system,” called GreyMatter.

“Either the line between WES and WMS is blurring, or WES is taking over,” says Kohli, who points to robots as the reason for that change. “Robotics is different from the traditional automation path,” he says. “It’s not like a conveyor belt or a shuttle system because it generates real-time data on its progress.” 

In fact, there are signs that’s already starting to happen. GreyOrange in January announced that it had developed an open API (application programming interface) for its GreyMatter software—a move that will allow robots from any vendor to connect directly to the GreyMatter WES.

And GreyOrange is not the only one. Comparable platforms like SVT Robotics’ Softbot and Amazon Web Services' (AWS) RoboRunner can also orchestrate the activities of diverse fleets of robots, while tech developer AutoScheduler offers a software program called AutoScheduler.AI that sits on top of a WMS to optimize its operations. Plus, systems integrators like Körber, Fortna, and Bastian all offer WES toolkits to manage higher-complexity workflows, Fortna’s Mitchell says.

THE STORY ISN’T OVER

But not everyone is ready to write the WMS off just yet. While its “job profile” is under pressure to change, the WMS still has a critical role to play, argues Adam Kline, senior director, product management at Manhattan Associates, an Atlanta-based supply chain software developer. It’s true that the WMS needs to reach out of its sandbox and integrate with other systems in the modern DC, but thanks to cloud-based software design, it can make that evolutionary step without losing its core identity, he says.

Manhattan’s answer to those changing demands is a cloud-based software application that combines warehouse management, labor management, and transportation management in a single cloud-native application called Manhattan Active Supply Chain. Unifying the three applications on a single platform allows each one to operate in cooperation with the others, providing a better “holistic view” over the business landscape than any single software app could, Kline says.

Though the WMS’s future remains an open question, it’s clear that the traditional software is under pressure, squeezed by the ERP control platform above it and the WES and WCS systems on both sides—all of which can do something the WMS can’t: deal with a flood of data bubbling up from the floor below, generated by robotic systems, multi-agent orchestration platforms, and the IoT. While supply chain tech developers have come up with a number of creative solutions to help the WMS step up its game, it’s still anybody’s guess as to which will prevail.