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Lots of vendors will tell you their material handling equipment is ready to "plug and play." But the reality is, there will still be a need for systems integrators for a long time to come.
The staff at J. Jill's DC couldn't say enough about the speed and accuracy of RF-based packing systems ? until they saw what could be done with lights.
At the Container Store's DC, there's no need for bosses to ride herd over work crews. Performance scores displayed on a giant electronic scoreboard let workers pace themselves throughout the day.
For years, the standard answer (in the DC, at least) was the warehouse management system. But nowadays, the answer is more and more likely to be a warehouse control system.
It may not produce the adrenaline kick of Pac Man or Texas Hold 'Em poker, but simulation software can give you a flashy live-action 3D view of what proposed changes will really do to your DC operations.
You're in good company. Even the leading-edge DCs are shying away from the revolutionary in favor of more traditional equipment that's better, cheaper and faster and increasingly controlled by computers.
Sophisticated machines are quickly mastering the science of picking and packing. They'll never replace humans, but they could make the DC a pretty lonely place to work.