Warehouse management systems have been around for at least 25 years. Emmanuel Langlois, vice president sales with Generix Group, and Jean-Martin Roux, president of Onomatic, discuss the changes in WMS that we can expect to see in the next five years.

WMS applications are getting increasingly complex, Langlois says. Users expect them to cover an ever-wider range of functions within the warehouse, while providing a better user experience and shorter training periods. “There will be more innovation and changes in the next five years than what happened in the last 25,” he says.

High among the priorities of WMS users today is flexibility — the ability to adapt quickly to new configurations in line with changing distribution and order-fulfillment needs.

A number of complementary technologies sit alongside the WMS, especially automation in the form of robotics and state-of-the-art conveyor systems. “Labor cost isn’t the main issue,” says Roux. “It’s labor availability that’s driving people to move to automation.”

Langlois stresses that people will continue to play a major role in warehouse operations for the foreseeable future. It’s the job of the WMS to integrate humans, robots and other forms of automation.

The definition of a warehouse is also changing, in terms of size, location and what goes on inside its four walls. WMS applications must be able to manage everything from a multi-million square-foot operation to a micro-fulfillment center at the back of a retail store.

When it comes to automation, Roux says, facilities face the requirement of picking the right system for the right process. “You have to know what’s available in the marketplace, and how it addresses the challenges that are specific to your operation.”

“Make your WMS understand the kinds of inventory and locations available to you, and have a platform that’s able to [execute] across the pieces and processes,” Roux says.