What is warehouse orchestration, and how does it impact the supply chain industry? Sally Miller, chief information officer for North America with DHL Supply Chain, explains.

The past few years have seen a wave of technological innovation in supply chains generally, and warehouses in particular. But with the addition of new technology comes greater complexity, and the challenge of optimizing systems and making them work together. Hence the need for “orchestration” of all those elements. Failure to do so results in operational inefficiencies, lower human productivity, and the inability to derive a rapid return on investment from those systems, says Miller.

Orchestration needs to happen at two levels: within the four walls of a warehouse, maximizing the productivity of people and technology, and among all partners in the end-to-end supply chain. There’s an urgent need for more data to make crucial decisions, predictive analytics and the algorithms that drive them. “Orchestration helps to ensure smooth execution,” Miller ways. 

The effort is helped by technology, in the form of both existing and emerging tools. That includes many aspects of automation, including storage and retrieval, conveyor systems, and sensors that keep track of the progress of products as they move through the warehouse.

Not every function in the warehouse is covered by the orchestration effort, but all systems, equipment and people must nevertheless be harmonized in order to avoid waste and congestion within busy operations, Miller says. 

Particularly crucial is the need to adjust warehouse activities in line with demand, especially during peak seasons. “Humans and machines have to have real-time visibility of order flow and current status, so that you can reposition people to meet service levels,” Miller says. 

To ensure a successful orchestration, she says, facilities must have the right data from all of the systems and inputs that make up a modern-day warehouse.