Warehouses have been considered a necessary "evil"' in the supply chain. In reality, they are a critical necessity in the global chain to fulfill customers all over the world. And done well, they can be an essential element to improving customer service. However, the challenges associated with warehouse design, as well as determining picking techniques and technology, are challenging. Fixed costs in everything from racks to conveyors, forklifts to directed picking systems (ARS, Voice, RF, etc.), as well as employee training and productivity challenges, make warehouse management no child's play. A warehouse can speed you up or slow you down; thus the search for more agile and flexible warehouse designs.

Warehouse or yard applications that record static location data have limitations, since they are only as good as the data accuracy in them. In addition, the "overhead" associated with systems implementations can be expensive. We are not challenging the idea of a WMS at all. It provides a whole suite of capabilities that are necessary. In this article we are focusing on agility and new techniques that bring flexibly to your warehouse management, so that you can reap the benefits of a more responsive supply chain.

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