Industry 2.0 Magazine Profiles Deciding Factors in Warehouse Control Systems

In the newest issue of Industry 2.0 magazine, leading manufacturing journalist, Thomas R. Cutler, described the “Deciding Factors in WCS (warehouse control systems.) According to Cutler “The reason WMS (warehouse management systems) are no longer providing this transactional role is that when a WMS operates more than a single warehouse, they are generally located off site, and tend to lose transaction speed. WCS offers configurability and flexibility.”

The result is making warehousing a key element in enterprise strategy much more so than just five years ago. The concept of renewed centrality of warehouses within supply chains may be a paradigm shift more about how new warehouse control systems are part of lean efficiency, than simply the new role of warehouses in strategic thinking.

If a large company wants to know the cost to install at multiple sites as well as the stability, financial status and size of the WCS company, it is quickly addressed by establishing referrals and a strong industry reputation. Depending on the organization’s objectives, source code availability may also be a concern.
The cost of doing nothing may be most expensive.

Rich Hite, President of QC Software, (www.qcsoftware.com) suggests, “The most important aspects of WCS for major distributors include dependability, modular functionality, configurable flexibility, and reliability. WCS is more dependable because…it uses standardized modules that are field proven, versus customized software. Many of the WCS modules have been running for over more than six years.”

Hite goes on to say, “WCS modular functionality is important because additional functionality can be added as required. The system can grow as the customers need to grow. You don’t lose your initial investment when new functionality is needed. We’ve seen this growth in clients ranging from Tommy Hilfiger to Under Armour to Arbonne.”

WCS reliability is not a ‘buzz word’, it provides a specific benefit according to Hite, “When a WCS goes down, the lost man hours, late shipments and cost to the warehouse, can be tremendous – add diminished customer satisfaction, and it can literally cost the client significantly more money. The WCS market has grown because it has taken on the traditional ‘transactional’ processes that the warehouse management system (WMS) historically provided, such as order fulfillment, shipping and localized inventory control.”

QC Software is the leading provider of Tier 1 warehouse control systems to the warehousing and distribution industries. Since 1996, QC Software, utilizing state of the art technology combined with extensive research, development, and rigorous testing, has developed the QC Enterprise suite of products. Designed to be modular in nature, easily configurable, and platform independent, this highly scalable solution satisfies the needs of any size warehouse.