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tive as on finding a solution that is tailored to their needs.
Meanwhile, some systems integrators and software providers offer both wave and waveless solutions, and Manhattan
Associates says it has a product that can bridge the gaps
between the two. Such flexibility is especially valuable in
an omnichannel environment, where an organization may
be running retail, wholesale, and e-commerce operations
out of a single building, Kline explains.
In those situations, managers may want
to switch between a waveless system to
fill e-commerce orders and a wave-based
system for wholesale orders to a large
retail customer, for example. He says
Manhattan’s Warehouse Management
for Open Systems (WMOS) 2018 provides this capability. The system also
offers flexibility to organizations that
may be hesitant to switch from a traditional “
hand-to-keyboard” wave mentality to a software-driven, automated
waveless process in one fell swoop. He says Order Streaming
allows those customers to ease into it by trying it with a few
orders before they embrace it completely.
“Every single DC on the planet has run on a wave sys-
tem—and they may not want to change everything over-
night,” he says. “We offer the ability to run both, so they
can phase in [waveless technology] over time. This allows
DCs to ease into the waveless approach and takes some of
that change management off the table.”
For those ready to take the plunge into waveless, finding
the right solution often means incorporating other time-
occurring throughout the DC and that
the intersection of waveless technology,
robotics, and even artificial intelligence
will shape the fulfillment landscape mov-
ing forward. Vargo is already integrating
robotics into its COFE WES, incorporat-
ing robotic pickers into its goods-to-per-
son fulfillment systems and working on
a variety of robotics/automation projects
with large retail customers—all in an
effort to become more efficient and productive in a chang-
ing business climate.
“[E-commerce companies] are showing the way. You
minutes, not two hours or all day.”
▲ Reduce boxes into small pieces; bale corrugated, not air
