Execution platform bridges gap between enterprise system, warehouse control devices

The value of automation becomes clear—says Dan Hanrahan, president of Numina Group, a Woodridge, Ill.-based material handling systems supplier—when a distributor's customers operate in a just-in-time (JIT) environment and won't carry much supply inventory.

“Not only must distributors run faster and more accurately, but they can no longer afford an army of people running around putting labels on packages by hand and scanning them manually for validation,” says Hanrahan.

Most distributors have an enterprise system to handle customer and order information. The problem, explains Hanrahan, is the warehouse management capabilities found in some enterprise systems cannot enable the real-time response and proprietary-device connectivity demanded by warehouse automation systems.

That's where Numina Group comes in. Its Real-time Distribution System (RDS) is a Linux-based warehouse control and execution platform that bridges the gap between an enterprise system and warehouse control devices. The system's communication modules integrate conveyor and automation systems with enterprise or warehouse management systems (WMS), Hanrahan says.

Numina's technology—particularly RDS—plays a vital role in a Direct Ship program that enables Middlebury, Conn.-based Timex to expedite on-demand fulfillment of merchandise tailored to meet orders by store and SKU. Direct shipments from Timex' global distribution center in the Philippines eliminate the need for retailers to inventory and re-handle merchandise at regional distribution centers.

Hanrahan says advanced material handling coupled with the WMS not only facilitates building and shipping thousands of SKUs every day, but has reduced the size of the fulfillment facility to one-fifth that would otherwise be needed.

“As orders are received, the WMS shows what should be slotted in the forward-pick locations—where a pick-to-light system will pull product,” says Hanrahan. “If demand for a certain watch exceeds forward storage inventories, the inventory is automatically replenished from a secondary pick location.”

After the day's orders are fulfilled and shipped, the Timex plant processes the next 24-hour cycle, and the WMS reslots the primary and secondary warehouse pick modules accordingly.

“If you can build on-demand with the great number of SKUs Timex has, there are substantial efficiencies among the material-handling and warehouse systems involved,” says Andrew Ledesma, manager of distribution engineering and worldwide transportation at Timex. “In the end, this accuracy means successful order filling at significantly lower costs.”