Material Handling - Warehouse Control Systems For Food and Beverage Sector

According to Jerry List, vice-president of QC Software (qcsoftware.com), "First we have to understand the core competence of the Warehouse Control System (WCS). WCS evolved from the Warehouse Management System (WMS), due to the fact that the WMS was just trying to do too much and technology just could not keep.

Routing, sorting and processing cartons through a transport system are very different from tracking inventory and orders . In the food and beverage arena is indispensable (a central quality control) for goods to be picked, packed and shipped in an expeditious manner, due to the corruption factor. In the CMC should be able to process packaging Cardboard efficiently avoiding recirculation in the process of processing thousands of cartons an hour. "

Manufacturing journalist Thomas R. Cutler contributed to the current issue of the International Food Security Network and Quality (IFSQN), the feature titled, "WCS Expands to Food and Beverage" details the decision-making process often carried out by food and beverage distributors and manufacturers.

According to Cutler, "There is a significant shift between (Warehouse Management Systems) WMS and WCS (Warehouse Control Systems) in the area of merging local data warehouses into an enterprise data storage. There are suites software products that provide the tools necessary to efficiently and economically operate a warehouse or distribution center. "

Traditionally, a Warehouse Control System (WCS) executes instructions provided by an upper level host system, such as an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system or a WMS. True Tier 1 WCS software provides advanced management capabilities including inventory control, scheduling and resource management orders. The best of the breed WCS systems are modular in nature, easily configurable, platform independent, with a scalable architecture to meet the needs of any size warehouse.

Unlike a typical WMS software solution, WCS directs real-time data management and interface responsibilities of the system for material handling, as well as provides common user interface screens for monitoring, control and diagnosis.

The focal point for the management of the operational aspects of material handling system, WCS provides the vital link between the batch-time data reception and real-time programmable logic controller (PLC) system for material handling.

The PLC coordinates the various real-time control devices to achieve the daily work. At each decision point in the distribution process, the WCS "determines" the most efficient routing of the product and transmits directives to the equipment controllers to achieve the desired result. The decision-making process is often controlled by two utilities, the type and the Administrator of the Route Director.

WMS systems are designed to manage information, are planning systems versus systems implementation, however, it is fair to say that the CMC is the market economy to the warehouse because it directs the tasks.

The solutions provided by QC Software enables companies to streamline their warehouse operations with the lowest total cost of ownership in the industry increased corporate profitability.