Read What’s Related Logistics professionals across most industries are in a quandary over how to manage the growing demands of e-commerce and omni-channel distribution. Ask just about any logistics manager how he or she has managed to adapt to these quick shifts—which now finds companies less focused on pallets and more centered on individual, customer-centric orders-and you’ll probably get a long-winded complaint in return. At least some of that frustration can be traced to the warehouse, where companies across all industries are looking for ways to work smarter, better, and faster in a high order volume environment. One lap around the exhibitor floor at the recent Modex 2016 exhibition in Atlanta, for example, reveals 850 vendors who are eager to help. From Lucas Systems’ mobile work execution solutions to Pcdata USA’s innovative pick-to-light systems to SphereWMS’ cloud-based warehouse management systems, among dozens of others, the field of technology tools and applications designed to support warehouse activity is literally expanding every year. This proliferation of technology isn’t always easy for shippers to navigate. “To say that the market is confused right now would be an understatement,” says John Hill , a consultant with the St. Onge Company and a long-time warehouse management expert. During his question and answer sessions at Modex, he said that shippers wanted advice on whether they needed a warehouse management system (WMS) , warehouse control system (WCS), warehouse execution system (WES), or some combination of all three. Giving definitive answers to these questions without knowing more about the specific, physical warehouse or distribution center (DC) setup can be a crapshoot, according to Hill. “When you don’t see the operations environment, or when you can’t characterize or profile its specific requirements and pain points, then it’s difficult to make an informed assessment of whether a WCS, WES, […]