Merge Warehouses, Replace WMi & Reimplement Manhattan WMOS with MHE

Company Overview:

A high-end apparel and shoes retailer operates multiple highly automated facilities, fulfilling various lines of businesses under the roof of multi-purpose warehouses across North America. Utilizing the world-leading WMS technology platforms (WMOS and MA Active) from Manhattan Associates and other warehouse automation solutions, the company stands at the forefront of innovation in the industry.

Industry:

Fashion Merchandise

Line of Business:

Retail
eCommerce

Warehouse Management Applications:

Manhattan WMOS, Active Omni, EEM, SCI and LMS

Warehouse Automation:

Pyramid, Lightning Pick and Dematic

ERP System:

Oracle RMS

Business Requirements and Challenges:

The customer is planning to relocate their operations from their current warehouse to a larger facility nearby. This new facility has already equipped with warehouse control software (WCS) and the Material Handling Equipment (MHE) automation software but designed for an older software version (Manhattan iSeries WMi) rather than the newer WMOS or MAWM systems. The challenge involves not only moving to the new warehouse but also ensuring that both the old and new warehouses can operate concurrently during the transition period. The facilities are 40 miles apart, requiring a robust system to manage operations across both locations.

The new system design must integrate with the existing automation software and equipment in the new warehouse, which was configured for the older system. If adjustments are needed, they should be made in the WMOS software, possibly involving enhancements requested from the software provider, Manhattan Associates.

Additionally, the new design must be future-proof, meaning it should be compatible with MAWM, as the customer is already testing this newer system at another facility. This approach ensures a smooth transition to MAWM in the future without significant disruptions or reconfigurations.

Solution Highlights :

Rapid Design Completion in 2 Weeks

The ITOrizon design team conducted an onsite walkthrough of both the existing and new warehouses within a week.

ITOrizon selected a team with expertise in WMi, WMOS, MAWM, and MHE to complete the design swiftly. The team presented the workflow and identified gaps to the Customer’s Operations Team and Manhattan Associates.

The design was approved within two weeks, with Manhattan committing to the necessary MHE enhancements for WMOS.

Special Item and Inventory Segmentations

ITOrizon conducted a thorough analysis of item and inventory segmentations to ensure the new design and dual-warehouse operations would not disrupt any channels or brands.

Special Inbound and Outbound Configurations

Our team designed, configured, tested, and delivered solutions to support simultaneous operations in both warehouses, focusing on inventory allocations and tasking strategies during waving.

All MHE touchpoints, including MHE Receiving, Inbound Routing, Transfer Loading, Induct, Divert, and Sort, were integrated with the new WMOS design and existing MHE setup.

The design phase was completed within 2 weeks, allowing ample time for Manhattan to address the identified gaps.

All required approaches, including MHE operations, were configured and tested in three months, enabling a record Go Live within 4 months.

Benefits to the Customer:

Increased Operational Efficiency: The seamless transition and integration of systems resulted in smoother and faster warehouse operations while reducing downtime

Enhanced Flexibility: The new system design provided the flexibility to manage inventory and operations across two warehouses simultaneously, ensuring business continuity during the transition period.

Cost Savings: By avoiding the creation of new test or production environments and minimizing disruptions, the customer saved on additional operational and IT costs.

Scalability for Future Growth: The design’s compatibility with MAWM ensures the customer can easily scale their operations and adopt new technologies without major overhauls.

ITOrizon Inc., a global end-to-end IT supply chain ecosystem service leader based in Atlanta, with offshore locations in India and Dubai, has been helping clients ensure success for more than 10 years. We maximize the value of existing ecosystem investments while outpacing the competition with a human-first service delivery client experience. Industry analysts such as Gartner, ISG, and ARC Advisory have recognized us for our high-performance services team, built to scale and delivering strategic advisory, implementation/integration, digital transformation, and managed support services.