Google译文 随着支持越来越多的分销渠道的实现，仓库和配送中心（DC）日益被视为战略性业务资产与成本中心。 在过去，仓库或DC仅仅是货物的仓储设施或在供应链中穿过“物品”的地方，现代设施必须灵活而且足够有能力支持砖木结构，迫击炮，电子商务，B2B，送货上门和包裹运输 - 仅举几例。 实现这种平衡需要以下两件事之一：大量的劳动力和房地产，或先进技术，有助于抵消诸如高劳动力成本等问题，同时简化流程并使流程更加高效。 尽管大多数公司至少都在考虑如何实现这一目标，但许多公司仍在使用过时的流程，如笔和纸和电子表格来管理库存和跟踪仓库四面墙壁内的产品移动。 “目前大多数公司仍在使用基本的101仓库，”供应链咨询公司St. Onge Co.的董事总经理Norm Saenz说。 “即使是大型托运人也试图在自动化，机器人，虚拟现实，语音和无线电频率识别，努力通过他们的仓库进入“下一个阶段” 。“ 好消息是，软件和设备供应商并没有放下自己的桂冠，他们也没有站出来让公司的仓储策略陷入黑暗时代。从自主移动机器人到完整的供应链解决方案以及先进的库存跟踪系统，这些选项不断激增，并促使物流专业人员开发更智能，更高效的设施。考虑到这一点，以下六种仓库管理方式正在不断发展，同时还窥见了我们在未来五年可以预期的情况。 1.）极度适应和个性化的软件需求 就像他们的最终客户期望快速，个性化的服务一样，当今的物流专业人员正在转向他们的仓库管理系统（WMS）软件供应商，并要求系统满足其特定公司的需求和痛点。 DMLogic信息技术副总裁Matthew Deep表示：“WMS现在在构建个性化方面表现得相当不错。“然而，展望未来，我预计WMS的推出将超越”非常契合round peg in a round hole“方式，并且具有非常灵活，适应性强的软件功能。” 例如，Deep说他看到更多的物流运作要求WMS能够快速建立起来，并且无需返回供应商寻求帮助，支持和额外的培训。“通过这些定制，物流经理可以比自己的员工更快地培训自己的员工，”Deep说。“了解这一点，软件开发人员正在构建尽可能灵活的平台，并迎合日益变幻莫测的客户。” 2.）仓库控制系统（WCS）代替WMS 仓库控制系统（WCS）和仓库管理系统之间的隔墙正在倒塌，前者在仓库库存的整体管理中扮演着更重要的角色。Saenz说，对于那些将更多自动化技术应用到仓库和数据中心的公司尤其如此。 过去，WCS为物料搬运系统（即传送带，分拣机，输送机等）提供接口，而WMS则管理流程，人员和活动（如装运和订单）。“我们与许多公司合作，这些公司正在与新的WCS一起投入新的自动化，并研究如何利用他们的WCS投资实现仓库管理功能，”Saenz说，他预计这种趋势将继续，因为WCS和WMS之间的界线将继续模糊。   3.）仓库楼层上的自主移动机器人 瓦锡兰和DHL已经完成了一个成功的试点，公司测试了Fetch Robotics，以调查在仓库日常运营中利用最新技术创新的可能性。机器人被设计为与员工一起工作，并且使他们免于身体上的繁重任务。 在罗切斯特药物公司，一款名为Adam的移动式采撷机器人漫游库存通道，直接从货架上选择物品而无需人工干预。最后，在惠而浦，54台机器人拖车每台均配备Seegrid公司的立体摄像头导航系统，将洗衣机零件运送到位于俄亥俄州克莱德的组装和分装线上的24个位置。 这只是对移动机器人前端将会发生什么的一瞥，Gartner的研究副总裁Dwight Klappich说，我们正在“归功于自动化机器人，对仓库进行了一些非常激进的改变。” 虽然仓库和数据中心已经应用了近40年来Klappich所说的“自动化地板”自动化，但这种设备的设计，构建和安装费用昂贵，而且支持复杂。 “但是一旦物流运营已经完成了所有这一切，它可以大幅降低处理产品的成本，”Klappich指出。“未来，所有这些技术可能完全或基本上都是独立的。”  4.）与劳动力协调的机器人 为了在仓​​库中取得最大成效，位于波士顿的ARC咨询集团研究分析师Clint Reiser表示，机器人本身将不得不在其应用中变得更加智能和普遍 - 而且他们将不得不学习如何与现有的人力团队打好关系。 Reiser指出Fetch Robotics是一家正在朝这个方向发展的公司，它已经成功试用了一个项目，在这个项目中，一位美国客户希望机器人能够坐在仓库的某个区域内，收集人类采集的物品，将这些物品拿到包装站，然后在其清空车后返回到选择器。“这是机器人正在帮助简化事情的一种方式，但是在这个领域前方肯定会有更多的机会，”Reiser说，他认为机器人与拾取器结合使用优化是一种优化仓储流程而不增加额外劳动力的好方法。“这就是让机器人与劳动力协调一致。” 5.）从后视镜翻转到挡风玻璃的高级计划功能  Klappich看到一个在高级计划方面落后于同行的行业。事实上，他说仓库管理人员有这样的想法是很平常的：“呃，你不能在仓库里计划。我们的工作就是做我们必须做的事情来获取东西。“ 因此，仓库和物流管理人员通常非常善于加速，但不善于规划现在或未来。然而，随着电子商务和全渠道等力量推动经理人重新思考他们的工作方式，未来几年这可能会发生变化。 “当你进入大批量的电子商务时，更多的公司正在使用仓库执行系统[WES]来应用更复杂的逻辑来管理他们的工作，”Klappich说，他看到优化和机器学习（即，即使在最具挑战性的分销环境中，也可以事先进行规划，从而可以在未被明确规划的情况下进行学习。 “曼哈顿和Softeon都在开发[解决方案]，帮助公司更仔细地研究如何在大批量分销环境中应用工作优化技术，例如我们在电子商务中看到的那些。”Klappich说。 同样，他希望更多的公司摆脱劳动领域的“事后”报道，其中诸如“莎莉昨天做了什么？”等问题可以翻到“我们今天需要做什么或者本周？“还是”我们是否需要将工人从接收转移到包装，因为后者落后于计划？“ “通过良好的高级计划，”Klappich说，“托运人可以有效地将重点从后视镜转移到挡风玻璃上，从而获得一些很好的效率。” 6.）协作机器人项目 展望未来几年，Reiser希望更多的技术供应商携起手来，提出专门针对仓库的自动化解决方案。这是一个重要的观点，因为如今很多机器人方面的创新者都是小型创业公司，他们可能善于发明创新，但未必能够长期维持其业务。 “在接下来的几年里，我们将看到一些关于系统集成商/仓库自动化提供商如何与小型自主协作机器人公司合作开发新解决方案的有趣故事，”Reiser预测道。“已建立的WMS供应商也将参与游戏并在一些项目中聚集在一起。看看所有这些都会发挥出来会很有趣。“    Warehouse Management (WMS) / Inventory Management Technology: 6 Trends for the Modern Age Here’s how the next generation of warehouse and inventory management systems are evolving to help logistics operations operate more efficiently and improve their bottom lines in our brave, new digital age. ByBridget McCrea, Editor· March 1, 2018 Tasked with supporting the fulfillment across a growing number of distribution channels,warehouses and distribution centers (DCs)are increasingly looked upon as strategic business assets versus cost centers. Where in the past a warehouse or DC was simply a storage facility for goods or a place to put “stuff” as it made its way through the supply chain, the modern-day facility must be agile and capable enough to support brick-and-mortar, e-commerce, B2B, home deliveries and parcel shipments—to name just a few. Achieving this balance requires one of two things: a whole lot of labor and real estate, or advanced technology that helps to offset issues like high labor costs while also streamlining the process and making it more efficient than ever. And while most companies are at least thinking about how to make that happen, many are still using antiquated processes like pen-and-paper and spreadsheets to manage inventory and track product movement within the four walls of the warehouse. “The majority of companies out there are still using basic 101 warehousing at this point,” says Norm Saenz, managing director at supply chain consultancySt. Onge Co.“Even the larger shippers are trying to get better in areas like automation, robotics, virtual reality, voice and radio frequency identification, in an effort to get to the ‘next level’ with their warehousing.” The good news is that software and equipment vendors aren’t resting on their laurels, nor are they standing by and allowing companies’ warehousing strategies to fall into the dark ages. From autonomous mobile robots to complete supply chain solutions to advanced inventory tracking systems, the options continue to proliferate and drive logistics professionals to develop smarter, more efficient facilities. With that in mind, here are six ways warehouse management is evolving, along with a peek at what we can expect in the next five years. 1.) Software that adapts and personalizes on the dime Much like their end customers expect quick, personalized service, today’s logistics professionals are turning to their warehouse management systems (WMS) software vendors and asking for systems that accommodate their specific company’s needs and pain points. “WMS is kind of behind the curve right now in terms of building out personalization,” saysMatthew Deep, vice president of information technology atDMLogic. “Going forward, however, I expect WMS rollouts that go beyond the ‘round peg in a round hole’ approach, and that feature very flexible, adaptable software functionalities.” For example, Deep says he sees more logistics operations asking for WMS that can be built out rapidly and put in place without having to go back to the vendor for help, support, and additional training. “Through those customizations, logistics managers can train their own people a lot faster than they’d be able to with a more standard WMS offering,” says Deep. “Knowing this, software developers are now building out platforms that are as flexible as possible, and that cater to an increasingly fickle customer.” 2.) Warehouse Control Systems (WCS) in lieu of WMS The walls between warehouse control systems (WCS) and WMS are coming down, and the former is playing a larger role in the overall management of a warehouse’s inventory. This is particularly true for companies that are putting more automation into their warehouses and DCs, says Saenz. Historically, WCS provided the interface for material handling systems (i.e., carousels, sorters, conveyors, etc.), while WMS managed processes, people, and activities like shipments and orders. “We’ve worked with numerous companies that were putting in new automation along with new WCS and looking at how to leverage their WCS investments for warehouse management functionality,” says Saenz, who expects this trend to continue as the lines between WCS and WMS continue to blur. 3.) Autonomous mobile robots on the warehouse floor Wärtsilä and DHL have completed a successful pilot where the companies testedFetch Roboticsto investigate possibilities to utilize the latest technology innovations in the daily operations of the warehouse. The robots are designed to work alongside employees, and to relieve them from physically strenuous tasks. AtRochester Drug, a mobile piece-picking robot named Adam roams aisles of inventory, selecting items directly from shelves without human intervention. Finally, atWhirlpool, 54 robotic tuggers, each with a stereo camera-based navigation system from Seegrid, deliver washing machine parts to 24 locations on assembly and sub-assembly lines in Clyde, Ohio. This is just a glimpse of what’s to come on the mobile robot front, where Dwight Klappich, research vice president at Gartner, says we’re “on the cusp of some very radical changes to the warehouse thanks to automated robots.” And while warehouses and DCs have beenequipped with what Klappich calls “bolted to the floor” automation for nearly 40 years now, such equipment has been expensive to design, build, and install—and complicated to support. “But once a logistics operations has paid all of that back, it could dramatically lower its costs to handle product,” Klappich points out. “In the future, all of that technology may be completely or mostly autonomous.” 4.) Robots that coordinate with the workforce To be most effective on the warehouse floor,Clint Reiser, research analyst with Boston-basedARC Advisory Group, says that the robots themselves are going to have to become more intelligent and universal in their applications—and they’re going to have to learn how to play well with an existing, human workforce. Reiser points to Fetch Robotics as one company that’s making headway in this direction, having successfully piloted a project where a U.S. customer wanted robots that could sit within a certain zone on the warehouse floor, collect items gathered by human pickers, take those goods to a packing station and then return to the picker after its cart was emptied. “This is one way robots are helping to streamline things, but there are definitely more opportunities ahead in that realm,” says Reiser, who sees the optimization of robotics in conjunction with pickers as a good way to streamline warehousing processes without adding additional labor. “It’s all about getting the robotics coordinated with the workforce.” 5.) Advanced planning capabilities that flip from rear-view mirror to windshield Klappich sees an industry that’s lagging behind its counterparts when it comes to advanced planning. In fact, he says it’s not unusual at all for warehouse managers to have the mindset of, “Well, you can’t plan in a warehouse. Our job is to do what we have to do to get stuff in and out the door.” As a result, warehouse and logistics managers are often very good at expediting, but not as good at planning for the here-and-now or for the future. However, that could change over the next few years as forces like e-commerce and omni-channel are pushing managers to rethink the way they approach their jobs. “When you get into high-volume e-commerce, more companies are using warehouse execution systems [WES] to apply more sophisticated logic to how they manage their work,” says Klappich, who sees optimization and machine learning (i.e., giving computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed to do so) techniques as viable ways to plan in advance in even the most challenging distribution environment. “Both Manhattan and Softeon are developing [solutions] that help companies look more carefully at how to apply work optimization techniques in high-volume distribution environments, such as those that we see with e-commerce,” says Klappich. In a similar vein, he expects more companies to move away from “after the fact” reporting in areas like labor, where questions like: “how did Sally do yesterday?” can be flipped around to “what do we need to accomplish today or this week?” or “do we need to shift workers from receiving to packing because the latter is behind schedule?” “With good advanced planning,” says Klappich, “shippers can effectively flip the emphasis from the rear-view mirror to the windshield, and gain some good efficiencies as a result.” 6.) Collaborative robotics projects Looking out a few years, Reiser expects more technology vendors to join hands and come up with automated solutions that are specifically targeted to the warehouse. This is an important point because so many of today’s innovators on the robotics side are small, startup firms that may be good at inventing and innovating, but may not necessarily be able to sustain their businesses for the long haul. “In the next couple of years, we’re going to see some interesting stories of how systems integrators/warehouse automation providers work together with smaller, autonomous, collaborative robotics firms to develop new solutions,” Reiser predicts. “The established WMS vendors will also get in on the game and come together on some projects. It will be interesting to see how all of that plays out.” About the Author Bridget McCrea, Editor Bridget McCrea is a Contributing Editor for Logistics Management based in Clearwater, Fla. She has covered the transportation and supply chain space since 1996 and has covered all aspects of the industry for Logistics Management and Supply Chain Management Review. She can be reached atbridgetmc@earthlink.net, or on Twitter@BridgetMcCrea