New Slotting Engine Helps Companies More Intelligently Manage Resources in the Warehouse

“Companies are facing increasing complexity, especially in high volume fulfillment operations.  Sterling Commerce, with its heritage in solving complex business process challenges, is uniquely suited to help companies overcome these challenges,” said Richard Douglass, Manufacturing global industry executive at Sterling Commerce.  “The addition of a slotting engine in Sterling WMS brings intelligence to a process that can dramatically influence the operational efficiency of the entire warehousing system.”

Travel time can often account for up to 60 percent of a picker’s daily activity. A good slotting strategy can reduce travel time and improve the efficiency of picking-related labor.  Specifically, the slotting engine will help companies establish goals and constraints that determine the optimal slotting strategy, and then perform “what-if” re-slotting scenarios based on those goals and constraints.  This will enable them to:

• Optimize the sequence in which slotting tasks are executed to help ensure their successful completion;
• Plan the labor required to execute the slotting tasks with the flexibility to execute only a subset of the slotting tasks in a situation where sufficient labor is not available to complete all the tasks; and
• Determine return on investment and payback for alternative scenarios before moves are executed.

The slotting engine comes through a partnership with Optricity, a leader in slotting solutions that offers mathematically advanced optimization engines to enhance return on supply chain investment.  Capitalizing on leading Web technologies, deep domain expertise, improved computing algorithms and analysis techniques, Optricity’s tools integrate with current supply chain planning and execution systems.  The addition of Optricity’s patent pending slotting methodologies will take Sterling WMS to the next level of slotting capabilities.

Sterling Warehouse Management System (WMS), part of the Sterling Selling and Fulfillment Suite, reduces inventory and operational costs and improves customer satisfaction for any warehouse configuration by executing complex processes and optimizing inventory and labor.  It provides a central point of control over warehouse operations across multiple facilities and geographies of varying types. With its service-oriented architecture (SOA) and strong integration capabilities, it easily integrates with existing infrastructure and material handling equipment, and supports new technologies like radio frequency identification (RFID).  The Sterling Selling and Fulfillment Suite provides unlimited visibility and control across an organization’s sales and fulfillment operations and enables companies to create a superior buying experience for their customers while shielding them from the complexities of the company’s organization, channels and supply chain. 

About Sterling Commerce
Sterling Commerce, a subsidiary of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), helps customers thrive in a global economy by connecting their business communities, processes, people and technology.  More than 30,000 customers worldwide – including 80 percent of the Fortune 500 – use Sterling Commerce solutions for business process integration, multi-channel selling, and supply chain fulfillment to improve profitability inside and outside their company walls.  Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Sterling Commerce has offices in 19 countries and most major cities around the world.  More information on the company can be found at www.sterlingcommerce.com.