News
WMS vendors go networked into the future with warehouse logistics
18.11.2014
»Go networked into the future with warehouse logistics« was the slogan used by Team warehouse logistics to invite participants of the WMS Database to attend the fourteenth annual meeting held on 30 October 2014at the Fraunhofer IML in Dortmund. More than 60 representatives from national and international companies in the WMS industry took advantage of this opportunity to learn about the latest trends and developments in the field of logistics and discuss them in the World Café.
The fourteenth annual participant meeting of the warehouse logistics community reached operating temperature with the dynamic and forward-looking keynote speech by Professor Dr. Michael ten Hompel, the Managing Director of Fraunhofer IML, about the relevance of German logistics research and the development of software and systems. His speech focussed on the creation of transparency in the field of Big Data as well as the definition of standards in information logistics. »We have to manufacture software like cars«, said Michael ten Hompel as he explained to the guests how important it is to invest in future innovations and fuse logistics and IT closer together.
After the keynote speech, Tim Geißen, project manager for the continued development and internationalization of Team warehouse logistics, reported on the trends and developments of the WMS Database. In addition to introducing the new participants, presenting the results of the 2014 customer satisfaction analysis in which once again 80% of participants indicated they were »very satisfied« or »satisfied« with their participation in the WMS Database, and providing insight into the access statistics for warehouse-logistics.com; he also outlined the content of the latest Fraunhofer IML WMS Market Report on trends and developments in the WMS market. This was followed by presentations on some of the joint activities of the warehouse logistics community such as the new VDI Standard 3601 »Warehouse Management Systems«. Two members of the warehouse logistics advisory committee, Rainer Appel (ita vero GmbH) and Horst Reichert (S&P Computersysteme GmbH), gave a joint presentation on how to successfully implement a WMS: the basis of which was a project guide that was developed jointly in recent months by Fraunhofer IML and the warehouse logistics advisory committee.
The most popular event at this year’s participant meeting took place in Fraunhofer IML’s open ID centre and it gave the participants the chance to discuss a wide range of topics with each other. Held for the past three years, the World Café once again received a lot of praise from participants this year. »It was just as super as last year«, said Daniel Braß of Infor GmbH. In small groups led by experts, the participants were given the chance to share their ideas and discuss their experiences about current World Café topics such as »Project Guides for WMS Vendors«, »Requirements Elicitation for WMS«, »The Future of the User Interface«, »Automated versus Paperless Manual Warehouses«, »Technology-based Resource Planning«, and »Support and Predictive Maintenance«. »It is definitely a very interesting format. The concept of the World Café is helpful and it was well organized«, summed up Dietmar Haveloh of active logistics AG.
The afternoon program included compelling presentations by Stefan G. Brenner (classix flexible software) on »Using WMS successfully: Simplify stocktaking through random sampling« and Christoph Pott (Fraunhofer IML) on the already mentioned »VDI Standard 3601: Warehouse Management Systems«. Tim Geißen finished the presentations off by talking about the roadmap for the coming year and making closing remarks to the participants, who were then awarded their participant certificates.
The participant meeting received positive feedback again this year and helped strengthen the networking character of the WMS community. Guests gave special praise to the ability to exchange ideas in the World Café, the intensive networking opportunities, and the informative presentations.
Dietmar Haveloh of active logistics AG added that »the combination of workshop and presentations had convinced him« and he definitely planned »to put the participant meeting in his calendar for next year«. Andreas Höfler of SITLog GmbH was just as positive in his comments: »It is interesting to hear the different opinions and suggestions of the competition. I enjoyed the constructive discussions in the World Café as much as I did the presentations.« Daniel Braß had this to say after the presentations were over: »The presentations are very interesting. But the World Café and the networking opportunities are the most important for us participants.«
Tim Geißen is very happy that the 2014 participant meeting was so successful: »It is worth highlighting the open and constructive atmosphere at the participant meeting. We are particularly pleased that we, Team warehouse logistics, get to be initiator and active supporter of joint activities for the participating WMS vendors in the market: whether it is with the VDI Standard 3601 or the project guide for the successful implementation of a WMS, which will soon be available for users of www.warehouse-logistics.com to download as a joint position paper.«
The world’s largest database for warehouse managements systems on warehouse-logistics.com provides customers with access to all of the important information they need for sustainable warehouse planning and the proper implementation of information technology in the warehouse. WMS Online Selection gives users a functional overview of more than 100 systems and numerous ways to compare those systems.
By listing their systems in the WMS Database on warehouse-logistics.com, WMS vendors can acquire new customer bases. The quality of the WMS Database is guaranteed by the annual validation process of the listed systems, which is done using an extensive questionnaire that covers more than 3 000 aspects. As a further assurance of quality, the validation process is also certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001. WMS vendors can also submit completed projects for validation as references.
For more information, visit
http://www.warehouse-logistics.com
http://www.facebook.com/warehouselogistics
Contact person:
Tim Geißen
Phone: +49 (0) 231/9743-227
Fax: +49 (0) 231/9743-162
Email: tim.geissen@iml.fraunhofer.de