Lean Accounting Book Examines QC Software’s Warehouse Control System Profiled

PRLog (Press Release) - Nov 15, 2009 -
A warehouse without a WCS operates a separate island of automation, with each system working independently.  Without a WCS, the conveyor system may decide where to route a carton with no information from the other systems.  The decision to divert a carton (or not) to a specific zone will depend on whether the carton has a “1” or “0” in the barcode.   “Both of these techniques are very basic and give little or no control,” said Jerry List, vice-president of QC Software, Cincinnati, OH.  “One alternative used by many companies is to enlist a single supply to provide all material handling equipment.  The equipment provider supplies the control software and interfaces to the host system.  However, the system will be very basic, and any changes to the equipment layout will require modification to the software code.  This often proves to be very expensive.”


Manufacturing Journalist, Thomas R. Cutler authored an important chapter in the new book, Lean Accounting for Manufacturers – A Tool for Lean Transformation (ISBN #: 978-81-314-2491-9), published by The Icfai University Press, which examines the role of the Warehouse Control System.  

In Chapter 12, Cutler specifically addresses how warehouse control systems contributed to a lean accounting practice.  Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) are often insufficient for manufacturing production and supply chain efficiency.  The batch data often used by a WMS in industry falls short of the real-time data needed to meet the strict Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) requirements.  The real-time pick and pack requirements for many industries on the plant and warehouse distribution floor are rigorous because of BioTerrorism Act necessitates near immediate responses for possible contamination.  Increasingly WCS are being used to overcome these mandates.


List noted that once items have been picked to cartons, the WCS sorts them to a packing station.  There, a bar code label on the carton is automatically scanned, which generates a list of value-added items for the operator to add to the carton. Once the documentation has been added to the carton, it is sealed and sorted to the shipping area, where compliant labeling and any shipping labels are applied.

QC Software (www.qcsoftware.com) is the leading provider of Tier 1 warehouse control systems to the warehousing and distribution industries.   Since 1996, QC Software, utilizing state of the art technology combined with extensive research, development, and rigorous testing, has developed the QC Enterprise suite of products.  Designed to be modular in nature, easily configurable, and platform independent, this highly scalable solution satisfies the needs of any size warehouse.  Beyond the DSA, QC Software also has a professional affiliation with the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, the Warehousing Education and Research Council, and Material Handling Industry of America.



QC Software, Inc.
www.qcsoftware.com
Jerry List
JerryList@qcsoftware.com   
(513) 469-1424