Warehouse Control System

Brands rarely deal with a WCS directly, but it matters when choosing a highly automated 3PL or building a facility. Integration between WMS, WES, and WCS often decides whether automation hits its expected throughput.

What is the difference between a WES and a WCS?

A WES plans and balances work across the warehouse, while a WCS controls the machines that do the moving, such as conveyors and sorters, in real time.

• Warehouse Execution SystemSoftware that sits between a WMS and warehouse automation, releasing and balancing work in real time across people, robots, and equipment based on current capacity.
• Conveyor SystemPowered or gravity-driven belts and rollers that move totes, cartons, or parcels between areas of a warehouse, such as from picking to packing to shipping.
• Sortation SystemAutomated equipment that identifies items or parcels, usually by barcode scan, and diverts each one to the correct destination, such as an order, a packing station, or a carrier lane.
• Warehouse Management SystemSoftware that directs and records warehouse activity: receiving, putaway, inventory locations, picking, packing, and shipping.