SAP Extended Warehouse Management with Intelligent Logistics

3 defining trends

3 Defining Trends for Your Warehouse Management System

Establishing the warehouse of the future is crucial to remain relevant. Developments in logistics are happening rapidly, and (co-)innovating is a must. Customers are demanding. Products must be delivered quickly to the right place and remain of top quality during that process. And all at the lowest possible cost. It is a top-level challenge to configure your warehouse management solution accordingly. Three warehouse trends are decisive if you want to stay competitive in the Future of Logistics.

1. Standardization of WMS solution

A clear trend is bringing logistics back to the core. Organizations are increasingly opting for standardized WMS solutions with best practices. Especially when logistics is not a core business, these solutions deliver better results than expensive custom work.

2. Analyze warehouse data

A smart WMS setup is just the beginning. With big data, organizations continuously optimize their warehouse. Real-time insights enable immediate adjustments, while post-analysis with process mining uncovers valuable improvement opportunities for further EWM optimization.

3. Robotics & Automation

Customers expect speed, quality, and competitive pricing. That is why organizations are heavily investing in robotics and automation. Only in this way is it possible to process online orders immediately and ship them the same day, utilizing AGVs, picking systems, and robots.

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Warehouse Automation

Platform for warehouse automation

Integrating automation into the WMS solution

High-rise warehouses and automated picking systems, AGVs (self-driving, unmanned vehicles), sorting machines, and robots. All components of the warehouse of the future. The challenge? Integrating the automated systems with your warehouse management solution. And doing so at the lowest possible cost, without jeopardizing business continuity.

The solution for warehouse robotization & automation

Intelligent Logistics also provides a comprehensive solution to the automation and robotization trend. It is more than an EWM template with best practices. You receive a standardized platform for warehouse automation. With SAP EWM as a solid foundation, we can quickly integrate with existing automated warehouse solutions. You can also directly control automated systems via the platform. This can even be done at the PLC level, without the intervention of other middleware.

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— Tertius Schijven, McCoy

Analyzing warehouse data

The challenge of analyzing warehouse data.

Setting up an intelligent logistics process once is just the beginning. Organizations use big data to continuously optimize their warehouse, as the numerous goods movements generate a vast amount of valuable data. This data offers opportunities for real-time insights and in-depth process analyses afterward. The challenge lies in actually utilizing that information, and that's precisely where smart tools make the difference:

Tool 1 (real-time): warehouse insights

With SAP EWM, you record advanced business processes in a system-driven manner. However, peaks in the number of orders may require intervention in the workload distribution on the floor. SAP Warehouse Insights assists with this. The solution consists of three components.

Optimize: Warehouse Insights supports real-time and continuous optimization of orders to be processed in the warehouse. For this, the tool relies on advanced algorithms, cloud computing, and machine learning.
AnalyzeThe tool analyzes historical data and translates it into reports for various KPIs. You receive these visually presented in a clear out-of-the-box dashboard. With these analyses, you can make timely adjustments where necessary.
VisualizeMany organizations require a graphical representation of activities in the warehouse. Warehouse Insights provides a graphical view of the warehouse, including the ideal walking paths. The network can be adjusted in real-time, making it easier to optimize processes.

Tool 2 (real-time): Intelligent Logistics performance dashboard

The McCoy EWM performance dashboard is an integral part of Intelligent Logistics. We have specifically developed it to provide insight into your warehouse's performance from day one. We have already made the most common warehouse KPIs transparent. This allows you to manage daily operations and improve the KPIs. For example, by optimizing warehouse processes, clean-desk activities, and reducing lead times.

Tool 3 (afterwards): Celonis for process mining

Do you want to efficiently analyze all possible WMS data? Then it's time for process mining. Celonis is a good tool for this, which we combine with our in-depth SAP EWM knowledge. This allows you to work in a cycle of three phases towards continuous optimization of the warehouse:

Gathering dataOrganizations that implemented EWM know that they are capturing a rapidly growing amount of data. This makes it increasingly difficult to analyze the data thoroughly. Therefore, we have developed a simple model for data exchange between SAP EWM and Celonis.
Analyzing dataProcess mining tools establish connections without predefined logic. Therefore, we have developed a model with only a start and endpoint of the warehouse process. For example, customer delivery creation and goods issuance. Subsequently, Celonis analyzes all data, allowing you to shift the focus to process optimizations.
Optimize processAfter data analysis, Celonis indicates the optimization opportunities for the warehouse process. For optimal results, make this an iterative process (plan-do-check-act) and use Celonis weekly or even daily. We are, of course, happy to advise you on this.

The WMS Challenge

The challenge for standardizing WMS solution

We increasingly see the warehouse becoming a bottleneck for companies, partly driven by the rapidly changing supply chain. The existing warehouse management solution cannot handle the growing volumes. The flexibility to respond to changing business requirements is lacking. This is partly caused by a WMS solution that does not provide real-time insight into daily operations, let alone the performance of the warehouse.

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The WMS solution

The solution for standardization WMS solution

Standardized WMS packages, configured with best practices, form the best foundation for good results. We are therefore seeing a significant shift from expensive customization to smartly leveraging best practices.

EWM template with best practices

Ingredient 1

With our SAP-Qualified Partner Package Intelligent Logistics, you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You receive a ready-to-use SAP EWM solution with standardized core processes for inbound, outbound, and housekeeping, configured based on proven best practices and extensive SAP EWM experience.

Modular refined structure

Ingredient 2

Thanks to the modular setup, you can quickly tailor the standard EWM solution to be industry- or customer-specific. This saves you time and costs and allows you to easily add extra functionality, such as dashboards for KPI insights or tools to smoothly transfer existing SAP WM logic to SAP EWM.

Standardized project approach

Ingredient 3

A successful WMS implementation requires a structured approach with attention to platform, process, and people. Our standardized project method ensures a rapid rollout, efficient process setup, and optimal user adoption.

Intelligent logistics