WMS Pioneers Episode 2: Coffee Addiction, Robotics and Automation
by Softeon
Check out the next installment of our new, limited video series for stories on coffee addiction and the answers to how warehouse leaders should be thinking about robotics and automation.
With robotics and automation on the rise in warehouses, leaders must carefully consider what technology works for their organization.
Softeon’s CTO, Mark Fralick, believes that leaders need to start with a long-term vision, but have short-term, intermediate goals.
“Let’s say that your vision or the thing you’re trying to achieve really is scalability or you know FTE reduction or something like that, that’s your long-term goal, but there’s a lot of small steps you can take in this direction because a lot of the robot vendors operate sort of as a robots as a service model,” says Fralick. “Many of them will do a pilot for you for a very inexpensive amount of money and to me, if you have the long-term vision, vet out your choices, and then take short steps to validate the ROI right, you’re ultimately along the road. It’s more of a journey than a destination.”
Jim Hoefflin, Softeon’s CEO, thinks that operations leaders need to consider how they introduce different robotics pieces into their operations.
“You have to remove the boundaries of typical thinking, which a lot of people in this market are still strapped into here’s the four walls, where we realize those walls are getting blurry and going away. What we need to do is be an enabling technology in the middle of it all.”
Jim Hoefflin | CEO at Softeon
With the industry seemingly having a different scope range and definition of warehouse execution systems (WES), Hoefflin shares his perspective.
“We view it as being able to orchestrate across different areas, tie it all together and make it flow. It’s about sensing things and taking corrective action. It’s a natural extension and evolution of what a WMS is. The people who recognize it’s more about how you orchestrate and collaborate between different subsystems and humans will be well-positioned for the future.”
Jim Hoefflin | CEO at Softeon
To learn more about how Hoefflin and Fralick’s operational mindset combined with their philosophical approach has served as the underlying driver for their success over the years, subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, or other popular podcast channels.
