Introducing the Fulfillment Execution System

A sea change is underway in warehouse management and fulfillment operations. Driven by e-commerce and omni-channel demand and enabled by innovative automation and software solutions, this new model of “fulfillment execution” ushers in an era of real-time adaptive workflow for optimized omni-channel fulfillment.

When warehouse management systems (WMS) utilizing radio frequency terminals and bar code scanning equipment replaced paper-based systems in the mid-1980s, they marked a fundamental shift in
warehouse operation and workflow. Yet today, these traditional WMS solutions remain focused on the cycle of planning, executing, monitoring and adjusting as a sequence of discrete events, limiting their ability to optimize real-time actions in the millisecond highvelocity environment of an e-commerce or omnichannel distribution center.

In contrast, the new fulfillment execution system introduces adaptive, task-driven workflows based on real-time, constant analysis of inventory, labor, process and equipment information, exactly matching the optimization requirements of today’s e-commerce or omni-channel fulfillment center. And the supply chain implications stretch far beyond the four walls of the warehouse.