It's normal for a workstation or smartphone to experience some initial problems after installing the latest software version. Skipping the update would mean exposing yourself to cyberattacks. This can be critical for large warehouse management systems. Viastore takes precautions.

For example, in warehouse management systems that control all inbound and outbound processes of a warehouse: "If the software for controlling the processes in our high-bay warehouse were to fail, our production would come to a standstill after two, at the latest three hours," explains Guido Lücker, spokesperson for the management at Wilh. Schlechtendahl & Söhne (WSS).

With approximately 300 employees, the company develops and produces fittings for sophisticated door, glass, and window technology in commercial building construction, as well as for use in conjunction with steel and aluminum profiles as facade solutions. The products are supplied both to metal fabricators and to so-called "system providers," i.e., manufacturers of window and facade systems, who incorporate WSS fittings into their solutions.

The high-bay warehouse plays a central role, explains Lücker: "On the one hand, it supplies production with purchased parts as well as the assemblies and products we manufacture ourselves; on the other hand, shipping orders for customers are picked and packed from the high-bay warehouse." WSS's own products are thus "married" with purchased traded products, as Guido Lücker puts it. The company certainly competes with traditional hardware suppliers.

G. Lücker

“We ship between 400 and 600 packages every day,” explains Lücker. “That means we need enhanced logistics expertise.” WSS operates as a one-stop shop. Short delivery times for standard products are a key competitive advantage. Ordered items should arrive at the customer's location the next day, or at the latest, the day after. Crucial to this is how efficiently the order picking process functions.

The warehouse management system plays a crucial role in this, because otherwise it would not be possible to efficiently pick orders given the large number of products – WSS carries around 7000 common products, for a total of 28,000.

The 25,500 storage locations in the high-bay warehouse are managed with Viadat, the warehouse management system from Viastore. The Stuttgart-based expert in automated storage systems implemented the high-bay warehouse in 2002. In 2012 and 2013, the warehouse was expanded by three picking stations to its current six, and the WMS was also updated to the then-current version, Viadat 5.4. "Since then, the system has run reliably and stably," explains Robin Fasel, Managing Director at WSS.

However, Viadat 5.4 was discontinued after twelve years, and the current version is 9.3. WSS therefore decided to upgrade to the latest version. "This allows us to continue working with constantly maintained software," says Guido Lücker. This is essential due to the required high availability, as the spokesperson for the management board further emphasizes: "The biggest threat to us is cybercrime – a constantly updated version is the best protection against it, thus ensuring a consistently high level of security."

Use new features

Another tangible benefit of upgrading to Viadat 9.3 is the system's ease of customization, as Mario Schütz, IT Project Manager at Viastore, explains: "We can implement simple functionalities much faster and more easily than with the older versions." The warehouse management system is generally quick to implement through configuration and, with more than 2,500 logistics functions included as standard, already covers most requirements. Furthermore, individual extensions are also possible.

R. Fasel

Furthermore, the self-explanatory user interface can be customized: "Viastore easily made specific individual adjustments for us users," explains André Pircher. He is one of the key users designated by WSS at the beginning of the upgrade project – as such, he received special training from Viastore on the new software version and subsequently provided support and guidance to the other employees during its implementation. For Robin Fasel, such early employee involvement in a project is a crucial success factor: "Attempting something like this against the will of those working with the software is a relatively difficult path. Therefore, it is important to demonstrate the advantages to them early on and involve them in the project from the very beginning."

Photos: Viastore

“The entire process was very well prepared by Viastore,” reports Lücker. This included two training days for all employees working with Viadat. Furthermore, a Viastore expert was available on-site for a week after the go-live to answer questions and provide guidance. In addition, Viastore was able to test the entire system on the plant a month before the actual switchover, as Mario Schütz explains: “For example, we were able to thoroughly test the material flow computers and the interaction with the ERP system using the new software.” Any problems discovered during this testing were resolved before the system was activated.

The actual upgrade was only the first stage of the entire project. In a second project phase, once the ERP system has also been updated, Viadat's tasks will be significantly expanded, as Lücker explains: "Until now, Viadat was exclusively responsible for the high-bay warehouse. In the future, we want the software to control all other warehouse areas as well."

Teamwork: R. Fasel, G. Lücker, A. Pircher, M. Schütz (from left). 

This includes various shelving units, pallet racking systems, and the so-called "supermarket," where small parts such as screws for production are stored. These warehouses are currently managed via the ERP system. WSS expects that controlling all warehouse areas through Viadat will enable automatic optimization between the different warehouses, for example, based on turnover rate or other parameters.

www.viastore.com