Logisitics Management Profiles

QC Software is the leading provider of Tier 1More developments are in the works. Although Retail
warehouse control systems to the warehousing andand Wholesale operations are now located in one
distribution industries. Since 1996, QC Software,facility, they are still systemically separate. Wholesale,
utilizing state of the art technology combined withfor example, cannot use Retail’s unit sorter, nor
extensive research, development, and rigorouscan Retail use Wholesale’s multilevel pick
testing, has developed the QC Enterprise suite ofmodules. Silverman says this will soon change.
products. Designed to be modular in nature, easily“We’re in the midst of a worldwide SAP
configurable, and platform independent, this highlyrollout,” he says. “This will provide a single
scalable solution satisfies the needs of any sizesystem that interfaces all of the orders to the
warehouse.various WCS (warehouse control systems) and
The solutions provided by QC Software ( enablesenable us to leverage all the warehouse technology
companies to streamline their warehouse operationsfor any product, be it Wholesale or Retail. With one
with the lowest total cost of ownership in thesystem, we will also be able to cross dock more
industry ensuring increased corporate profitability.effectively, increase throughput, and reduce the cost
With a commitment to total customer satisfactionper unit.”
QC Software is the obvious choice for warehouseC1’s considerable clear height, moreover, allowed
control, order management, and inventorySDI Industries to design another sortation level that
management needs.could be added in the future. “This vertical
In the February 2007 issue of Logistics Management,expansion essentially would double the number of
journalist Maida Napolitano describes how Tommystores the system can sort to,” notes Silverman.
Hilfiger fashioned a streamlined distribution center byFor now, though, plans are to stand down. “We
using warehouse control systems, including QCwant to digest what we just completed,” says
Software. According to Napolitano, an aggressiveGotthardt. But given the changeable nature of the
schedule kept the team on its toes. Everything fromfashion industry, chances are this duo won’t be
design, vendor selection, and permit application tolaying low for long. Gotthardt promises: “We
installation and testing had to be completed within 10must remain aggressive to stay ahead of the
months, and construction could not be allowed tocurve.”
impede existing operations. “With no flexibility inWhen choosing a Warehouse Control Systems
the end date, weekly progress meetings were critical(WCS) it is important to understand warehouse
so that each aspect of the project stayed onneeds and benefits of having an integrated
track,” Rudnick says. That strategy—and a lotWarehouse Management Systems (WMS) before
of hard work—paid off: “Because of thestarting the selection process. The goal may be to
dedicated efforts of the team, they were able toautomate warehouse operations or upgrade to a
finish the project a month ahead of schedule,” hemore robust system.
adds.WCS are a key part of the supply chain and provide
The new DC design is expected to provide manydirected stock rotation, intelligent picking directives,
benefits. C1’s carton-sortation equipment shouldautomatic consolidation and cross-docking to
cut labor costs by as much as 30 percent, says Paulmaximize the use of valuable warehouse space. The
Grodeck, project manager for equipment providersystems also direct and optimizes stock put-away
S&S Systems. SDI’s Haskell says the unit sorterbased on real-time information about the status of
could boost picking productivity by up to 300bin utilization.
percent.