(Lucas Systems: Wexford, PA) -- Distribution center technology provider Lucas Systems has announced new software enhancements to help warehouses make quicker and more effective decisions relating to order batching and prioritization, warehouse worker travel, and slotting.

With the addition of powerful algorithms and digital-twin warehouse mapping of the warehouse, Lucas Systems’ next-generation dynamic work optimization (DWO) delivers more effective warehouse performance by considering in-the-moment complexities related to order priority, SKU clustering, proximity, and warehouse layout.

Additionally, the enhanced software promises to reduce (up to 50%) the number of steps workers take inside the warehouse by optimizing pick paths to consider the least amount of travel time required. Pick path recommendations now factor in the effects of forklifts and cherry pickers—Lucas Systems says these details matter.

In recent months, Lucas Systems executives have announced “dynamically driven” technologies to help warehouse operators quickly adapt to changing operational conditions or shifts in demand, such as dynamic slotting technologies. Its benefit is simplifying reslotting by providing in-the-moment recommendations powered by AI. It applies machine-learning algorithms to recommend which products should be moved. It also learns the spatial characteristics of a warehouse and predicts task time based on activity-level data. The model continues to “learn,” providing continuous optimization as conditions change.

Lucas Systems says warehouse agility is key to a company’s future growth and absolutely necessary in these times. The company has outlined its vision for creating dynamically driven warehouses in its new report, “The Transformational Promise of the Dynamic Warehouse.” The report includes customer insights, new strategies, and considerations for change.

Lucas Systems CMO Ken Ramoutar says, “You can’t future-proof your warehouse with fixed or mechanical automation. Rising supply chain volatility requires adaptive operations with in-the-moment smart decision support. The more agile your operations are, the more you’ll be able to capitalize on opportunities and minimize the impact of disruptions, and then course correct them.”

Ramoutar describes a dynamic warehouse as having the smart software and decision-making technology to:
• Be self-optimizing—making real-time optimized decisions on work execution, priorities, and labor assignments
• Enable managers to quickly implement change upon learning new insights
• Efficiently optimize the use of warehouse resources, including the workforce
• Allow new automation, such as robotics, to be introduced and orchestrated seamlessly
• Cost-efficiently adapt to changes in demand profiles, supply disruptions, and resource availability

Ramoutar says, “The agility from smart software will help warehouses respond cost-effectively to supply chain disruptions and other fluctuating market dynamics. Warehouses that aren’t dynamic will face significant long-term challenges with warehouse performance and more demanding customer service levels.”

Credit: Lucas Systems