The Value Of A Warehouse Optimization System (WOS)

Fulfilment and distribution center operations depend on many technologies to be successful. To be effective they require a Warehouse Management System (WMS), Enterprises Resource Planning (ERP) software to forecast resource needs, inventory management systems to understand inventory levels, picking tools and technologies, automation and the software to utilize them, a warehouse control system to manage their conveyor and sortation, data and analytic tools to understand performance, and the list continues to grow. This requires operators and their leadership team to manage many different software platforms and tools continually throughout a normal day, which adds an additional level of complexity to an already challenging workload. 

Clarity is the proprietary Warehouse Optimization System (WOS) of Top Hat Engineering. It is the flagship for all WOS’s on the market today. Clarity combines all warehouse technologies and platforms into a single mobile friendly software that operators can utilize to manage all functions within a warehouse operation on the go. 

Clarity utilizes operator data to optimize work distribution, and integrates with picking technologies to give leaders the ability to send messages to operators. 

Work Distribution

To maximize your operations work must be distributed to functional areas in a manner that will maximize productivity. Clarity receives data from your WMS and identifies, through patented artificial intelligence (AI), how best to distribute work to both manual and automated areas to reduce travel time, optimize pick density, and mitigate any downstream bottlenecks. It does this by correlating inventory data, operator and automation performance, all while incorporating customizable business rules to ensure your products are shipped on time. Clarity ensures your operations is optimized allowing you to benefit from both labor savings and customer satisfaction. 

Labor Management

Optimizing work distribution requires a significant amount of input data. Clarity can integrate with any picking solution, or you can utilize our internal picking solution, to track operator performance in each functional area. Clarity then automates the release of work to operators based on their performance to ensure each operator’s workload is optimized. If operators are not working at the expected capacity Clarity provides alerts within a central dashboard to ensure leaders are taking action to increase individual performance, or they can identify how best to move operators to other functional areas based on operational needs. When paired with Clarity’s picking solutions leaders can send individual messages to workers to increase their productivity, or to move them to specified functional areas. This prevents leaders from having to find and disseminate this information, saving leaders valuable time, so they can stay focused on the important aspects of their responsibilities. 

Clarity integrates with any automation to optimize efficiency and alert leaders of any issues that may negatively impact production. 

Automation Management

Automation such as automated guided vehicles (AGV’s), conveyor systems, and automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) are no different than individual workers. They also need to be optimized to increase throughput and mitigate risk to production. Clarity can integrate with any automated system implemented by Top Hat Engineering to optimize their pick density, reduce unnecessary travel time, and prevent bottlenecks within your system. It also provides alerts within the central dashboard to indicate any faults, alarms, or performance issues that could cause disruption to your productivity. 

Comprehensive Warehouse Integration

The most important aspect of Clarity that makes it unique and extremely valuable to our customers is its ability to manage all functional areas within a warehouse. Clarity is modular, so depending on our customers’ needs we can incorporate all functional areas such as receiving, put away, inventory management, replenishment, outbound and order optimization, and shipping to ensure you have all the necessary information and control at your fingertips.

If you are interested in learning more about Clarity contact our solution advisors at (813) 588-3398 ext. 101 or email us at sales@tophatengineering.com today!