The term "integration" refers to the process of connecting your existing systems with the vertical storage system; however, which systems are typically involved in the process? In most cases, the answer to that question can be summed up by one of the two scenarios listed below:
This is the type of integration that you are probably going to do if you have come to the conclusion that you are going to use your ERP or WMS to control the vertical storage system.
In this scenario, your ERP and WMS will continue to be the system where all master data, including customer orders, locations, and items, are created and managed. In a similar vein, the end-user will continue to make use of your ERP/WMS in order to carry out warehouse operations such as picking, putting away, and stock taking.
Your ERP/WMS and an integration interface that the provider of the vertical storage system provides will work together to create the integration. The integration interface makes it easier to communicate with the control system of the vertical storage systems. As a consequence of this simplification, the master data from your ERP or WMS will automatically retrieve the appropriate tray whenever a picking order or putaway order is to be carried out.
It is likely that you will integrate your ERP/WMS with the WMS used by vertical storage systems if the functionality of your ERP/WMS is insufficient to allow you to create an effective flow of goods through your warehouse.
In this particular scenario, the vertical storage systems WMS will be in charge of a greater portion of the data as well as the logic that is necessary to make use of the vertical storage lift or the vertical carousel
Your ERP/WMS will continue to handle master data such as customer orders and items; however, data such as locations and the logic to create optimized picking batches will be held in the vertical storage system's WMS
The end-user will perform their tasks within a user interface that is provided by the WMS for the vertical storage systems
What kinds of information are passed back and forth between the systems? The items, locations, customer orders, and other types of information that have already been mentioned are typically the types of data that are transmitted between your ERP and WMS and the vertical storage system. On the other hand, the quantity of information will differ depending on the manner in which it is integrated towards your vertical storage lifts or vertical carousels. The following are two examples of typical situations: 1. Integration of your ERP and WMS with the integration interface for vertical storage systems This type of integration is typically straightforward and requires only a small amount of data, assuming that the master data and the logic will continue to be managed by your ERP or WMS. Some examples of this type of integration include the following: • The identification number for the vertical storage systems (if you have more than one unit) • Location (this determines which tray or carrier needs to be retrieved from storage). • The Next Location (this functions to ready the vertical storage system for the subsequent tray or carrier to be retrieved) • Quantity (for the purpose of illustrating quantity on a led banner or the screen of the vertical storage systems) • Item name (for displaying the item name on a led banner or the screen of the vertical storage systems) 2. Integration of your ERP/WMS with the WMS used by vertical storage systems The integration will require a little bit more information to be transferred between the systems because more master data and logic is handled in this scenario by the vertical storage systems WMS. It is still a relatively straightforward integration in terms of the number of messages, but each message needs to be augmented with supplementary data. Here are some messages that are frequently sent: • Item data (full item data) • Customer orders • Other orders for the warehouse, including put away, movements, and stock take • Transactions How exactly are the messages transmitted? At long last, the systems have been implemented, and we are now aware of the information that is transmitted from one to the other. But how does it get delivered? Integrations between ERP/WMS and vertical storage systems are typically quite straightforward in terms of the communication forms used; the automation industry makes use of normal integrations standards. Both the message format and the transport method are important concepts to keep in mind when discussing communication between different computer systems. The information packets that are sent from the ERP/WMS to the storage system are communicated using the format that is determined by the message format, and the information is transported from the ERP/WMS to the storage system using the technology that is determined by the transport method. If you are able to use any of the file formats or transport methods listed below, you should be able to integrate your system with virtually any vertical storage lift or Vertical Carousel Manufacturer without too much trouble.