Modeling of Intralogistic Processes for the Implementation of Warehouse Management Systems

Abstract

Due to the growing complexity of intralogistics systems, the use of warehouse management systems (WMS) is becoming increasingly attractive for companies. As an often business-critical management system of internal material flows, however, their implementation or change is complex and carries risks. Especially the insufficient knowledge of companies about their own processes leads to a high capacity and cost burden due to the time-consuming involvement of their own experts and, often, also contracted WMS consultants. In this context, models and modeling methods are gaining additional importance. But, particularly in intralogistics, with its special demands and characteristics, there is a lack of methodological support for mapping and transferring process knowledge appropriate for the WMS implementation. The consequences, besides a low level of acceptance among the affected employees, are project aborts and production downtimes. This paper discusses experiences from industrial practice during the implementation of WMS and takes the position that a supporting method is urgently required in this context. Therefore, we propose the development of a modeling language for mapping intralogistic processes in line with the requirements for the implementation of WMS as well as procedural method components that support the generation and transmission of the process knowledge.