The Last WMS You’ll Ever Need to Buy, Promises Manhattan

It’s the last WMS you’ll ever buy and you’ll never – repeat, never – upgrade again. That’s what Manhattan Associates is promising with its latest release.

Today, at its online-only Momentum Connect customer conference, WMS software specialist Manhattan Associates Inc., , announced the new Manhattan Active Warehouse Management solution, which it described as “the world’s first cloud-native enterprise-class WMS that unifies every aspect of distribution and never needs upgrading. Crafted entirely from microservices and extraordinarily elastic, Manhattan Active WM ushers in a new level of speed, adaptability and ease of use within distribution management.”

A Quantum Leap in Warehouse Management Technology
“Manhattan Active WM is the result of a multi-year collaboration with our customers,” said Brian Kinsella, Manhattan’s senior vice president of Product Management. “Today, we’re delivering a WMS which never needs to be upgraded again, yet is still fully extensible. We’re delivering all new modern mobile experiences for every user who logs in. And we’re delivering an architecture which expands automatically as volumes ramp up, and which embeds machine learning right into the core of the application. ”

Manhattan Active WM includes completely redesigned user experiences. Following a mobile first paradigm and brought to life with consumer grade design, Manhattan Active WM’s Unified Control screens allow management team members to quickly visualise, diagnose and take action anywhere in their supply chain. For DC associates, the all new WM Mobile application provides a state-of-the-art, app-based experience for all transactional work.

Composed of microservices, Manhattan Active WM is truly cloud-native. In addition to delivering a step change in the accelerating the speed of innovation, this new application architecture gives it an almost limitless ability to automatically scale up to meet fluctuations in demand. It is also designed to be easily extended at the data, services and UI level to meet the unique needs of each business. To speed time to market and reduce training, Manhattan has also incorporated new configuration wizards to help businesses of all sizes and complexities streamline the implementation process.

“Manhattan Active Warehouse Management gives us a distribution solution that adapts as quickly as our customers’ needs, with frequent and easy access to the latest technologies and new features,” said Miles Tedder, chief operating officer of Pet Supplies Plus. “This solution takes care of all of the system and software maintenance, allowing us to focus all our energies on serving our customers.”

Unify Your Supply Chain
With Manhattan Active WM, all functions, including labour management and slotting optimisation, have been streamlined and re-engineered to create a single, unified distribution application. Manhattan Associates is at the forefront of integrating machine learning. Manhattan Active Warehouse Management uses machine learning to orchestrate DC automation, human capital and to optimise the execution of work within the four walls of the DC. The solution’s embedded warehouse execution system (WES) also coordinates the work between any combination of automation, robotics and labour, and the Manhattan Automation Network provides pre-certified integration to the industry’s most innovative DC robotics providers.

“I can’t remember the last time I was so excited following a new product launch briefing,” said Steve Banker, vice president of Supply Chain Management for ARC Advisory Group. “The new Cloud architecture, new user interface, and significant advancements in optimisation and employee engagement are wonderful. Any one of these improvements would have been impressive. Incorporating all of these enhancements in the new release is astonishing for a product of this scope.”

All New Employee Engagement
Increased expectations for fulfillment speed and volume are driving organisations to better understand and engage their workforce to differentiate and excel. Manhattan has revolutionised warehouse labour management with a focus on providing a more individual and rewarding work experience. The result is a solution that helps improve employee productivity and satisfaction and reduces turnover. Manhattan Active WM was developed based upon gamification theory and behavioural sciences.