Service-orientated architecture in latest iteration of ViaWare WMS provides personalization, configurability and business intelligence
Grand Rapids, MI — November 21, 2005 — Provia Software, a provider of supply chain execution (SCE) software solutions, today announced the release of ViaWare WMS 7.0, the latest version of its warehouse management system (WMS) and core component of the company's ViaWare supply chain execution suite.
Provia said a key element of ViaWare WMS 7.0 is its underlying service-orientated architecture (SOA), which integrates business intelligence and personalization capabilities. It also allows the WMS to integrate into an existing IT and supply chain solution environment.
According to Greg Aimi in the October 2005 AMR Research Report, The 2005 AMR Research Warehouse Management System Selection Guide, the SOA architecture breaks up the entire WMS functionality into small, individual, functional components that are stored in a system library. The components are then assembled together using a set of business process flowcharts, where each process block in the workflow is a functional component. If a customization is needed, a new custom component is developed and stored separately from the vendor's components but woven into the regular workflow.
These workflows are processed by a server at runtime, said Aimi. If the business processes change, you modify the [flowchart], save it, reissue it to the server and the application is modified.
In addition, Provia said, the integrated business intelligence in ViaWare WMS gives corporate and management staff access to information analysis and related functionality with flexible reporting. Users have a dashboard view to sort through all the transaction data in real-time from every warehouse in their distribution network and drill down to view the most current information for better business decisions. Users can also view the specific information that's important to them that day, and modify their views as events and situations change.
"Companies have so much information available to them today that it's become an 'information overload' scenario, where they can't find the right information at the right time," said Ken Lewis, president and CEO of Provia Software. "The business intelligence capabilities in ViaWare WMS ensure that all facets of a company can turn [information] into meaningful reports and analysis that everyone can use to improve the overall performance of their operation."
Several Provia customers have already begun upgrading to ViaWare 7.0, according to Lewis. "With ViaWare WMS they can streamline their operations by optimizing warehouse distribution environment and achieve a return-on-investment and subsequently realize measurable, ongoing cost savings," he said.
For more information on the latest trends in the logistics space, see the article "The Analyst Corner: Fulfillment & Logistics" in the August/September 2005 issue of Supply & Demand Chain Executive.
