Gartner defines store inventory management (SIM) as the efficient and effective management of stock across all in-store processes, down to the granularity of SKU/item level, in a retail store. SIM is done on the basis of the quantity of stock, as well as its value. Retailers are now using store inventory to support online order fulfillment, and a SIM application must be capable of enabling store associates to easily manage daily stock operations across a number of key functional processes within the store. The application must also be an integral part of the retailer’s overall enterprise inventory management for unified commerce execution.
Supply Chain Management refers to products and services that enable the planning, execution, monitoring, and optimization of supply chain activities across sourcing, logistics, and fulfillment. This category includes markets that focus on procurement, transportation, warehouse and inventory management, supplier collaboration, sustainability, and supply chain analytics-empowering organizations to improve operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness, resilience, and customer service across global supply networks.
Gartner defines transportation management systems (TMSs) as software that supports multimodal planning and execution of the physical transport of goods across the supply chain. It allows a shipper to manage varying levels of transportation complexity across multiple transport modes and geographic regions. TMS solutions are utilized by shippers of differing sizes, operational complexity, industries and geographic locations.
Gartner defines a vehicle routing and scheduling (VRS) solution as an application that creates vehicle routes and schedules, considering multiple constraints and service requirements while minimizing transportation fleet costs and mileage. VRS creates repeatable scheduled static routes and/or dynamic routes based on inputs (orders, deliveries and pickups), rules and constraints for meeting objectives. Transportation delivery fleets include both full truckload and last mile. VRS solutions are capable of running both scenario modeling analysis to support fleet sizing, delivery window optimization, long-term planning and tactical optimization for execution of deliveries.
Gartner defines the warehouse labor optimization and management (WLOM) systems market as specialized software applications that use both qualitative and quantitative approaches and data-driven (often engineered) standards to track and manage labor in warehouse operations. These systems also enable the optimization of short-, medium-, or long-term warehouse labor demand, both overall and broken down by task, skill set, process area, and other relevant factors. Warehouse labor optimization and management (WLOM) systems have evolved from traditional warehouse labor management systems (LMS), also known as warehouse workforce management (WFM). They help align workforce capacity with the fluctuating operational demands of distribution centers (DCs) and fulfillment centers. These solutions apply labor standards and offer analysis of qualitative and quantitative performance data. Through these and other features, they address critical business problems such as labor understaffing or overstaffing, throughput and process inefficiencies, excessive overtime expenses, and the inability to measure and reward individual and team performance.
Gartner defines a warehouse management system (WMS) as a software application that helps manage and intelligently execute the operations of a warehouse, distribution center (DC) or fulfillment center (FC). WMS operations natively exploit mobile devices along with bar codes and potentially RFID or other scanning/sensing technologies, to form the transactional foundation of warehouse management. This enables efficiencies of directed work activity (optimization) and the delivery of accurate information in near real time. Core WMS capabilities address, among others, the needs to receive, put away, store, count and pick, pack and ship goods. Gartner also includes additional integrated functionality offered by WMS providers beyond core WMS. These extended WMS capabilities can include more advanced capabilities, such as managing labor or optimizing the locating of inventory within a facility.