ALIS GIK

GIK is the ALIS' Ware­house Mana­ge­ment subsystem (WMS). Its job is to manage logistics ope­ra­tions, communicate with upstream software (such as the company's ERP system) and coordinate all of the other ALIS subsystems.

The subsystem supports all the ope­ra­tions required for transparent paperless ware­house mana­ge­ment:

  • Electronic work orders for inbound and outbound material flow, picking, relocation and shipping of goods, tran­s­port unit formation (e.g. pallets, packages, containers) and other tasks.

  • Logistics ope­ra­tions planning, including special algorithms to optimize storage space and minimize time, labor, machinery and energy needs.

  • Work process mana­ge­ment and coordination using worksta­tion computers and mobile terminals (see the ALIS TIK module).

  • High-level coordination of ope­ra­tions performed by automated tran­s­portation segments (via the ALIS PIK module).

  • Ope­ra­tional and statistical reports generation.

  • Cost calculation.

  • E-document exchange with company's other infor­ma­tion systems (via the ALIS KIK module).

  • Bar code printing (including pallet identification sheets) and RFID tag pro­gramm­ing,

  • Document creation and printing (internal and official documents).

Availability and Mana­ge­ment

ALIS GIK uses an advanced, in-house developed web-based user interface. Except for any reasonably modern web browser, there is no other client-side software required. This makes the system accessible from anywhere within the ware­house as well as from the company's intranet, the internet, various mobile devices, etc.

Worksta­tions are mainly used for logistics ope­ra­tions mana­ge­ment, such as generation, confirmation and activation of work orders, planning and control of tran­s­port routes, infor­ma­tion access and document printing. Mobile terminals provide a more direct support to the work process, like handling, labeling and identification of goods, measurement and quality control, guidance and assistance to operators. Automated tran­s­port segments (carts, trucks, chain and roller conveyors, VNA elevators, etc.) can be controlled automatically by the ALIS PIK module, making operator interventions only necessary in cases of unavoidable congestion or hardware malfunction.

ALIS makes use of bar code and/or RFID as well as other automated identification systems. Mobile terminals connected through the ALIS TIK module provide an intuitive interface that was specially designed to assist with executing a broad set of different workflows.

Storage Services for Clients

ALIS can manage multiple ware­houses in multiple locations for multiple users. It keeps records of stored goods' various cha­rac­te­ris­tics (such as quantity, weight, volume, production date, etc.), together with storage duration and handling time. These are used for cal­cu­la­t­ing the actual cost of storage and billing the users of ware­hou­sing services.

A separate user interface is available, allowing customers to access their status, events and costs infor­ma­tion through the Internet.

Independent Ope­ra­tion

In its normal mode of ope­ra­tion ALIS GIK is always connected to company's other infor­ma­tion systems. However, the system also supports a so called off­line mode where it's capable of partialy or fully autonomous ope­ra­tions. A switch to this mode happens automatically whenever there are com­mu­ni­ca­tion problems. Various emergency tools become available in the off­line mode to help operators work around any affected functionality.

During e­mer­gen­ci­es, ALIS allows qualified ware­house staff to manually by­pass certain restrictions enforced by the parent system, making sure the latter is properly informed of such situations. This allows continued ope­ra­tions in case of damaged goods, tran­s­port route in­terr­up­tions or other events where intended ope­ra­tions are not feasible.