St. Louis, Missouri, USA: April 12, 2006) FKI Logistex® (www.fkilogistex.com), a global leader in integrated material handling solutions, announces a set of upgrades to its Order Manager software solution - a combined warehouse management system (WMS)/warehouse control system (WCS) available exclusively from FKI Logistex. Upgraded features include RFID support, enhanced order management, inventory control, and productivity reporting.

FKI Logistex® Order Manager < http://www.fkilogistex.com/download/images/ordermanagerweb.jpg > Designed as both a cost-effective solution for small, manual stockrooms and a mission-critical application for warehouses that require an automated equipment interface with a short implementation time, Order Manager eliminates the need for multiple connections to a company's enterprise business systems (EBS). An EBS can communicate with Order Manager directly, avoiding multiple hardware and software vendor connections.

Order Manager can be deployed in less time than a traditional WMS. Whereas traditional systems often require special programming to support automation equipment, the modular Order Manager provides this capability as a standard detachable component. Order Manager also offers a lower-cost solution to hardware automation when compared with traditional WMS-WCS collaborations.

Order Manager supports the control of various types of material handling systems, including small- and large-scale manual carousel and bulk/flow rack handling systems using manual and/or RF-directed activities; traditional paper-based and paperless manual warehousing operations; order consolidation and put systems; in-line and end-of-line manufacturing applications; automated buffer storage and retrieval systems; fully automated warehouses and manufacturing operations; and combinations of the above.

Order Manager provides order processing capabilities and functions as a conduit between an ERP, WMS or EBS when used in conjunction with material handling equipment. Through order and inventory data, Order Manager directs and controls the building, picking and in-house routing of customer orders from forward pick locations all the way to the truck or ship staging areas in either automated or non-automated applications.

The inventory and order management module of Order Manager provides the capability to accurately receive, track, pick and ship a customer's goods. Inventory Management functionality includes receiving and put-away, replenishment, cycle counting, order management and fulfillment, picking, order consolidation, packing operations, shipping, cross-docking and QA.

Perhaps one of the greatest strengths of Order Manager is its ability to manage the routing of containers and orders throughout a facility. Using sophisticated path search algorithms, optimal container and order routing can be achieved by simply supplying the source and destination. Order Manager intelligently searches the list of available options and chooses the one that is most appropriate.

In cases where desired equipment housing the inventory may be out of service and unavailable, Order Manager looks for another path to direct product. If inventory is located in equipment that is out of service, such as an AS/RS aisle, Order Manager attempts to find the product in other areas of the facility under its control to satisfy the requirements for the customer.

Order Manager supported equipment interfaces include RF (hand-held, truck-mount or wearable) and wireless devices (PDA, verification scanners); passive and active RFID support; barcode scanners; demand-driven label and report printing; pick/pack list and manifest printing; pick/put-to-light systems and devices; automated storage-and-retrieval systems (AS/RS); conveyor PLC interface; advanced sortation systems; manual and robotic carousels; gantry and conventional depalletizers/palletizers; gantry and articulated robotic systems; inline label print-and-apply systems; and marquee displays.

Designed as a set of interlocking modules that can be turned on and off as the demands of the solution require, Order Manager tailors the application to the customer's needs without excessive functionality. Order Manager also provides a common look and feel across all applications and includes detailed diagnostic, transaction and alarm tracking.