For decades, the Warehouse Management System (WMS) has been the undisputed backbone of fulfillment. It ensures inventory accuracy, compliance, and orderly task allocation. But supply chains are no longer stable or linear. SKU proliferation, omnichannel promises, and fragmented automation have exposed a gap the WMS alone cannot close.
Modern fulfilment moves in minutes, not days. Orders come from multiple nodes, robots work alongside people, and bottlenecks shift constantly. Static, batch-based planning stalls in this environment. The industry needs a new way of thinking about warehouse software.
The Orchestration Gap
The problem isn’t that WMS systems have failed. They’re still indispensable as systems of record. The gap emerges when execution requires rapid reprioritisation.
More SKUs: Product portfolios are expanding, driving order complexity.
More nodes: The same inventory feeds DCs, micro-fulfilment sites, and stores, each with conflicting SLAs.
More automation: Robots, shuttles, and conveyors multiply, but most operate as isolated “islands.”
Without orchestration, each zone optimises locally, while the overall network underperforms.
The Three Layers of Fulfilment Software
The answer is not to replace the WMS, but to complement it with layers designed for different time horizons.
WMS (Days–Hours): Plans inventory, waves, and labour standards.
WES (Hours–Minutes): Executes workflows, releasing tasks to devices and monitoring zone efficiency.
MAOP (Seconds): The real-time brain that unifies robots, humans, and workflows—adapting every few seconds to congestion, idle time, and shifting priorities.
Each system plays a role. One cannot simply grow into the next without trade-offs. Together, they provide a balanced stack: stability, execution, and adaptability.
Why MAOP Is Emerging Now
Gartner highlights “real-time adaptability” as a key differentiator across warehouse software. The rise of multi-agent orchestration platforms (MAOPs) answers this demand. By ingesting live telemetry, predicting bottlenecks with machine learning, and reallocating work in real time, MAOPs transform islands of automation into a coherent, self-optimising network.
This shift represents more than a technical upgrade. It’s a mindset change—from valuing system uptime to measuring fulfilment outcomes.
Conclusion: Moving Beyond Static Planning
The WMS is still the foundation of the modern warehouse, but it cannot meet the needs of today’s volatile environment alone. Fulfilment leaders must think in layers: stable record-keeping, device execution, and adaptive orchestration.
“Beyond the WMS” is where the competitive edge lies—where adaptability becomes the backbone of fulfillment at scale.
You can explore this topic further in our full whitepaper, Beyond the WMS, where we dive deeper into how retailers are moving past static planning and embracing real-time orchestration.