Invata Intralogistics
Integrating WMS and WCS Software for Optimized Warehouse Automation

Ryan Sheehan, CEO of Invata Intralogistics, is a golf enthusiast who believes that the primary goal of the game is to better one’s performance through precision, efficiency, and optimization of his capabilities. “The game of golf poses constant and fluid challenges to its players, while demanding a problem solving capability that is both physical and intellectual. The intralogistics business is much the same, but with more complexity,” says Sheehan.

Sheehan launched Invata in 2010 with the idea of creating a company that brought all the disciplines required for the design, integration, and support of warehouse automation systems under one roof. Traditional market fragmentation between material handling equipment suppliers, Warehouse Management System suppliers, and Warehouse Control System suppliers commonly left business customers with under performing automation systems and the intimidating task of trying to identify the root cause. Sheehan's goal was to eliminate that experience for Invata customers, while exploiting the synergies and serendipitous innovations that come from attacking hitech logistics challenges with a singularly focused, cross-disciplinary team.

Sheehan formed the company with partners who each brought decades of material handling experience to the company, and the new entity immediately acquired two WMS/WCS firms that had the technology that formed the basis for one of its core competencies — its FastTrak® Warehouse Software. Headquartered in Conshohocken, PA, Invata also has two regional offices in Grand Rapids, MI and Canton, CT.

Each Invata system is based on an in-depth, collaborative analysis of each client’s data, processes, operation, facility, and business objectives

The prime objective of an intralogistics integrator is to create warehouse automation systems that enable order processing and shipment in the shortest time frame at the lowest expense, garnering the utmost customer satisfaction. Invata addresses this challenge by creating purpose built systems uniquely conceived to meet their client's specific business requirements. “Each Invata system is designed and built based on an indepth, collaborative analysis of that client’s data, processes, operation, facility, and business objectives,” Sheehan asserts.

“We don't offer a cookie cutter approach, nor do we get distracted from our core competencies by market trends,” Sheehan notes. “When we employ new technology, we make sure that its design is elegant, its integration into a client's system meets our standards of excellence, and it is fully supportable by our technical team.” At the heart of Invata's warehouse automation systems is the company's own fully integrated WMS and WCS software. "Our FastTrak warehouse software sets the benchmark for optimizing WMS and WCS functionality from receiving to shipping," says Sheehan. "It provides constant, realtime analysis of a client's business and operational conditions in order to optimize processes and allocate resources in ways that maximize efficiency."

One of the hallmarks of an Invata warehouse automation system is the defensive design that the company builds into it as a safeguard against the potential for system downtime. “These fail-safe designs ensure order accuracy by mitigating the potentially catastrophic damages that can occur when a system fails,” adds Sheehan. Invata has numerous well known customers in its portfolio. When one of them, Lindt Chocolates, the manufacturer of world famous Lindor chocolates, needed a new distribution center, Invata's warehouse software enabled the company to comply with changing government regulations, end manual data collection, meet retailer compliance labeling demands, and enhance productivity. M anaging a wave-less, l ightdirected picking system, a print/apply labeling station, conveyor network, sortation system, and paperless pallet building stations, Invata’s FastTrak warehouse software minimized labor demand, while ensuring accuracy in order fulfillment. Since its distribution center opened, Lindt has enjoyed five-fold increase in business.

In the years ahead, the company envisions being an authoritative leader in the delivery of fully integrated warehouse automation systems. “We will reach our goals through the delivery of our WMS/WCS software solutions with a strong focus on sortation and automated storage and retrieval technologies. We will continue to grow organically through the acquisition of new clients and competitors when opportunity arises,” Sheehan concludes.