Software Components

The StockControl system consists of several components, all running separately from each other. If a certain component is not needed in the customer’s process, it can be ommitted from the installation, or not started up.

Host Connector

The host connector handles all communication between the Sapphire system and any external customer system, like ERP or an external WMS. This is done through a “Host Driver”, which will be developed customer specific, as there are no standards available. Sapphire does offer a standard default driver, based on XML file sharing.

Control Center

The Control Center handles all the background processes of the system: order start, replenish, etc. It also serves as a license server for the other agents: each agent contacts Control Center on startup to fetch license information (is it allowed to connect, is stock management enabled) and database connection information.

Pocket Connector

The Pocket Connector handles all information between the Sapphire database and the Pocket App. It only functions as this “bridge” between the two and doesn’t do anything on itself.

ROWA Connector

This agent controls the BD ROWA Vmax machines. It handles order management for these machines, as well as the low-level communication.

PTL Connector

This agent controls the ATOP pick-to-light hardware.

Pocket App

The Pocket App is an Android native app that enables the order picker to process all order types plus some extra manual processes in the warehouse. It can use an external Bluetooth scanner to scan barcodes.

StockControl Client

The client is a Windows program that can be used to operate the warehouse. It is used to manage static data (warehouse, locations, zones, etc) and dynamic data (orders, carriers, stock, etc).

How it all fits together