Research giant Gartner has released the latest version of its ‘Magic Quadrant’ for Warehouse Management Systems (WMS).
The concept of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant does admittedly have its detractors, but for those interested in the research, and how the quadrant has evolved over the last three years, here we shall provide a detailed overview of the quadrant itself.
How the research was conducted
Gartner claims that its research assesses vendors based on direct presentations, extensive data collection, and ongoing customer feedback. Initially, each vendor presents their solutions and company information through live and pre-recorded sessions.
Additionally, Gartner says it conducts detailed surveys that query vendors about their operations, technological innovations, strategic directions, and market focus. This is supplemented by reviews from Gartner Peer Insights to incorporate feedback from actual users over the last year.
Aside from these scheduled activities, Gartner also handles over 1,700 client inquiries annually related to warehouse management systems (WMS) and vendors, providing a continual stream of data that is said to enhance their understanding of market dynamics and vendor performance.
According to Gartner, this rich mix of direct interaction, systematic research, and real-time customer input forms the basis for its research.
Leaders’ strengths and cautions
Arguably the most interesting and important takeaways from the quadrant come not from where the companies are plotted on the chart, but rather the respective strengths and weaknesses of each player.
With that in mind, we’ll begin by looking at the plus and minus points of each of the players in the leaders’ section of the quadrant.
Blue Yonder
According to Gartner, Blue Yonder’s strengths lie in its mature and adaptable WMS functionalities, particularly in workforce/labour management, traceability, and performance management.
Gartner adds that the company benefits from a robust partner network that leads over 50% of new deployments, facilitating agile implementations.
In addition to this, Gartner praises Blue Yonder’s bundled tasking and robotics capabilities, which it says offer accelerated onboarding and easier upgrades. Finally, the research states that the company’s proven track record in complex warehouse operations, as well as its diverse customer base, means it remains a strong market player.
However, migrating legacy systems to the Luminate platform can be complex, and Gartner stresses that Blue Yonder’s hybrid approach to microservices and multitenant cloud adds challenges.
Additionally, Gartner says that subscription agreements may impose financial penalties for not staying current with upgrades, and that the roadmap for a cloud-native WMS architecture could complicate maintaining customised legacy deployments, especially with recent acquisitions.
Körber
Körber, another player in the leaders’ quadrant, is described by Gartner as having experienced strong customer growth and expanded capabilities through acquisitions and AI-based innovations.
In addition to this, Gartner notes Körber’s extensibility offerings, such as process and API designer tools, which are said to be highly valued by customers for flexibility.
Moreover, Gartner highlights Körber’s expertise beyond core WMS areas like voice, simulation, and smart robotics, with a blended pricing model offering flexibility and lower total cost of ownership.
On the flip side, Gartner adds that Körber supports four distinct WMS offerings, which is leading to complexity and service issues.
On top of this, the development of its microservices platform is described as incomplete and requiring multiple upgrades. Finally, Gartner states that recent restructuring has disrupted the senior management team, potentially impacting long-term strategy alignment.
Manhattan Associates
The outright leader in the quadrant, Manhattan Associates, is singled out by Gartner due to the company’s ability to organically build its offerings, maintaining leadership in warehousing and omnichannel management.
Gartner also underlines that Manhattan Associates’ WMS is the first major one rewritten on a microservices multitenant cloud architecture. This, it is said, enhances composability and extensibility. Moreover, recent enhancements, like Manhattan ProActive, are credited with simplifying implementation complexity.
It is not all good news though. Manhattan’s offerings are seen as expensive and complex, with high total cost of ownership due to subscription and implementation costs.
Another issue Gartner takes note of is that the cloud-only Manhattan Active WM limits on-premises deployment options, and that Manhattan’s partner network is less extensive than competitors, which can potentially constraining resources and choice.
Additionally, Gartner claims that Manhattan Associates’ mid-market strategy is less explicit beyond WMS.
Oracle
In the case of Oracle, Gartner writes that the company excels with a mature SCM cloud strategy, boasting zero downtime and advanced tools like the WMS Support health analyzer.
Another strength listed by Gartner is Oracle’s innovative UX, including the Redwood interface and Visual Builder platform. Gartner further praises Oracle’s differentiated technical architectures, which are said to support a robust platform as a service layer with about 500 WMS-focused APIs, and also leverages AI, machine learning, and IoT for predictive analytics. Moreover, Gartner notes Oracle’s strength in fulfilment-intensive industries, with the WMS spanning 18 sectors.
As for the downsides, Gartner observes that Oracle’s WMS lacks some functional depth compared to competitors, often requiring additional applications. In addition to this, Gartner states that the strategic focus on Oracle suite sales slows stand-alone WMS customer growth. Finally, the research states that integration with non-Oracle systems relies heavily on SI partners, necessitating thorough vetting of their expertise.
SAP
Gartner’s research finds that SAP leads the WMS market with over 7,000 customers between its LE-WM and Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) systems, supported by a vast global presence and deployment capabilities in 65 countries.
The company’s EWM is also praised due to its seamless integration with SAP ERP Central Component (ECC) and S/4HANA. This is said to offer extensive functionalities, and benefits from a large ecosystem of implementation and consulting partners.
As for ‘cautions’, Gartner highlights SAP’s EWM, which is said to be best for existing SAP ERP users, but with high total cost of ownership and complex migration paths from LE-WM. The cloud deployment strategy, while described as intricate, is also said to have a relatively low adoption rate.
Infor
The last of the players on our list of leaders, Infor, is said to benefit from Koch’s financial stability and a 10-year development roadmap that focuses on cloud and GenAI capabilities.
Gartner adds that the integration of innovations like Birst for analytics, Coleman for AI, and Mongoose for customisation, enhances Infor’s WMS. The company’s global reach spans 65 countries, with strong support in Asia.
However, like all the other players, there are some shortcomings to take account of too. Gartner writes that market awareness is low, with limited functional depth and industry differentiation compared to competitors.
Finally, Gartner says that Infor customers use legacy products that require reimplementation for upgrades, while the WMS product is said to lack notable verticalization despite corporate focus.
How the quadrant has evolved since 2022
Looking back at previous editions of the quadrant, changes of note have been thin on the ground.
A small number of new players have appeared on the quadrant, namely Microsoft in 2023 and Dematic in 2024. However, the leading players have remained the same, albeit with some slight changes in their positioning.
Other observations that can be made from a comparison of the last three quadrants is that Reply has overtaken Softeon, and that Synergy Logistics has been progressively getting closer to making the transition into the visionaries quadrant.
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