Warehouses get
data edge

A partnership between Syspro and Datascope will allow sophisticated tier-1 warehouses – a term for high-performance facilities – to improve efficiency, automation, and real-time inventory control.

Syspro’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system has been integrated with Datascope’s warehouse management system (WMS) to make these improvements possible. 

“We position Datascope as a tier-1 WMS provider,” said Zaren Ramlugan, specialist solutions manager of Syspro Africa, at a media briefing last week in Johannesburg. “Those are normally to your listed companies and corporations.”

Syspro says the integration enhances efficiency by minimisng stock discrepancies, automating workflows, and optimising order fulfilment. This helps businesses lower operational costs, reduce errors, and improve overall performance.

Terry Shaw, MD at Enterprise Mobility Services (EMS), Datascope’s distribution partner for the African region, said: “Datascope positions itself as a premier warehouse management solution.

“We don’t play in the 10- or 20-user site warehouse. It’s more for the upmarket, more sophisticated tier-1 warehouses. So, we find ourselves playing in the market where there’s a couple of 100 users in a warehouse.”

_{Zaren Ramlugan, Syspro special solutions manager, and Terry Shaw, EMS managing director. Photo: JASON BANNIER.}

The integration extends Syspro’s platform by supporting Industry 4.0 initiatives such as machine learning, automation, and cloud-based systems. This makes it an ideal solution for industries with high-volume inventory, complex supply chains, and just-in-time production, including manufacturing, distribution, automotive, food and beverage, and industrial equipment.

With true real-time data exchange, automation-driven efficiencies, and high configurability via selective architecture, the Syspro-Datascope integration offers deeper functionality than generic ERP-WMS solutions. Unlike third-party bolt-ons, this is a native integration purpose-built for Syspro users, allowing for transaction processing and adaptability to industry-specific needs.

20 years of collaboration

The formalised relationship is established through an Africa regional independent software vendor (ISV) referral agreement, strengthening a collaboration that has been in place for over two decades.

Shaw said: “The ISV referral programme is a new programme that we embarked on. The relationship has been going for over 20 years. We always worked with Syspro. We only write into Syspro’s business objects, so there’s not a lot of new stuff that we’re doing other than the relationship that has now been cemented in a nice, structured, formal manner.

“We’re going to drive business together as a technology partner to the customers. And that goes both ways. There’s existing Datascope customers where we’ve got a lot of synergy, and we’re working together to try and enhance that service offering from a technology partner point of view.”

Ramlugan said: “Back in the day, when I was starting out in consulting professionally about 20 years ago, one of the first sites that I went to was Delhi Spices. And at that particular site were the two brothers, Anton and Ben Jurgens, the owners of Datascope. 

“All of us cut our teeth at that particular environment. That customer 20 years on is still a Datascope customer. We have got a relationship that spans quite a few decades, and we’ve now come to a point where formalisation was necessary to bring expertise.”

Faster, more efficient warehouse solution

The following key differentiators were provided for what sets this integration apart from other ERP-WMS solutions:

• True real-time data exchange.
• Highly configurable warehouse operations via Selective Architecture.
• Deep, native SYSPRO integration – not a third-party bolt-on.
• Automation-driven efficiencies for manufacturing and distribution.

* Visit the Syspro website here.

* Jason Bannier is a data analyst at World Wide Worx and writer for Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Bluesky at @jas2bann.