# US 2026/0062218 A1 · Systems and methods for equipment agnostic control with a warehouse execution system

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- Number: US 2026/0062218 A1
- Document ID: US20260062218A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 19/310,467
- Filed: 2025-08-26
- Published: 2026-03-05
- Earliest claimed: 2024-08-28
- Assignees: Savoye North America, Inc.
- Applicants: Savoye North America, Inc.
- Inventors: Daniel Avram; William Bartok; Zachary Ronayne
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20260062218A1

## CPC

- B65G 1/1373: {for fulfilling orders in warehouses}
- G06Q 10/08: Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
- G06Q 10/087: Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
- G06Q 10/20: Administration of product repair or maintenance
- B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D)
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

A method of operating a materials handling system includes receiving a request associated with the materials handling system and identifying an automation device included in the materials handling system that can be used to service the request, the automation device associated with a vendor. The method further including generating, by a device manager implemented in a warehouse execution system (WES), a universal command for controlling the automation device to service the request, generating, by a communication microservice implemented in the WES based in part on the universal command, a vendor-specific command that is in a format associated with the vendor, and controlling the automation device in accordance with the vendor-specific command.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of operating a materials handling system, comprising:
receiving a request associated with the materials handling system;
identifying an automation device included in the materials handling system that can be used to service the request, the automation device associated with a vendor;
generating, by a device manager implemented in a warehouse execution system (WES), a universal command for controlling the automation device to service the request;
generating, by a communication microservice implemented in the WES based in part on the universal command, a vendor-specific command that is in a format associated with the vendor; and
controlling the automation device in accordance with the vendor-specific command.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the automation device includes at least one of a conveyor, a shuttle, a lift, or a crane.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the automation device is a goods-to-person system including a conveyor, a projector, a pick light, an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS), and a user-interface.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving, from a sensor, data indicative of an operating state of the automation device; and
detecting, based in part on the data, a fault associated with the automation device.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, further comprising:
generating an alert indicative of the fault; and
transmitting the alert to a computing device associated with maintenance personnel.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, further comprising replacing the automation device with a second automation device, the second automation device associated with a second vendor.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, further comprising:
receiving a second request associated with the materials handling system;
generating, by the device manager, a second universal command for controlling the second automation device to service the second request;
generating, by a second communication microservice implemented in the WES based in part on the second universal command, a second vendor-specific command that is in a format associated with the second vendor; and
controlling the second automation device in accordance with the second vendor-specific command.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, further comprising configuring the WES with the second communication microservice.

### Claim 9 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein the automation device and the second automation device are of a same type.

### Claim 10

A materials handling system, comprising:
a plurality of automation devices; and
a computing system that is in electronic communication with the plurality of automation devices, the computing system adapted to execute a warehouse execution system (WES) engine to:
receive a request associated with the materials handling system;
identify a first automation device included in the plurality of automation devices that can be used to service the request, the first automation device associated with a first vendor;
generate, by a device manager, a universal command for controlling the first automation device to service the request;
generate, by a communication microservice based in part on the universal command, a vendor-specific command that is in a format associated with the first vendor; and
control the first automation device in accordance with the vendor-specific command.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The system of claim 10, wherein the computing system is further adapted to execute the WES engine to:
publish, by the device manager, the universal command on a data streaming platform; and
detect, by the communication microservice, the universal command published on the data streaming platform.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11, wherein to generate the vendor-specific command, the communication microservice translates the universal command into a language associated with the first vendor.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The system of claim 10, wherein the computing system is further adapted to execute the WES engine to:
receive, from a sensor, data indicative of an operating state of the first automation device; and
determine, based in part on the data, that a fault associated with the first automation device has occurred.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The system of claim 13, wherein the computing system is further adapted to execute the WES engine to:
generate an alert indicative of the fault; and
transmit the alert to a computing device associated with maintenance personnel.

### Claim 15 (depends on 10)

The system of claim 10, wherein the computing system is further adapted to execute the WES engine to:
receive a second request associated with the materials handling system;
identify a second automation device included in the plurality of automation devices that can be used to service the second request, the second automation device associated with a second vendor;
generate, by the device manager, a second universal command for controlling the second automation device to service the second request;
generate, by a second communication microservice, a second vendor-specific command that is in a format associated with the second vendor; and
control the second automation device in accordance with the second vendor-specific command.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The system of claim 15, wherein the computing system is further adapted to execute the WES engine to:
publish, by the device manager, the second universal command on a data streaming platform;
detect, by the communication microservice, the second universal command published on the data streaming platform;
detect, by the second communication microservice, the second universal command published on the data streaming platform; and
translate, by the second communication microservice, the second universal command into a language associated with the second vendor.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The system of claim 15, wherein the automation device is a first crane sourced from the first vendor and the second automation device is a second crane sourced from the second vendor.

### Claim 18 (depends on 10)

The system of claim 10, wherein the device manager includes a conveyor routing manager and a programmable logic controller (PLC) manager.

### Claim 19 (depends on 10)

The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of automation devices includes a conveyor associated with the first vendor, a user-interface associated with a second vendor, a shuttle associated with a third vendor, a projector associated with a fourth vendor, and a pick light associated with a fifth vendor.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The system of claim 19, wherein the automation device is the conveyor associated with the first vendor; and
wherein the computing system is further adapted to execute the WES engine to instruct, by a goods-to-person manager, the device manager to generate the universal command.