Turning factory movement into a controlled, traceable digital flow
Trusted FactoryFlow connects WMS records, WCS execution, AMR missions, robot cell jobs, industrial devices and edge runtime into one event-driven automation platform for manufacturing, warehouse and logistics operations.
Why FactoryFlow matters in real operations
Factories often start automation by buying robots. The harder problem is not the robot itself; it is the controlled flow of tasks, stock, routes, devices, exceptions and evidence across business systems and factory-floor equipment.
Trusted FactoryFlow is designed as an integration and execution platform. It keeps ERP and MES as enterprise planning systems, WMS as the inventory and task system of record, WCS as the execution orchestrator, Fleet as the mobile robot mission owner, Robot Cell as the cell job owner, and Device Adapter as the boundary to AMR, PLC, cobot, scanner, printer, scale, conveyor and vision systems.
Reference architecture: from enterprise API to factory edge
The architecture follows a layered, enterprise-ready model: channels enter through WSO2 API products, identities and service accounts are governed by Keycloak, domain services run independently on Java/WildFly, MariaDB is owned per service, Kafka coordinates service interaction, and edge runtime keeps low-latency execution close to the factory floor.
Technical capabilities that make the solution build-ready
WMS and task ownership
Manages SKU, stock balance, movement, reservation, receiving, putaway, transfer, replenishment, picking, packing and cycle count with strict state transitions.
WCS execution orchestration
Plans execution orders, dispatches tasks to AMR, robot cell or manual path, handles pause/resume/abort and opens exceptions when execution fails.
Fleet and AMR mission lifecycle
Tracks robots, status, missions, pickup/dropoff evidence, charging policies, route blocking and traffic-zone decisions.
Robot Cell and PLC handshake
Controls recipe approval, cell jobs, quality results, PLC readiness, cycle completion, fault handling and safety-stop event capture.
Device Adapter Gateway
Abstracts vendor-specific protocols behind common command and callback contracts for AMR, PLC, cobot, conveyor, scanner, printer, scale and vision systems.
Factory Edge runtime
Runs local WCS, device gateway, local queue/cache and sync agent to continue allowed in-flight work during WAN outage.
How the platform works in a material delivery scenario
In a practical deployment, the AMR delivery flow becomes a choreography instead of a point-to-point integration. Every important state change is captured as an event, making the operation observable, auditable and recoverable.
1. Material demand is received
MES or line station creates a material call. Integration Hub validates and publishes the demand with a correlation ID.
2. WMS reserves stock and releases a task
Inventory verifies availability, creates a reservation and WMS Task releases the transfer or replenishment task.
3. WCS creates and dispatches execution
WCS converts the released task into an execution order, applies routing rules and dispatches it to Fleet.
4. Fleet manages the AMR mission
Fleet selects a robot based on availability, route, payload and battery, then tracks pickup, load, dropoff and completion events.
5. WMS confirms movement and reporting updates KPIs
Completion evidence returns through WCS and WMS; stock movement is posted, audit is recorded and dashboards refresh.
Security, safety and governance by design
The platform separates enterprise security from OT safety. WSO2 and Keycloak enforce API security, OAuth2/OIDC scopes, client identity, mTLS, request signatures and audit logging. Safety-critical control remains local and independent of cloud connectivity.
Deploying FactoryFlow in the real world
A practical rollout should begin with a focused pilot, not a broad digital twin ambition. The recommended first deployment is AMR-based material delivery and line-side replenishment because it proves WMS/WCS/Fleet boundaries, edge runtime and ROI without starting from the highest robotics complexity.
Core platform
Deploy WSO2, Keycloak, Kafka, MariaDB, object storage, observability and core microservices in a secure core environment.
Factory edge
Deploy edge WCS, device gateway, local queue/cache and sync agent at the site to support low-latency execution and offline tolerance.
Simulators first
Run AMR, PLC, cobot, scanner, printer, scale and ERP/MES simulators before real hardware and vendor sandbox integration.
Controlled go-live
Use FAT, SAT, UAT, safety sign-off, runbooks, dashboards and KPI baseline before promoting the pilot to live operations.
A phase-based rollout roadmap
What implementation teams should build first
The fastest path to a credible pilot is to produce real build artifacts from the specification: OpenAPI YAML, Flyway migrations, Kafka schemas, WSO2 product configuration, Keycloak realm export, service skeletons, simulator scenarios, automated tests and runbooks.
Ready to move from automation concept to controlled factory execution?
Start with a site survey, data readiness check, simulator demo and AMR material-delivery pilot. Use the release gates to keep architecture, safety, security and operations aligned before live rollout.
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