The importance of a warehouse management system

For all those involved in the retail trade, a warehouse is essential. Some rely on a large central warehouse, others use smaller warehouses strategically located, to minimise travel time to stores. Whether it is one central warehouse or a series of smaller ones, a warehouse management system is vital.

Knowing how much stock you have and being able to replace fast moving items quickly and easily is a key part of the retail trade. Warehouse management systems make this easy. Using auto ID data capture technology such as barcode scanners, mobile computers and wireless LANs, a warehouse management system can enable real time status reports on goods in a warehouse to be prepared at a click of a button. Every time a stock item arrives or leaves a warehouse, the information can be sent electronically to a central database using one of the above methods. This can be done in batches or instantaneously. This is a key part of inventory management and control. By seeing how much or how little of a product they have in the warehouse and how often it is being shipped out, businesses can then use this information for demand management.

Storing product items is necessary but expensive. Therefore every business wants to keep the amount they have in storage to a minimum but still have the ability to replace items on shelves or fulfil internet orders in a timely fashion. Inventory management is part of this. However, another vital aspect is using your warehouse in the most efficient manner possible. Before embarking on any warehouse management system, precise measurements of all racks and bins have to be taken. This is then combined with information on the size, weight and dimensions of each product. Then the system calculates the most efficient use of the storage space. Information on specific product requirements such as refrigeration or hazardous materials has to be incorporated as well. By using a warehouse management system for this, businesses can achieve increased storage capacity as well as reducing placement and removal cycle times.

Whilst there will always need to employ some staff, a warehouse management system can help save on labour costs. By using auto IT data capture the process of receiving goods, putting them away and then picking them for order fulfilment can be largely automated. Not only does this reduce labour costs, but it also increases the amount of orders which can be fulfilled in one day and the efficiency with which this happens. Most orders received over the internet before a certain time can be picked and sent out that day and received by the customer the next. Thus order fulfilment becomes a seamless process.

Whilst the primary purpose of a warehouse management system is to control the movement and storage of products within a warehouse, it does link into other parts of supply chain management. Using the inventory information provided allows more efficient ordering and manufacturing based on actual demand. Product design can also be influenced by the storage capacity of the warehouse to ensure maximum storage efficiency, as can container storage.

A warehouse management system allows timely order fulfilment at an optimal cost by managing resources in the most efficient manner possible.