Warehouse management system

Managing the material movement from one entity to another in an enterprise business at right time, right inventory and at the right place is critical for the success of Logistics and Supply Chain business. And, there are many entities involved in a supply chain process such as; Marketing, Sales, Sourcing, Manufacturing, Warehousing, Distribution and Transportation etc.

Warehouse management is the act of organising and controlling everything within the warehouse – and making sure it all runs in the most optimal way possible. Warehouse Management System designed to introduce improvement into every aspect of a company’s warehouse operations offers an organized approach to manage efficiency.

Logistics businesses use the Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) to facilitate the warehouse operations through IT systems for better tracking and managing the inventory effectively.

WMS or management software of some kind can basically take a huge chunk of the leg work out of all the processes in warehouse. They’ll automate and digitise as much as possible. By integrating advanced radio frequency and bar coding technologies with core warehousing functionality, WMS provides comprehensive fulfilment centre and warehouse management, including receiving, stocking, picking and related warehouse tasks.

Making it much easier to:
• Keep everything organised, tracked and documented.
• Pick with as close to perfect accuracy as possible.
• Speed up your entire logistics operation.

The WMS contains the mapping of different sequencing strategies for the highly complex JIS- and JIT requirements.

An integrated vehicle control system connects driverless transport systems and electrified monorail systems coupled to a powerful plant visualization system and allows direct intervention possibilities into the process control.

The WMS application is built based on different factors such as Industry specific requirements, General Logistics Requirements etc. Any WMS application regardless of the business complexity should be able to support some basic logistics functions.

The WMS must have tools and functions to support the main steps and logistic processes of inbound, production and outbound, such as: pre-receiving of materials, concierge management, receiving, inbound quality control, storage, transfer, picking, cyclic counting and shipping.
Warehouse management system

Standalone warehouse management systems

There are several types of warehouse management systems (WMS) to choose from to best fit the business needs. There are four main types of WMS. These are standalone warehouse management systems, supply chain execution modules, integrated ERP (enterprise resource planning) and cloud-based systems.

Standalone WMS is a specialized software designed solely to handle supply chain, inventory, and logistics processes. Standalone WMS typically do not feature broader supply chain functions but do contain important warehouse operations functions. The two most important features are inventory management and warehouse operations.

Most WMS are sold as standalone packages that are installed and then integrated with the current software. Companies can use these systems to monitor and control supply chain flow from when goods arrive and leave the warehouse, as well as other important functions.

Some warehouses are small enough where they can manage many things manually, and via spreadsheets, so a standalone can fit perfectly within those existing systems. Standalone WMS is the perfect choice for newer eCommerce operations that are still developing their supply chain and logistics processes
Standalone warehouse management systems