Benefits Of Choosing A Good Warehouse Management System

By Author: Kumar Ram
Total Articles: 152
Comment this article

A Warehouse Management System or WMS, as it is commonly acronymed, is a software system that is implemented to regularise, manage and effectively operate the day to day workings of a warehouse. It looks into everything starting from inventory management to product packaging, order fulfillment, etc. It is thus much more than an analysis of simple data for it helps tie together the various aspects of the functions that are carried out in a warehouse thereby creating order in what would otherwise have been an extremely chaotic situation.

Today the WMS has undergone a huge transformation. It is no longer the rigid and compartmentalized system that it previously was. Its capability to evolve has made it integration friendly and scalable; a fact that has resulted in its astounding popularity. The benefits that warehousing companies experience using these modern-day WMSs are visible, well-accounted for and result in the following:
• Optimization of processes: The seamless optimization of the processes followed within the warehouse can only be facilitated when the WMS chose is in sync with:
o The processes that are followed and
o The type and variety of materials managed.
Thus a good WMS empowers warehouse service providers with the ability to:
o Incorporate many different algorithms like zone and batch picking etc.,
o Make the input methods versatile,
o Tackle barcodes, smart scales, RFID,
o Enable equipment automation etc.
In fact, the integration of a WMS with a good transport management system ensures quality service to clients which are beyond compare.
• Efficiency in the allocation of labor: There are many different aspects to the functions that are carried out in the warehouse and each of these aspects requires different variables to approach efficiency. A good WMS ensures allocation of on the floor tasks in the most efficient and logical way to make the most effective thereby upgrading the level of Warehousing Services offered to clients. The ability of the WMS to generate crucial data enables good decision making thereby facilitating the implementation of the most efficient approach.
• Boosting employee morale: Bringing a structure into the workplace ensures proper fulfillment of work processes. Thus an employee knows what to look for, what process to follow, what results to expect etc., in an organized and structured manner which again results in better work output from the employees. Knowing what needs to be done and doing it efficiently helps boost employee morale by:
o Enjoying efficient allocation of tasks based on the aptitude of employees,
o Providing a certain degree of autonomy to the employee and
o Bringing about better accuracy in the work that they are allocated.
The availability of real-time feedback from the employee data collected by the WMS enables their superiors to provide constructive suggestions to improve their job output further. It also enables the company management to appreciate and reward exceptional performances. This again acts as a morale booster for employees thereby positively affecting the health of the company.
• Improving seller-buyer relationship: Implementation of a good WMS by Warehousing Companies in India directly results in a reduction of both the delivery time and delivery related errors. In business parlance, this translates into satisfied customers and increased sales thereby benefitting both the buyer and the seller positively.
• Reducing operational costs: WMS results in an organized and effective system which helps in the reduction of operational costs by:
o Reducing wastage of products especially those that are perishable or date restricted,
o Using available space efficiently,
o Enabling proper utilization of the human resource,
o Selecting an optimized travel path for delivery etc.
It would not be wrong to conclude that having an effective and efficient WMS in place ensures an increase in the volume of products that can be pushed out of the warehouse using an optimum workforce.