Managing a large warehouse requires overlooking hundreds of processes. Optimizing all of them is even harder. Yet, there is a technological solution to that – WMS or Warehouse Management System. How can a WMS unleash the true potential of your warehouse? You will understand that after reading this article!

What is a WMS?

WMS is an application designed to optimize the workflow in your warehouse. The main principle of a WMS is to automate the decision-making of warehouse processes. The processes in your warehouse are maximized for productivity based on the data collected by the software to create the most efficient working environment.

A WMS is a complex system – it manages numerous processes occurring in your warehouse. These include:

  • Receiving,
  • Putaway,
  • Stocktaking,
  • Replenishment,
  • Picking,
  • Pacing,
  • Loading,
  • Dispatch,
  • Reporting

As you can see, a WMS controls almost every aspect of your warehouse. It is so, to ensure a unified, effective optimization.

What are the benefits of using a WMS?

Since a WMS covers and optimizes all the processes in a warehouse, it should not be surprising that it has countless benefits. Here is the list of the most crucial ones that you should know about:

  • Better space optimization – This aspect is discussed in many industries – even white-collar workers know that a layout of a good office should be optimized. But for a warehouse? It shouldn’t be optimized – it must be. WMS is an ideal road to improved space optimization. The system uses factors such as:
    • First-in, first-out (FIFO)
    • Last-in, last-out (LIFO)
    • First-expired, first-out (FEFO)

to select the right space for every item. Since it does so automatically, the process is effortless and doesn’t require the warehouse manager to plan everything manually. Moreover, it is quicker.

  • Improved productivity – A WMS is also capable of planning tasks. The system considers the qualifications and skill levels of each staff member to assign the most suitable jobs for each employee. As a result, both the time and the quality of each labor increase.
  • Exact inventory overview – A WMS will track all the changes to inventory levels. As a consequence, it will make it easy to spot if the warehouse needs restocking. Moreover, it will gather data on the demand for each good to estimate how big should your replenishment be and for how long it will last.
  • Flexibility and scalability – Many warehouse owners invest in their own systems run by expensive IT teams. Yet, these solutions require financial resources as well as a team of experts, which will grow or shrink depending on business needs. However, maintaining an IT department does not allow for much flexibility and quick scalability – you cannot lay off your programmers every time the business shrinks, and you will not hire them quickly enough every time the warehouse is expanding. A WMS is an ideal solution in such case – it doesn’t require a company team of IT technicians to install, manage and upgrade the system and will scale along with your business, giving your warehouse full flexibility.

Conclusions

As you can see, a WMS is a system that can truly help with warehouse development. It is a way for your storage facility to thrive. Thus, in the future, choosing the right WMS might be a key success factor for warehouses.