How Warehouse Management Systems Support Businesses
The increasing trend of online shopping requires multiple backend functions that weren’t a part of the conventional shopping methods. The rise of deliveries in almost any part of the world requires businesses to have warehouses that can sustain the related demands. Warehouse management systems are complete software that helps optimize various warehouse-related operations such as inventory, picking, packing, shipping, and replenishment.
Warehouse management systems carry out various inventory functions and provide support to the entire supply chain process. There are multiple benefits to using warehouse management systems including the fact that cloud-based warehouse systems have reduced deployment and operational costs drastically which is a major reason for businesses to adapt to such platforms.
Warehouse Management System Benefits
Receiving and Marking
- ASN and EDI transactions
- Dock appointment scheduling
- Identifying forward and bulk locations
- Creating barcodes
- Reporting of incoming receipts
- Quality assurance
Put Away
- Cross dock to packing stations
- Shipping to fill backorders
- Identifying storage type, slot locations, and capacity
Slotting
- Assigning SKUs to pick locations
- Reducing picker travel time
- Improving productivity
- Velocity reporting
Automation in Restoring of Forward Pick
- Refilling of primary or forward pick
- Reducing warehouse backorder costs and time loss
- Planning forward pick storage size
Assembly
- Work orders
- Kitting
- Assembly control over material and labor costs
- Tracking inventory and labor usage
Packing
- Processing “pack confirm”
- Ensuring missed picks and incorrect order quantities