Warehouse Management System: Impacting Warehouse Operations Positively

Technological advances have benefitted warehouse management in a number of ways with the WMS being one of them. Let us take a brief look at the pros and cons of the same.

There have been several technological advances which have impacted the business management in a positive manner. The advent of e-commerce and its growing popularity has ensured increased workload for the distributors who are racing to ensure fulfilment of the demands. With fast delivery and precise package tracking facilities becoming the need of the hour, digitisation of the warehouse using the Warehouse Management System has become a necessity few logistic providers or distribution concerns can afford to ignore.

Benefits of WMS

Capitalising on the need by companies to ensure customer satisfaction and to build a brand by maintaining a positive market reputation with good public relations, the WMS offers the following benefits:

·         Key functions: On a broader aspect this software application helps to improve the overall work flow right from receiving to processing customer returns. It can also be used to:

o   Scan products which enter the warehouse,

o   Determine the placement shelf for its storage,

o   Standardise its optimum packing size,

o   Provide real time tracking information as and when required and

o   Effectively monitor returns from reversing invoices, restocking the material and processing monetary refunds, if any.

·         Decreased packaging time: This is one of the key advantages of this system and positively benefits all Warehousing Companies in India. It allows customers to receive ordered deliveries quickly within days instead of the weeks that it used to take previously.

·         Special digital assistance: Today technological advancements have made it possible for the WMS software application to operate using special voice activated headsets. This has made life easier for the packers who simply announce the products that they need aloud and digital assistance accurately locate the product and deliver it to the required packing area.

·         Keeping pace with newer trends: Business trends keep getting updated on a regular basis so that hassles faced when doing business are reduced. Since most WMS software applications keep themselves updated and upgraded, businesses where they are used tend to keep pace with newer business trends that get introduced.

·         No inventory shrink: One of the major causes of concern for warehouses management is employee theft. This results in an inventory shrink of about 44% which can be averted by the use of the various technologies available within the WMS software application.

·         Managing returns: Returns have a way of affecting business in a very negative manner because customers expect manufactures to pay for the cost of the return shipping. Also since employees are also forced to handle additional work, the labour costs also increase causing a financial hit to the concerned business. But the introduction of the WMS by Top Warehousing Companies in India has helped minimise these costs thereby reducing the financial impact of the same and also successfully keeping the customers satisfied.

Drawbacks of the WMS

While there is no doubt that the pros far outweigh the drawbacks, in order to make the WMS software more effective, the following drawbacks need to be taken care of:

·         WMS can be easily hacked by sophisticated hackers,

·         The system does not enable physical verification of the inventory thereby making the workforce lazy and complacent,

·         Integration of various WMS programs causes quite a bit of a hassle,

·         Infrastructure used in not infallible etc.

It is, however, a necessity to implement the WMS software so that businesses can stay on top and be able to compete in the market. But in order to maximise the benefits of the WMS, it has to be combined with skilled human input.

Author's Note

Technological advances have benefitted warehouse management in a number of ways with the WMS being one of them. Let us take a brief look at the pros and cons of the same.