From employee safety to peak efficiency in terms of handling and storing goods, warehouse managers have their work cut out for them. Because there are so many things to keep track of at any given time, various warehouse management systems (WMS) solutions are now available in the form of intuitive applications that can even run on a smartphone.
The right WMS helps automatize numerous warehousing processes, greatly reduces the possibility of human error, and boosts the overall productivity of a business. This is the reason why major software companies such as Oracle and IBM have dedicated noteworthy resources to the development of WMS.
In what follows, this article will provide an overview of the most significant benefits created by modern warehouse management suites.
Lower Overheads
One of the foremost reasons why organizations acquire warehouse management solutions is the fact that they help lower costs. Although this is a statistically proven fact, the reduction in expenses will vary from one company and warehouse to the next.
To begin with, a great WMS will optimize the flow of the storage facility by indicating where certain goods and machinery ought to be kept to reduce travel times. Some software offers the ossibility to visualize simulations of the warehouse space in an attempt to increase storage density and fully utilize the amount of cubic space that is available.
Superior Inventory Accuracy
In a global retail market that offers clients the possibility to shop on the go and place orders from their smartphones, inventory accuracy in real time can often make the difference between a month of amazing sales and regular one.
Everyone in the company with access to the WMS can find out instant information about any product that has been received by means of serial numbers, barcodes, or RFID tagging. In addition, the best WMS software can easily help make demand forecasts.
The latter are of invaluable help for inventory management professionals, who can access direct information in terms of which products are most popular and when. With this in mind, they can optimize their order patterns so that investment decisions reflect consumer behavior as accurately as possible.
Increased Labor Management
Aside from helping you decide which storage, layout, and packaging technique would be optimal for your business, warehouse management suites suggest which routes would take the least amount of time. They also keep track of all employees by monitoring their activity, create sample schedules, and can even assign tasks on a daily basis.
All of these areas described above have great potential in terms of increasing profitability. Just think of the fact that labor costs account for two thirds of the average warehouse monthly expenses and that more than half of all labor time is spent not working, but walking.
No manager would pass up the opportunity to optimize anywhere from 30% to 50% of their overheads, which is part of the reason why WMS are so popular today.
Full Accountability
Although this is not the case with all WMS applications, a great deal of them make it possible for each worker to enter transactions into the system. In order to gain the software privilege to do so, they have to log in with a personal account.
This greatly improves the security of storage merchandise because the application can tell managers who has handled what specific good and when. In addition, by gathering data on what each employee is doing on a daily basis, managers and HR departments gain tremendous insight in terms of which workers are doing the most.
Satisfied Customers
Another important process that is enhanced with the help of warehouse management software is customer relations. Particularly in the retail industry, competition can be fierce and margins so narrow that as much as 2 pounds on each transport can make a world of difference, as was shown in the case of Walmart.
With a WMS-optimized demand and supply chain, customers have to wait much less for their order to be processed and delivered. This is why Amazon, for example, is able to offer next-day delivery, an option which has generated millions in sales for the American tech organization.