Nov
2
Introduction to Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
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Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) are typically software solutions whose primary purpose are to co-ordinate and administer the storage and movement of products and materials within a company’s warehouse and related processes.
What does a Warehouse Management System (WMS) do?
Whilst most WMS will have a broad range of related functionality this typically includes tools that help with:
Stock picking,
Inventory control,
Label printing,
Returns,
Cycle counting,
Some WMS systems will go beyond the physical warehouse and extend functionality to
Yard management,
Transport,
Labor (i.e. Timecards)
Key Benefits of Warehouse Management Systems
WMS can provide numerous benefits including
Faster goods movement,
Better management information,
Reducing errors
Reduced levels of data entry
Optimization of storage locations,
Improved planning
WMS can help facilitate automation and are often coupled with other solutions such as RFID and warehouse control systems that manage materials-handling.
For the businesses that utilize products incorporating shelf life (of life expiry dates) WMS can help in prioritizing dispatch of appropriate goods, eliminating errors and reducing material scrappage due to life expiry.
WMS Solution Providers
Though there is a wide variety of Warehouse Management Solutions which predominantly come from 3rd party companies that specialize in WMS, there are some packages, provided by ERP vendors, that come as a bolt on to ERP software (SAP for example). Most systems will offer some level of integration into other software including existing legacy products).
While bolt on ERP software modules are popular well known providers like RedPrairie and Infor have competed well with the large ERP vendors and have been successful in sectors such as FMCG and 3PL organizations with their products commonplace in many companies around the globe.
Many WMS systems do not rely solely on traditional use of desktop computers with systems available through PDA’s or other mobile devices. This can offer various benefits both in management information (real time tracking for example) and of course in the nature of warehouse tasks which are not typically desk bound.
WMS in SME’s
Whilst WMS are often prominent in large organizations Small businesses have been slow to implement the solutions. High volume (high number of SKU’s) and complex warehouse operations tend to benefit most from WMS where smaller organizations cannot capitalize on the benefits (due to scale) and also typically experience issues in interfacing (or funding the implementation) with other software packages such as Finance and procurement packages.
Many SME’s have looked at the cost of such systems and compared that to typically cheap labor rates coupled with relatively simple process and cannot justify the capital expenditure.
WMS costs are typically a mixture of software ,WMS hardware and implementation. As with any software deployment, ROI is realized over time. How much time will typically depend on the size of the organization and its complexity of operations prior to the WMS being deployed.
One WMS fits all
Many warehouse systems are customizable and can be tailored to suit the business sector they are deployed in and its common to find WMS in many industries from manufacturing, pharmaceuticals through to distribution and retail organizations.
Nov
2
Is sustainability really being taken seriously by business?
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Whilst there has been an undoubted rise in the development and marketing of corporate social responsibility (CSR) many organizations could still be accused of developing and nurturing their staff without focus on how activities such as sustainability should be incorporated into day to day activities. This has the result of producing employees, whose only methods and skills are to succeed and capitalize on markets and make profit and to do so with little minimal focus on social and business responsibility. For example while many organizations may be able to quote their social/environmental mission statements how many executives can quote statistics and KPI performance relating to these strategies?
Corporate Social Responsibility however is playing an increasingly important role in many boardrooms. Many businesses are establishing corporate and social responsibility (including sustainability) strategies as measurable objectives within their corporate plans. These objectives are not self-contained but are typically promulgated throughout the organization within various disciplines from operations to sales through to supply chain.
Corporate responsibility becomes just that – everyones responsibility. The mounting awareness by external stakeholders (primarily shareholders, customers and more importantly those with legislative powers) regarding topics such as the impact of CO2 emissions, ethics and biodiversity are leading organizations to develop strategies that can help minimize their own impact and drive change in an attempt to resolve the issues at the heart of the concerns. Clearly many large organizations are beginning to take corporate responsibility seriously.
It does albeit, I believe, require a facilitator and competitiveness and compliance are two key ones.
But what of SME’s? How much are they contributing and are they too developing appropriate strategies. As with many initiatives the challenge for SME’s will be customer and compliancy based. Likely to be affected are:
- Those supplying to markets where the customer is applying pressure for change through buying power
- Or the customer/business utilizes sustainability criteria as part of their sourcing process and a failure to comply would result in lower revenues.
- Those supplying products or services which may be affected by legislative controls.
For supply chain professionals whose companies are adopting corporate and social responsibilities rest assured supply chain and in particular procurement can and in most cases will be at the heart of this.
But is business really taking sustainability seriously or is it just a different approach to in the pursuit of improvements, which can be explained away as a social conscious?
For example consider that once targets are set and KPI’s established benefits can be measured and once improvements become realized, marketed within the marketplace and used for competitive advantage. Consider how CSR contains many issues from climate change, ethics, sustainability, bio-diversity etc etc. CSR could be explained as a catch all that enables organizations to switch easily from one consumer cause to another.
It could be argued that Social Responsibility can be explained away as merely doing good business, this is especially true where CSR compliancy can be a stopper to entering the market. In time supply chain improvements touted as being sustainable can be easily communicated as targeting, for example, biodiversity.
Another issue is the rationale behind such initiatives. For example cap & trade markets were launched some time ago to faciliate Co2 reduction. But It could be argued that carbon trading has resulted in just rewarding the heaviest polluters with carbon credits to match historic production
Initiatives like carbon trading do not initiate changes in processes or strategies indeed it could be argued that they sustain a “business as usual” approach.
One things for sure for near term future corporate responsibility will be increasingly present in most businesses and in most industries. Supply Chain teams will need to develop the policies, processes and measures in order to support the initiatives and demonstrate performance.