What is a WMS?
A WMS is a software specially designed to automate and optimize routine warehouse operations. The system handles all warehouse processes, from receiving incoming goods, and managing stock, storage locations, and inventories, to tracking goods moves, organizing order-picking and shipping tasks, and more.
Read our article about the key features of a WMS
Why should you implement a WMS software ?
Here are just some of the reasons why a company might decide to invest in a warehouse management system:
- To boost productivity: A WMS automates a wide range of tasks (such as receiving incoming goods, managing storage locations and inventories, allocating tasks to logistics operators, picking orders, managing transport and returns, and more), thereby boosting both productivity and efficiency.
- To optimize stock management: A warehouse management system lets users precisely monitor stock levels, helping to avoid both costly stock shortages and unnecessary overstocking.
- To reduce picking and stock errors: Automation reduces the risk of human error, which can harm a company’s finances and erode customer satisfaction.
- To optimize storage space: A WMS helps logistics specialists make best use of the space available to them by efficiently organizing product storage locations within the warehouse.
- To support business growth: With a WMS, a company can efficiently and accurately management its logistics processes as the volume of products it needs to receive, store, pick, and/or ship increases.
- To gain real-time visibility: A WMS provides a real-time overview of available stock, goods flows, order-picking statuses, resources assigned to tasks, and more.
- To optimize processes: Deploying a WMS provides an opportunity to review and optimize processes and workflows within the warehouse, as a way to boost efficiency, speed, and productivity.
- To cope with labor shortages: A WMS automates many manual tasks, thereby reducing a company’s reliance on an ever-shrinking labor pool in the logistics sector.
When is the right time to deploy a WMS?
The ideal time to invest in a WMS depends on your company’s size and the nature of its business activities. There is no hard-and-fast rule. But you may wish consider taking the plunge if one or more of the following situations apply to you:
- You are experiencing frequent errors in your order-picking or stock management processes.
- Your business is growing quickly and you are finding it increasingly difficult to manage your warehouse operations manually or with your existing application (which is incomplete and/or difficult to scale).
- You are looking to cut operational costs while maintaining or improving service quality.
- You want to pick and ship orders more quickly in order to better cater to your customers’ requirements.
- You are struggling to manage busy periods (seasonal peaks, promotions, etc.).
- You are deploying a multichannel sales strategy and need to optimize and coordinate your logistics processes.
- You are planning to roll out mechanized or automated systems in your warehouse.
- You need granular traceability capabilities for products, expiration dates, and batches.
- Your business needs quality management capabilities so you can make sure products are stored and shipped in accordance with your quality criteria or applicable standards.
- You want to optimize your return management processes.
- You need key performance indicators (logistics KPIs) and real-time dashboards to support informed decision-making and ongoing process optimization.
Our Reflex WMS warehouse management software, which is backed by 30 years of R&D, is designed to help you optimize all of your logistics processes. It also includes key features that let you collaborate with your suppliers, carriers, and more, as well as manage warehouse resources.