Improving your supply chain operations with WMS software

A warehouse management system (WMS) is the right tool for optimising warehousing operations, but effective supply chain practices require specific implementations. Many factors can influence the efficiency of warehouse activities but focusing on improving your warehouse operations can improve your overall operations.

Factors can include warehouse design, accurate inventory, management of suppliers, the proper organisation of stock keeping units, and cycle counting.

To achieve significant improvements in your supply chain operations, you should deploy the following Warehouse Management Software implementations for warehouse efficiency:

TMS integration to ensure accurate inventory

The major strength of warehouse management programs is their compatibility with other application software such as transport management system (TMS). Such integration makes cycle counting easier and helps you to keeps tabs on critical data such as the pattern of the movement of goods and their specific locations during the shipping process. In turn, this impacts the accuracy of records to help you eliminate the need for bulk physical inventories.

End-to-end tracking with smart analytics for efficient management of suppliers

Today’s warehouse management systems provide you with the tools to collect signatures and verify shipments and allow you to deliver such documents when required for hand-offs. With the smart analytics capability, end-to-end tracking is possible and enables you to maintain accurate records of the insurance of goods as well as liability for the hassle-free supply chain management.

As a result, this enables you to respond to issues earlier and resolve disputes between you and your vendors. For instance, integrating your WMS with a purchase order (PO) management system gives you an upper hand in scheduling shipping whenever a customer makes an order online.

The WMS software is updated with information as soon as your vendor updates the order and sends automated alerts to you and the client when the order is ready.

Also, if the sourcing changes, the system relays the same to you so you can be aware of any possible delays and alert the customers in advance.

3PL improvisation for the organisation of stock keeping units

As warehousing operations grow more complex, third-party logistics (3PL) are an invaluable add-on to your WMS software and help you to improve inventory visibility and accuracy. It would help provide a clearer picture of what is currently in or out of stock, using specialised scanners that check items in and out of your warehouse space.

Sorting SKUs strategically can be achieved by slotting items into groups based on unique characteristics such as seasonality, velocity, and size.

In turn, your records will be updated in real-time and errors are minimised as your system will help you account for your stock throughout the fulfilment process, including in transit stock. As such, you’ll be primed for omnichannel success.

Business intelligence (BI) tools to improve your cycle counting and warehouse design

With the unpredictable nature of supply chain operation demands, the integration of your WMS software with business intelligence (BI) software puts you in a position to leverage cutting-edge technology to collect critical data and analyse it.

Your cycle counting will be more reliable as you will be armed with more tools, including inventory analysis features. In turn, you’ll be able to make critical decisions to mitigate risks such as demand volatility and peak inventory demands.

With such workflows, you will have pertinent insights into the allocation of space in your warehouse to elect a new warehouse design, eliminating congested areas for more efficient supply chain management and faster processing of orders.

Please contact us now for more information on how an integrated ERP system with WMS can enhance your supply chain operations.