Key functions of warehouse management systems

Your warehouse is packed with inventory, some ready to sell, others needing work. From custom-cut meat to multi-color products, efficient warehouse management is key to smooth operations.

That’s where your WMS comes in. It tracks every item, but its capabilities go far beyond, optimizing picking, managing labor, and streamlining operations to boost profits.

Below, we explore the must-haves that can transform how your business operates.

Picking

A fundamental WMS function is optimizing the picking process. With the picking module, you can answer key questions such as:

• What items are needed to fulfill an order?
• Where are these items located?
• What is the most efficient path for staff to follow to retrieve them?

By using a warehouse management system, picking paths are streamlined, ensuring faster order fulfillment and increased accuracy.

Receiving

This module involves transforming incoming deliveries into inventory records. When a truck pulls up to your dock, the system facilitates transactions that convert purchase orders into inventory, setting the stage for seamless accounting processes. This module ensures stock is accurately accounted for and ready for further action.

Put away

Now that those newly received items are in your inventory, where should they be kept? Some of them will be needed to ship out today to a customer, so a cross-dock movement is made, and those items never need to sit on an inventory shelf. 

Other items will be part of a shipment soon - where should they be stored so that the day’s picking path is as short and simple as possible? A WMS will find those locations.

Packing

In a busy warehouse, it's common for several employees to pick items for a single order. As such, another key function of a warehouse management system is to make sure all these items are correctly grouped for each customer. This not only speeds up the packing process but also helps reduce errors during order fulfillment.

Shipping

Some deliveries will go by your own trucks, others will ship with parcel carriers, and perhaps some will ship through the mail. WMS will help keep each batch of shipments together, ensuring that when the parcel shipper arrives, all the right orders will be in one place. 

This function also helps produce accurate shipping labels to ensure every package reaches its intended destination.

Yard management

Often, your inventory cannot be held in your warehouse, and you have containers and trailers parked outdoors. Some are waiting for space within the warehouse, and some can wait until the merchandise within is needed to ship to a customer. 

WMS software extends beyond your walls and tracks the location of all the items held in those containers and trailers.

Labor management

How many people are needed on any given day? WMS calculates the time required for work on any day and gives you the tools to employ the right number of people every day. WMS also tracks the productivity of those people. 

Who picks the most items? Who picks with the highest accuracy? Who can find the putaway shelf in the least time? This functionality helps assign the best people in your warehouse.

Conclusion

Whether you're receiving goods, organizing storage, or shipping orders, the WMS functions you rely on play a critical role in ensuring efficiency, accuracy, and overall success. 

When integrated with an ERP system, a WMS brings even more value by integrating inventory data with your broader business processes to give you a holistic view of your supply chain.