Much has been written about the potential return on investment that a warehouse management system can offer companies in the wholesale distribution business. This includes virtually all types of distributors.
It can also include manufacturers that make stock and sell products. This white paper will review the three key areas of warehouse activity and how money (profits) can be recaptured. These three areas are;
- Warehouse activities
- Receiving activities
- Picking/shipping activities.
2. Receiving
An electronic warehouse management system uses RF based handheld computers to provide instant access to open POs or other records providing real-time information to all those who need it. This reduces the time it takes to receive products by 16% to 25%. The faster you get the items into your inventory the faster you can sell them and ship them out. The increased accuracy in the receiving area greatly improves the accuracy and integrity of the inventory. The reduction in time it takes to do receiving reduces the needed manpower. And lastly, creating an electronic real-time connection between the WMS and the business management system eliminates paperwork, the time required to upload the PO information manually and its inherent delays and mistakes. This all adds up to significant savings for the company.
Put-Away
Now that the product has been received and we know it is in the building, the next step is putting it away. With a warehouse management solution installed the put-away process is easy and accurate. You can create rules within the WMS to drive the put-away process so that mistakes in where the items are stored are eliminated. You have a complete view of where the entire inventory is at all times, where it is going and who is moving it. With the use of RF enabled devices the material handler scans the item then scans the location and completes the process. Fast easy and extremely accurate. Because of the speed and accuracy in the put-away and replenishment processes money is saved.
Replenishment
There are many ways a company can use to drive replenishment of pick bins in a warehouse. A WMS solution must be able to handle many different replenishment scenarios. By automating replenishment activity through the use of barcode scanning and bin controls provided by the WMS significant time is saved. Through proper implementation of a WMS a warehouse can eliminate costly errors and lost time and effort associated with poor replenishment activities. In addition let’s consider these points;
- Electronic/RF data processing of POs will eliminate manual filing systems and the need to update and track orders as they are closed/fulfilled.
- Real-time receiving will eliminate the need to keypunch and verify receipt transactions.
- Real-time receiving will eliminate the need for any paperwork transfer to data processing.
Intangible Benefits
- Real-time visibility of goods/materials received can eliminate “stock out” situations for order picking or “dead time” for manufacturing.
- Reduced floor space as a result of faster throughput.
- Tighter purchasing procedures through more timely visibility of vendors (early, late, partials, etc.)
- RF is a critical link in “Just-in-Time” manufacturing environments; receiving to manufacturing work as data becomes available.
- Automatic cross-docking for critical deliveries.
- Ultimately greater customer satisfaction.
Request the full white paper: Recapturing Lost Profits in the Warehouse
Visit our Warehouse Management Systems information page here
Posted by iCepts Technology Group–A Pennsylvania Partner for Accellos One Warehouse Management Systems
