In a fast-paced warehousing world, efficiency and accuracy are a priority for warehouse managers and business owners. From procurement and picking to packing and shipping, organisation in a warehouse is essential to improve productivity and streamline business operations.
New technology and industry innovation mean warehouses can simply refine their processes and procedures for optimal performance. Warehouse management systems (WMS) are just one example of how advanced software systems can optimise warehouse efficiency to enable businesses to meet their objectives.
By elevating and changing the way businesses can manage and control their warehouse and daily operations, WMS is quick and easy to deploy and can offer a great return on investment.
As modern technology continues to develop, it is essential for warehouses to adopt ‘must-have’ features, such as cloud-based warehouse management systems, to maintain good warehouse management on any scale.
Poor warehouse management can lead to unsatisfied customers, inaccurate inventory management, and timely deliveries which can damage your business reputation in the long term.
If you are a warehouse manager or business owner looking for valuable insight and guidance in selecting a warehouse management system to improve efficiency and productivity, keep reading.
What is a warehouse management system?
A warehouse management system is a cloud-based software that helps companies manage and organise inventory and operations to improve accuracy and efficiency.
WMS is an effective solution that enables organisations to streamline the entire warehouse management process by offering visibility into inventory and the supply chain.
When businesses invest in WMS, orders can be fulfilled quickly and accurately and as a result, companies will reduce errors, returns, and complaints.
Warehouse management systems also drive down warehousing costs by directing staff to put away and pick products in the most economical, productive, and effective way. With WMS, businesses can expect to reduce labour costs by as much as 30 per cent as employees spend less time processing each order.
WMS are essential for every business operating in the modern age with inventory stored or moving through a warehouse. They are suitable for a variety of businesses and industries to ensure timely and accurate order fulfilment at a cost-effective price.
What features will a good warehouse management system have?
A good warehouse management system should have a range of features that allow businesses to efficiently manage, organise, and optimise warehouse operations.
Here are some of the key features every good warehouse management system should showcase.
Inventory management
With enhanced real-time visibility, stock control, cross-docking support, and serial number tracking, WMS revolutionises the way businesses can view and manage their warehouse inventory.
A WMS will streamline every aspect of warehouse management from receiving and storing goods through to packing and shipping. This provides warehouse employees and managers with a clear overview of operations and their efficiency.
By adding barcode readers to inventory when it enters the warehouse, WMS ensures warehouse managers and employees know what stock they have and where it is kept. What’s more, lost stock quickly becomes a thing of the past as employees achieve 100 per cent pick accuracy.
Order fulfilment
WMS allows orders to be fulfilled quickly and accurately to reduce returns. Not only does this improve and enhance the customer experience, but it also saves employees time by reducing customer complaints and queries.
By efficiently processing goods, allocating inventory, and optimising order picking by grouping orders, warehouse management systems ensure orders are packed on time at optimal cost.
No matter how many orders a warehouse receives, WMS order fulfilment software keeps an automated record of order progress to eliminate tiresome manual record keeping to reduce further errors.
Reporting capabilities
By generating real-time reports, WMS allows organisations to monitor warehouse performance and utilise historical data to predict seasonal trends and make informed decisions.
This data can also be used to review operations and highlight potential supply chain problems before they have a chance to escalate.
Reports and analytics can significantly help companies identify inefficiencies within the supply chain and can provide important information to influence decision-making.
Scalability
A good warehouse management system should be able to scale alongside a business to accommodate business growth and expansion. As a warehouse grows and expands in terms of the number of products, orders, and locations, good WMS solutions can easily increase to meet demand.
A cloud-based WMS should also have the flexibility and scalability to handle seasonal or unprecedented demand during peak and busy periods.
Scalable WMS solutions from Optima are rented on a monthly basis so businesses and warehouses only pay for what they need. This means as business increases, user licences can scale to retain control of cash flow.
On-going support
Like all modern technology, a WMS require software updates and therefore, it is important that warehouse management system providers offer ongoing technical support and maintenance.
From implementation, a good WMS vendor should effectively answer a wide range of queries based on experience and industry knowledge. Should a business need help, support, or advice, it is important to know that a dedicated support team is on hand to address issues and concerns with speed.
Without highly knowledgeable support teams, businesses and warehouses could be left with outdated and ineffective warehouse management solutions.
Why choose Optima WS?
At Optima Warehouse Solutions we provide cost-effective warehouse solutions and software for all kinds of businesses.
Established in 2001, we focus on providing high-quality yet affordable warehouse management software systems for warehousing and logistics companies, as well as WMS solutions to other sectors such as packaging, manufacturing, and e-commerce.
With excellent knowledge of the complexities of today’s busy warehousing environment means that we have developed easy-to-use yet powerful Warehouse Management Software packages that will make your warehouse more efficient.
To find out more about warehouse operations and how Optima Warehouse Solutions can support your business, get in touch today!
