Warehouse Management System WMS

WMS (Warehouse Management System) is one of the supply chain execution modules (SCE).

As the TMS or MES, WMS solutions are generally connected to the ERP. Their function is to manage and optimize one or several warehouses at operational and execution level.

A WMS solution covers generally 6 main functionalities:

1. Documentation and parameters
2. Reception
3. Stock and Inventory control
4. Orders preparation control
5. Expedition
6. Reporting and Key Performance Indicators KPI

1. Documentation and parameters

Very important, this functionality allows the warehouse manager to define the rules governing entries, movements, stocking and shippings of its warehouse’s products.

Items/Articles Documentation:

• Item/Article Reference
• Item description
• Item’s ABC classification
• Item’s Logistic family
• Packaging associated to product

Documentation warehouse:

• Code or reference of the location
• Dimension of the location
• Type of allowed packagings/pallets
• Maximum allowed quantity of packagings/pallets
• Maximum allowed load
• Allowed ABC class type
• Allowed item family type
• Resupplying’s threshold

Documentation packaging:

• Type of packaging
• Dimensions of the packaging
• Maximum weight of load supported in the packaging
• Maximum weight of load supported by the packaging while stacked

2. Reception

First function of a warehouse’s management, the reception is going to verify that the received goods are indeed the expected goods, correct if need be, then (when connected with the stock and inventory control function) will direct the received goods towards a free and adequate location in the stock, towards a preparation area or directly towards an expedition area according to specified parameters.

The reception is generally done reading barcodes of the product’s reference and of its quantity.

3. Stock and Inventory control

The function of stock and inventory control allows to register entries and releases of products. And so have the vision of the stock inventory at all time: at product’s type level, quantities, location in the warehouse.

The stock and inventory control also allows directing the received goods towards the adequate location.

Also, according to the supply lead-times, quantities in stock and the defined stock’s thresholds, this function allows to trigger the supply order.

An inventory function is generally associated to it.

4. Orders preparation

This function of the WMS solution manages the orders preparation, that is when the received product has to undergo an operation of sorting (by customer for example), of grouping, or recanting.

This function indicates to the preparation technician which products or articles they have to choose, where to take them and in which packaging/pallet they have to regroup them. The WMS registers all this information once the preparation is done and provides the associated documents: labels, internal packing list …

5. Expedition

Last physical function of the warehouse, the expedition is going to control products exits and their preparation, and then it will affect every loaded good in a transport mean identified by a code (registration plate or maritime container number)

The expedition function records this information, edits transportation documents and sends to finance system the logistic information necessary for the invoice establishment.

6. Reporting and Key Performance Indicators KPI

This function allows to pilot the warehouse and to verify the infringement of the objectives: stock level, optimization of m2 (see Spec sheet Warehouse KPI free-logistics.com)