Implementation of WMS system in the warehouse

It is well known that the ability to deliver a wide range of goods to consumers in a timely manner, along with high accuracy and speed of order processing, largely depends on the degree of automation of your logistics processes. In order to increase their competitive advantage, many companies are considering the need to improve the efficiency of warehouse operations and expand the range of warehouse services provided.

The most effective solution to these problems is the implementation of a warehouse management system – WMS (Warehouse Management System). These systems are designed for automated management of warehouse processes, from the receipt of goods to the shipment of completed orders, as well as their planning and optimization. Creation of address storage, automatic formation and issuance of tasks to employees, with subsequent accounting of all transactions on the movement of goods, makes it possible to control, record and evaluate the performance of all stages of technological warehouse processes. At the same time, warehouse management systems make it possible to place and store goods taking into account their peculiarities, temperature regimes, batch accounting, etc.

Cost efficiency of WMS

But before proceeding to implementation, or even to the selection of WMS for the needs of the enterprise, it is necessary to assess the cost-effectiveness of such a project. But it is always worth realizing that the assessment of the effectiveness of warehouse automation, in most cases, is subjective in nature. This is due to periodic changes in processes, updating of technological warehouse equipment, new business ideas and other possible stages of business development. But even for an approximate assessment of the implementation efficiency, it is necessary to calculate such economic indicators as the total cost of ownership of the system (TCO – Total Cost of Ownership) and ROI (return of investment). If the ROI is calculated in the perspective of several years and is rather an estimation, as it depends on a number of reasons, up to the state of the world economy, the total cost of ownership of the system can be estimated at the stage of WMS selection.

WMS: implementation cost and other selection criteria

To do this, it is necessary to calculate the total cost of the parameters.

Cost of WMS implementation – this parameter can vary depending on the choice of the required solution, for example, it can be:

• Typical automation package – a ready-made solution with ready-made process models and limitation of modifications to resource role settings or printing templates.
• Comprehensive automation package – including a preliminary audit of warehouse processes, writing and coordination of Terms of Reference for implementation and customization of the system to meet the needs of the business.
• Cost of equipment – Data collection terminals, thermal printers, Wi-Fi modules.
• Cost of licenses – WMS user licenses, software licenses, as a rule, with a choice of solutions:
• Purchase of core software.
• Lease of cloud solution.
• Staff training.
• Cost of technical support after implementation.
• The cost of possible further improvements in the development of the system.
• Terms of project realization.

Also, when choosing a warehouse management system, it is important to consider such criteria as the ability to scale business processes, in case of change or planned business expansion, the possibility of integration with the existing accounting system, as any WMS is a slave, flexibility and functionality, as well as the ability to replicate the entire management scheme, if necessary, to other warehouses.

Constituent elements of WMS-system

In addition to the economic benefits of automation, it is important to consider criteria for improving warehouse operations in general, such as:

• Increased accuracy in order assembly.
• Increased productivity of employees.
• Increased throughput capacity of the warehouse.
• Possibility of staff reduction.
• Increasing the speed of receiving/placement/selection of goods.
• Control of goods movements.
• Reduction of expired goods balances.
• Reduction of paper costs.
• Order in the warehouse.
• Transparency of warehouse processes.
• Possibility to fix resource billing.

In fact, the functionality of the system, if it is not a package solution, can be limited only by the customer’s needs and the developers’ capabilities. Taking into account the basic capabilities, cost, flexibility of the system and the contractor when choosing a WMS, in addition, you can always discuss with the contractor the possibility of these or those improvements at the start. The ability to receive and place goods according to specified algorithms, taking into account the requirements and conditions of storage, batch accounting or accounting for expiration dates, inventory management taking into account zoning and tiered address storage, order collection with different types of grouping and shipment, according to priority and taking into account the order of further unloading – this has long been the basic functions of the warehouse management system.

WMS allows to increase the efficiency of management not only of the warehouse, but also of the personnel. In addition to reducing the time spent on processing orders, time, quantity, weight and volume of goods are recorded in terms of each process in the warehouse and for each movement of goods. This makes it possible to introduce a motivational system based on resource billing.

Factors affecting the speed of a WMS

For better system performance and successful implementation project it is necessary to take into account the factors affecting the speed of WMS. As a rule, in the process of preparation for implementation, the team of developers provides the customer with recommendations on equipment, which specifies the technical characteristics of servers for placing the core of the system, helps to select data collection terminals, taking into account the range of bar code reading, the ability to work in warehouses with a certain temperature regime and other parameters necessary for the customer. These recommendations are worth adhering to. Not the last important factor affecting the speed of data processing may be the bandwidth of network equipment, especially in the case of using SaaS solutions.

Successful WMS implementation projects

To date, ABM Cloud has several dozens of successful ABM WMS implementation projects in such countries as Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Uzbekistan. The product team adheres to a clear implementation methodology that allows to cover different businesses, minimize risks and reduce implementation time. Precise definition of implementation goals, depending on the customer’s business, ensures the success of the project, as the type of warehouse and products depend on the benefits that the customer will receive as a result.