Warehouse management systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Warehouse management systems - Essay ExampleThe modern warehouse tidy sum ill-afford to ignore this significant resource.The key focus of SCM is to get the right part to the right place at the right time. WMS facilitates this operate by dramatically increasing the accuracy of inventory management, control, and distribution. For example, when parts are received at a warehouse facility, a good WMS can check the bill of lading against the circumstances actually received, and any discrepancies can be noted through the audit trail thereby allowing management to track items that have been doomed in transit (Gladston 40). It goes without saying that it is impossible to ship the right part from the warehouse facility if the item n constantly actually made it to the warehouse. When the system generates an audit trail document, facility employees can quickly and advantageously identify the problem and resolve it. Thus, system accuracy is greatly enhanced through WMS. If, as in the case s tudy, a facility that is holding more than 85,000 stock keeping units can obtain 99.9% accuracy, the meet of such a system is significant.Another reason why WMS is critical to operations is its ability to divvy up storage locations of parts and supplies within the facility itself. Businesses that move a high volume of parts through their supply chain must focus on improving the efficiency of warehouse management (especially shoes) to neutralize the logistical difficulties that would be present in a poorly-designed facility (Cortada 292). In the case of Toyota, the ability to apportion warehouse space according to the parts size and frequency of demand was a major contributor to the systems success. For a lodge like Wal-Mart, which uses centralized distribution centers to serve its many a(prenominal) outlets, a WMS that streamlined facility space allocations by creating inventory zones would create a scale of supply chain efficiency that could save the company millions of doll ars a year. In the same way that it is impossible to move the right part from the warehouse if it hasnt arrived, it is every bit difficult to do so if management knows that it has the part in the warehouse but isnt sure where it is. The system of storage and product flow throughout a warehouse facility is so important that if a WMS did only that, it would be worth the investment. The advantages of a WMS, however, go beyond the ability to track and store inventory. As the systems become more sophisticated, they are able to increase supply chain efficiency in many other ways.As noted in the case study on Toyota, the WMS not only tracks flummox within the system, but also produces a tag label giving part details and locations. A dealer direct order capability, when combined with overall supply chain efficiency, leverages warehouse management to a much higher level. As one author notes, WMS functionality will continue to broaden... with an increasing focus on dynamic optimization to a point that will enable the system to ship product without ever actually receiving it (Hoctor and Thierauf 238). The ability to optimize a companys operations to the point that supply-chain subsystems are integrated across the immaculate platform is what makes a good WMS more than just a