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Soon MRP developed into manufacturing resource planning (MRPII), which took the usual MRP system and added scheduling and capacity planning logic. Eventually MRPII developed into enterprise resource planning (ERP), incorporating all the MRPII functionality with full financials and customer and vendor management functionality. Now, whether WMS evolving in to a warehouse-focused ERP product is a good thing you aren't can be debate. What on earth is clear is that the growth of the overlap in functionality between Warehouse Management Systems, Enterprise Resource Planning, Distribution Requirements Planning, Transportation Management Systems, Supply Chain Planning, Planning and Scheduling, and Manufacturing Execution Systems is only going to increase the standard of confusion among companies seeking applications for his or her operations.

Even though WMS will continue to gain added functionality, the initial core functionality of a WMS has not yet really changed. The main goal of a WMS will be to control the movement and storage of materials in a operation and process the associated transactions. Directed picking, directed replenishment, and directed putaway include the critical for WMS. The detailed setup and processing in a WMS can vary significantly from a single software vendor to a new, even so the basic logic will make use of combining item, location, quantity, unit of measure, and order information to ascertain best places to stock, the best places to pick, and what sequence to accomplish these operations.

For a minimum amount, a WMS should: Have a very flexible location system.

Utilize user-defined parameters to direct warehouse tasks and apply live documents to operate these tasks.

Involve some built-in a higher level integration with data collection devices.

Do you require WMS?

Only a few warehouse uses a WMS. Certainly any warehouse may need a number of the functionality but is the benefit great enough to warrant the primary and continuing costs associated with WMS? Warehouse Management Systems are big, complex, data intensive, applications. They have a tendency to require lots of initial setup, many system resources to own, and lots of ongoing data management to keep to own. That's right, you'll want to "manage" your warehouse "management" system. In many cases, large operations find yourself creating a new IS department with the sole responsibility of handling the WMS.

The Claims: WMS will reduce inventory!

WMS will reduce labor costs!

WMS will increase storage capacity!

WMS raises customer support!

WMS increases inventory accuracy!

The veracity: The implementation of your WMS coupled with automated data collection may supply you with increases in accuracy, decrease in labor costs (provided the labor required to maintain the method is lower than the labor saved around the warehouse floor), and also a greater ability to service the customer by reduction of cycle times. Expectations of inventory reduction and increased storage capacity are more unlikely. While increased accuracy and efficiencies from the receiving process may lower the level of safety stock required, the outcome of the reduction will probably be negligible when compared with overall inventory levels.The predominant factors that control inventory levels are lot sizing, lead times, and demand variability. It really is unlikely that your WMS will have a significant effect on some of these factors. Although a WMS certainly provides the tools for additional organized storage which can bring about increased storage capacity, this improvement will probably be when compared with the best way sloppy your pre-WMS processes were.

Beyond labor efficiencies, the determining factors in choosing to implement a WMS are usually more often from the should do something to service your customers your current system isn't going to support (or does not support well) for example first-in-first-out, cross-docking, automated pick replenishment, wave picking, lot tracking, yard management, automated data collection, automated material handling equipment, etc.

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