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The 6 Key Benefits of a Warehouse Management System

Thanks to innovative developments in technology, modern distribution techniques are now being used worldwide, with warehouse management systems (WMS) helping to solve many of the major challenges that organisations struggle with today. From poor inventory management to bad customer service, a WMS provides an effective solution to counteract such struggles, proving to be a resourceful first step to building a better business.


What is a Warehouse Management System?


A warehouse management system is a software application that supports the day-to-day operations in a warehouse. WMS programs enable centralised management of tasks such as tracking inventory levels and stock locations helping to fix many of the challenges commonly faced by today’s distribution companies.


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 What Are the Benefits of a WMS?


1. Faster Inventory Turnover


The first step in improving the running of your warehouse and thus your business is to improve your inventory management. By inventory management, we mean total control of your inventory, from receiving to shipping.
Without a fundamental understanding and full visibility of your inventory, you face the problem of either carrying too much stock leading to a decreased cash flow or worse, running out of stock resulting in backorders that will most likely make your customers unhappy.
An efficient WMS can vastly improve inventory management, creating a faster inventory turnover. By limiting inventory movement and improving record accuracy, a WMS can help to reduce lead times, reducing the need for safety stock.


2. Enhanced Customer Service


A WMS enables inventory paperwork to be reduced which means reports, pick tickets, move tickets and packing lists can all be maintained electronically. By streamlining processes from order to delivery, product availability can be more accurately determined giving more realistic delivery dates to customer, reducing the level of customer complaints and enhancing your overall customer service.


3. Warehouse Personnel Reduced


A WMS system can mean benefiting from an increased efficiency within your warehouse by standardising inventory movements, picking methods and inventory locations, whilst lowering error rates and reducing training costs. It can also help to optimise stock flow via an automated replenishment system.


4. Better Stock Control


The nature of warehouses means that stock is constantly on the move. Whether it is coming in, being stored or going out, there are goods travelling in multiple directions, which can make the process confusing. We recommend that you track which items of stock have the quickest turnover so that you can store them more efficiently and keep downtime to a minimum.

Tracking each of your product’s whereabouts in your warehouse is a mammoth task and losing track can have costly consequences for your business. A warehouse management system allows you to locate and retrieve goods in an instant. Better still, using a portal allows you to view this information too, so you never lose track of how much stock you have, and you know exactly where it is in your warehouse.


5. Optimised Warehouse Space


Having enough storage space is vital to an effective warehousing operation. Correctly organising your warehouse can maximise the amount of goods that can be stored, for example, using narrow-isle equipment will allow you to place racking closer together.

A warehouse management system is designed to locate items in relation to sell-by date, receiving assembly, packing and shipping points, meaning your inventory holding costs can be lowered.


6. Improved Labour Productivity


A slow, inefficient and unproductive warehousing operation is likely to be caused by a number of smaller issues such as outdated processes and lack of staff motivation. To help increase efficiency, it’s important to develop modern systems and techniques, and a warehouse management system can help with that.

A WMS can help to optimise stock flow by utilising an automated replenishment system to top up pick face stock. Scanned picks provide a seamless link back onto the software and then onto the invoice or transfer note.


Could your Warehouse Operation Be Better?


Vardells comprehensive and feature rich WMS , offers a highly efficient bespoke Warehouse Management System to help businesses save time and increase productivity. Contact us today for more information.