Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) Software

What Is Warehouse Management System Software?

As supplies move through the warehouse, managers must track inventory and ensure that products are picked and put away in a productive and expedient manner. A warehouse management system (WMS) helps users improve the efficiency of these inventory control operations.

WMS software should provide managers with the tools they need to analyze stock and makes plans for inventory movement or replenishment. Used alongside a transportation management system, WMS software serves as a critical part of an overall supply chain management system. To see additional product reviews and comparisons, visit our Warehouse Management Systems Guide.

WMS Features & Functionality

The core functionality of most warehouse management systems is geared toward helping managers guide inventory through receiving, putaway, picking, packing, and shipping. Most systems offer the ability to use advanced tracking systems, such as auto ID data capture (AIDC), barcode scanners, or radio-frequency identification (RFID), to ensure that inventory putaway is logged correctly. As for picking, a variety of options like zone picking, wave picking, and batch picking provide managers with greater flexibility. Once items have been packed, the software can send advanced shipment notifications (ASN) to notify other warehouses of pending deliveries. In the midst of this ongoing activity, the software can help managers account for stored inventory through procedures like cycle counting, which counts a different subset of inventory each day.

Consider the following features of WMS software:

Evaluating WMS Software

Since the whole point of a WMS is to reduce spending, buyers should focus first and foremost on the total cost of ownership when choosing WMS software. Fortunately, vendors have become more competitive in this area, just as they are competing on functionality and, more recently, application architecture configurability. Each vendor will claim that their software provides more opportunities to expand on out-of-the-box functionality than their competitors. Systems that can truly offer the most advanced functionality, optional features for specific vertical markets, configurable architecture, and competitive cost of ownership will have the greatest chance of winning over buyers.

Specific questions to ask when selecting WMS software include:

• Does the system offer industry-specific functionality for the unique needs of your operation? If not, can it be configured to meet those needs?
• Will a new WMS system provide the necessary cross-functionality with your existing logistics solutions (transportation management, order fulfillment, etc.) to manage your end-to-end processes (i.e. order to cash)?
• Do you want an on-premise, client/server-based deployment, or is your organization interested in exploring web-based deployment opportunities?
• Will the user interface be accessible and easy-to-learn for less experienced staff members?
• If your operation focuses on the immediate shipment of newly arrived inventory, will the system provide you with the necessary cross-docking functionality?