This month in Modern: Getting more from your WMS
Michael Levans, Group Editorial Director -- Modern Materials Handling, 4/1/2009
It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that warehouse and DC managers are being pinched now more than ever to make the most of the resources they already have.
Countless low-cost projects are currently underway to better optimize floor space, improve pick times, and increase throughput, while logistics teams are working diligently to reorganize their distribution networks to cut shipments and transit times en route to a greener overall supply chain. They're making due with the hand they've been dealt—and, in many cases, with a quarter of the staff.
Actually, it's too bad that it takes a failing economy and a challenging transportation environment to push many supply chain operations to work smarter. You can label the current cost-slashing/emissions-cutting trends any way you like, but a vast majority of the initiatives that are currently under way fall under the umbrella of “smart business.”
In fact, a terrific example of a smart business making the most of its technology investment is John B. Sanfilippo & Son, the maker of Fisher Nuts and this month's cover story. As executive editor Bob Trebilcock points out on page 16, when the company recently opened its new 1.06 million square foot facility it made conventional use of materials handling equipment. However, it unlocked the full breadth of functionally of its warehouse management system (WMS)—a move that's yielding benefits far beyond the warehouse floor.
While its WMS manages inventory and directs warehouse activities as you would expect, the Fisher system also functions like a manufacturing execution system, synchronizing delivery of materials to the manufacturing line. This improved visibility also allows its WMS to act as the foundation of the company's mission-critical allergen and contamination prevention program by helping to better keep track of raw materials.
Fisher's story aligns very well with a recent call from the analyst community for logistics professionals to make better use of their WMS in response to the pull-back on technology spending over the past year. In fact, Greg Aimi of AMR Research is conducting a session on this very subject (“Making the most of your WMS”) on April 30 as part of the 2009 Warehouse/DC Best Practices Virtual Conference (mmh.com/warehousevc), and Trebilcock is working on a similar piece for Modern's May issue.
“Many companies have functionality in their WMS that they've never turned on,” says Trebilcock. And next month he'll be running down a list of functions your current WMS can help you accomplish including improved supplier collaboration, billing, labor management and task interleaving, which eliminates “empty-handed” moves inside the four walls.
Being pinched to cut costs and work smarter? A few of the solutions may already be at your fingertips.
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