A warehouse management system is essential in e-fulfillment. This WMS, says consultant John Hill, eSYNC, faces the "more complex tasks of tracking and managing the picking of eaches and cases," rather than just pulling unit loads out of pallet rack or bulk storage. Typically, more robust WMS packages are required. More limited packages, Hill adds, tend to be limited to unit load (or pallet) handling operations.

A more robust WMS also can support crossdocking, says Hill, "especially for hot items that are on back order."

Norm Thompson Outfitters, a client of The Progress Group, currently relies upon its legacy WMS for its quick picking tactic (see sidebar below - Quick-picking eaches with WMS support ). But a new vendor-supplied WMS in July will bring added functionality, observes consultant John Janenda. With the new software in place, benefits are expected to include enhanced throughput for peak periods and fewer errors in order processing.

Software also assists the e-commerce facility in collaborating with its supply chain partners. That, in turn, improves order receiving and processing.

"It's extremely important that e-fulfillment centers have the speed and ability to turn orders around quickly," emphasizes eSYNC's Hill. And getting up to speed at the front end of the backroom – in receiving – is vital, he adds.

Just like a star 50-meter sprinter who wins partly because he's far faster out of the starting blocks than competitors, the receiving end of e-fulfillment must be very quick to take in goods and swiftly decide what happens next.

Bar coding inbound shipments is necessary. But so is the ability to partner with suppliers so that they also provide ASNs (advance shipment notices).

"If you can persuade your suppliers to send ASNs," says Hill, there's "tremendous value to the data." The information can be used for improved planning and for scheduling labor and carriers. And, when the goods arrive, inbound processing is faster.

"If I were putting together an e-fulfillment center," Hill says, "I would focus on the fundamentals. I would ensure that my layout and my process flows matched activity profiles. To marry the flows of materials and data, I would implement industry standard bar coding and install a good WMS. Finally, once these tools were in place, I would examine visibility software tools to obtain updates on inbound shipments and to enable my customers to access on-line order status information," says Hill.