Adding value inside the four walls
Bob Trebilcock, Editor-at-Large -- Modern Materials Handling, 12/1/2004
Many users will begin building their supply chain execution suite by adding applications that optimize the flow of goods inside the four walls of the warehouse. Here’s what that expanded list includes.
Labor management extends a WMS beyond managing the work of receiving, putaway, picking, packing and shipping. An add-on labor management package takes that to the next level by managing the work to engineered labor standards. Dynamic slotting applications determine the best place in the warehouse to store inventory for the most efficient picking based on order requirements and demand for those products. Depending on the industry, some users, like video and DVD distributors, reslot their facilities weekly. Others do it a few times a year. Performance management tools provide a dashboard, or window, into the warehouse using key performance indicators that are customized for that facility. They provide managers with a view of what’s actually happening in the facility at any given time versus what’s supposed to happen. This gives management the opportunity to take corrective action if a bottleneck occurs and workers fall behind the plan. Weighing and cubing applications are used to collect the dimension and weight of individual products. That allows users to optimize space during receiving and putaway operations. That information is also used to pick the appropriate size box for an item to fill an order and to figure the correct shipping weight for parcel shipments. These applications might even be used to determine the layout of a warehouse before it’s even built. Load building, like weighing and cubing, determines the best way to build a pallet or load a truck to optimize shipping costs. Returns management automates the receipt, inspection and disposition of returned merchandise.
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