Key factors to improve your logistics with a WMS

If your organization is thinking of renewing its WMS or implementing this tool for the first time to optimize the management of its warehouses and distribution centers, this article will help you take into account key factors for your decision.

When any technology has been poorly conceived or is being mismanaged, this is not only noticeable to the company, but also to its customers, suppliers and strategic partners. Delays in the dispatch of goods, long lines of trucks waiting to be supplied, the decentralization of its operation, and the abundance of manual processes in the warehouses, are some of the challenges that organizations face in terms of their logistics operation.

We have to take into account the global picture. We are seeing how investments in technology are increasing by about 30% for 2023 and the next few years. Companies need to gain greater real-time visibility into all areas of the business, including warehouses, to improve their decision making and anticipate changes in the market that will not affect their operations.

"Many companies are faced with the need to be more agile, efficient, sustainable and productive, in a market that is increasingly digital and demands immediacy."

A WMS (Warehouse Management System) is a vital tool for companies that operate warehouses, since it significantly improves the execution of inventory movements, increases accuracy and timeliness in all tasks, and even optimizes information tracking and reporting. This provides flexibility to the company, saves costs and significantly strengthens the control of the operation.

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What should you consider when choosing a WMS for your company?

The main thing is to be clear that this is a transformation process, not only of the tools, but also of your entire operation, including your human resources. By implementing this type of solutions, the goal is to streamline processes, have better inventory traceability, and learn to optimize current resources to do much more, thanks to automation.

However, there are other key aspects to consider in your selection process:

• A WMS must be easy to use and implement.

  Remember that the digital transformation process starts with people, and your warehouse team must become familiar with the tool. Make sure that simple, repetitive tasks are easy to program and execute in the WMS. Also, make sure that area managers can easily access the information and get real-time summaries.

• Choose a flexible WMS to support your growth

  Your warehouse and/or distribution center operations may change over time. It is important that the WMS you choose has the ability to keep up with that growth, and provide you with the tools your company needs to maintain control of your SKUs, categories, high volume of orders per day and multiple locations, no matter how large that demand is.

• Monitor the quality of your data

  Implementing a WMS is a task that must be done with full awareness, and for this the data with which it is fed, plays a fundamental role to allow automation and other benefits provided by this tool.

  This data that you enter for the first time will be the starting point to subsequently master your operation, even allowing you to understand what processes should be established to take care of the quality of the data you enter on a daily basis.

• Think of a WMS as an investment

  These types of technologies are enablers. They will allow you to increase the efficiency of your operation, and therefore its performance. At the beginning, focusing only on cost, without considering the variables mentioned above, can lead the company to choose a platform that is not fit for the future of the operation. Nowadays, even these types of solutions are 100% cloud-based, which significantly reduces the cost of the software and its maintenance.

• A WMS is a long-term ally

  Finally, choose a WMS that you envision in the next 10 years at least, being part of your operation. It must be a tool that is flexible and robust enough to serve your current customer, but also the customer of the future, who will be more demanding than the current one.

  There is no doubt that companies around the world are facing the challenge of becoming more agile, and this has led them to reinvent even their production processes. New technologies available on the market, such as Komodin's iWMS, are designed to accompany you in the process and help you build a stronger, more efficient and customer satisfaction-oriented operation.

Your company can reach the next level

ENX Group offers you experience, innovation and commitment to meet your company's needs and take you to the next level. Request your Komodin iWMS demo by contacting info@grupoenx.com.