What is a Warehouse Management System: Modernize Your Distribution Operations

This post was updated in September 2023.

If you make it or move it, you understand the challenges distributors face.

You understand incorrect data, lost time, inaccurate shipments, and unhappy customers. Losing money because returns are too expensive to process. Software that can’t produce meaningful reports, so you can’t make informed decisions. Not enough insight for good inventory management.

It’s time to get organized.

Vision33’s Carl Lewis hosted a webinar featuring Rosi Coronado, solution advisor with Boyum IT, a global award-winning SAP Business One development house.

Rosi explained why distributors recognize the importance of a warehouse management system (WMS) to overcome industry challenges, adapt to uncertain economic conditions, and navigate a chaotic global supply chain.

What is a Warehouse Management System?

A Warehouse Management System (WMS) is a combination of software and processes that enable organizations to control and administer warehouse operations from the time goods or materials enter a warehouse until they move out.

What does a WMS do?

Warehouses are central to manufacturing and supply chain operations as they store all materials used or produced, ranging from raw materials to finished goods.

The primary purpose of a WMS is to ensure the efficient and cost-effective movement of goods and materials through warehouses. Functions of a WMS include inventory tracking, picking, receiving, and putaway. It offers visibility into an organization's inventory at any given time and location, be it within a facility or in transit.

Benefits of a Warehouse Management System

Implementing a WMS can lead to reduced labor costs, improved inventory accuracy, enhanced flexibility and responsiveness, decreased errors in picking and shipping, and better customer service.

Modern WMSes operate with real-time data, allowing organizations to manage up-to-date information on activities like orders, shipments, and goods movement.

A WMS can crush your distribution challenges by:

• Optimizing warehouse space to avoid empty or underused aisles, bin locations, and shelves
• Lowering warehouse operation costs
• Considering parameters like fast- and slow-running products, product ownership, batches, and shelf life
• Streamlining inbound, internal, and outbound logistics
• Receiving goods, placing them in the appropriate location, moving them internally, and keeping track of their location
• Collecting goods from the correct place and shipping them on time to a valid delivery address
• Organizing products in specific conditions for your industry (e.g., temperature-, hazard-, batch-, or value-related)
• Eliminating paper and delivering up-to-the-second data for smarter decisions

Learn More

Watch the on-demand webinar to learn more, including how a WMS helped businesses like yours. You’ll also get five easy tips for getting organized and improving accuracy.

It’s the only 30 minutes you’ll need to understand how a WMS will help your business!