Warehouse management at the heart of the Supply Chain

Demand for seamless services which support supply chain performance improvement is driving warehouse management system (WMS) suppliers to innovate and integrate. New capabilities are being devised that allow users to combine their WMS with upstream and downstream processes to deliver cost savings through reduced human intervention and greater automation.

Modern warehousing is about real time operational flexibility and added value. Efficient utilisation of space remains important but performance is now measured more by stock turn rates than racking occupancy. Better processes reduce costs by eliminating errors and removing wasteful tasks. The trend has always been to maximising stock availability. Advanced WMS such as Empirica from Chess support rapid throughputs which minimise inventory or capital tied up in the warehouse. Storing more in the same space, handling it more efficiently, improving data accuracy, keeping it for shorter periods and making sure it reaches its destination when required are the benchmarks of successful supply chains.

The most advanced solutions interface warehouse management with other supply chain technology. When Chess upgraded the WMS for kitchenware supplier Meyer Prestige the result was a highly productive integration of business planning, stock control, order picking, sortation and conveyor systems which created a seamless distribution environment geared towards efficiency, accuracy and responsiveness. Staff only walk 70m to pick an order compared with 850m in the old warehouse. Picking capacity increased from 2000 to 6000 cartons a day with fewer errors.

Improved picking efficiency is a key objective. Voice based solutions are now established enablers of ultra high picking accuracy that promote the better first time pick rates which mean fewer missed orders and returns. More orders are fulfilled on schedule and less product ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time. One Chess customer reduced picking errors by 50 per cent following the introduction of wireless voice controlled order picking, reduced costs, eliminated vast amounts of paper and improved allocation of resources.

An industrial products supplier implemented a novel combination of Empirica and automated storage and retrieval systems. Picking is managed by Empirica which interfaces with RF terminals and the storage system to synchronise and direct the movement of items to the picking face in the correct sequence. A laser pointer highlights the location of items so that staff can identify them quickly and easily. The customer predicts it will improve overall picking productivity and accuracy and reduce resource utilisation by around one third. Another Chess customer producing industrial chemicals adopted Empirica to improve inventory management, order picking and data accuracy. It has introduced batch traceability and created direct links between inventory and other business systems for the first time to enhance service to customers.

RFID is another enabling technology growing in popularity. This offers the prospect of tracking specific items through the supply chain and adding value with processes based on the data storage and interaction capabilities of the tags. RFID is supported by Empirica but it must be understood that the technology is simply an information enabler. How the information is processed is what matters and that comes down to the WMS and wider enterprise systems.

Current WMS trends are clearly towards greater integration while at the same time introducing new facilities to support innovation. This includes, but is not limited to, widening the scope of the WMS to support more efficient route planning and vehicle loading to help maximise the performance of the delivery fleet. The use of the WMS to support resource planning and scheduling is becoming increasingly important, for example to balance picking rotas or accommodate flexible working practices.

Placing warehouse management at the heart of the supply chain also increases the importance of its performance. This is why Chess believes a specialist application is superior to the functionality supported by even the best ERP systems.

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