WMS keeps the bottom line black

BY LARRY MURPHY
Special to The Wholesaler

The primary goal of any warehouse operation is to ship the right product to the right place at the right time. Sounds simple. For most warehouse operations however, this process would not be possible without a Warehouse Management System, a powerful software solution designed specifically to control the movement and storage of materials and products within a warehouse.

It is true that not all warehouse environments require a WMS to function optimally, but many do. For these companies, implementing a system that provides multiple functionalities can greatly streamline the overall supply chain process by significantly improving current operating procedures and, in the long run, enhancing inventory and shipping accuracy, increasing labor productivity, reducing operating costs and boosting overall revenue.

At its basic level, a WMS should be flexible, and have the ability to integrate additional data collection devices and manage warehouse traffic protocols via defined guidelines for receiving, storing and shipping materials.

For BP Industries, a well-known distributor of home goods, incorporating a WMS into its existing warehouse operations made a substantial difference in staff productivity and shipping efficiency. The company, which is headquartered in Ontario, Calif., selected Vormittag Associates Inc. (www.VAI.net) as its WMS solution provider. VAI is a nationally recognized leader in the supply chain and WMS industry and specializes in Enterprise Resource Planning solutions. VAI’s S2K Enterprise for WMS automates the picking and shipping process so that distributors can locate and pick items efficiently and accurately. After evaluating various WMS options, BP Industries selected S2K to stabilize its warehouse environment, handle large volume transactions and remain scalable for its aggressive future growth initiatives.

Before adding a WMS to its current operating routine, BP Industries had difficulties with its picking process, due to the placement of too many disparate items or pallets into one bin. This significantly slowed the inventory replenishing and cycle counting process-ultimately affecting the company’s ability to provide accurate inventory counts and on time product delivery. Today, with VAI’s new integrated WMS solution, BP Industries’ warehouse employees use a software program that allows selective picking, cutting down on missed picks and creating significantly fewer mistakes thanks to the real-time inventory data that S2K provides.

Linda Misquitta, administration manager at BP Industries, said, “The picking process is so much faster now. Accuracy and efficiency permeate our warehouse operations to include everything from receiving, putting away, picking and processing. Thanks to our comprehensive WMS, any operation we do now takes less than a quarter of the time it used to take prior to having the WMS system in place.”

Implementing a WMS can be an overwhelming task, but manufacturers and distributors alike recognize that warehouse operations run more efficiently when processes are fully automated and integrated. In fact, a comprehensive WMS is an important component to attaining and preserving profitability, while accurately monitoring inventory levels is essential to achieving bottom line results.

Just ask Java City, which has been using a WMS for over 11 years. This California-based company is a large volume distributor of specialty coffee and coffee-related products. Before implementing a WMS, Java City used a paper-based tracking system, which greatly slowed its overall warehouse operating processes. Company executives knew that it needed an automated solution to provide greater precision.

Today, Java City’s operations are efficient and effective. With VAI’s S2K WMS keeping an electronic trail of materials -- no guesswork is involved. Since it is critical to know, in real-time, exactly where specific product is located within the warehouse, and to know how much inventory remains on hand, Java City uses radio frequency guns to update inventory levels automatically. With WMS software, once an item is scanned into the system, a warehouse employee can go directly to a computer terminal to make sure the transaction was entered correctly. This new process has greatly diminished the time it takes for materials to reach the warehouse dock. What used to take several hours, now only requires mere minutes.

For Java City, or any warehouse operation, shipping the correct products to the right location are key to making customers happy. Experienced warehouse managers understand that “miss picks,” or picking the wrong item, is a common occurrence that can significantly slow the overall product movement process. Prior to its shift to an rf system, Java City averaged approximately 136 miss picks a month out of 5,000 orders. Now, with the help of a WMS, Java City has improved order accuracy, streamlined operations, and increased shipping speeds. Currently, the company processes about 6,000 orders a month with only about eight miss picks.

With S2K, Java City has grown dramatically thanks to increased efficiency and productivity. The WMS solution logs everything, from when it comes out of the truck to when it reaches the customers. The system tells users what inventory was pulled, who picked it, who packed it and which driver delivered it.

As mentioned before, not every warehouse requires a WMS, but many times large warehouse facilities can greatly benefit from the feature-rich capabilities this type of software solution offers, which are meant to simplify and streamline the operating processes. For example, Waytek Inc., a wiring materials supply company based in Chanhassen, Minn., uses a WMS to improve overall efficiency, enhance inventory access and improve shipping speeds.

Waytek uses VAI’s WMS to move orders out to customers in shorter amounts of time. The software helps sort materials on a conveyor system, quickly moving them down to shipping. Orders that used to take more then a day to fulfill are now processed in about an hour. The advantage of VAI’s WMS is that several employees can work on the same order at the same time -- greatly improving order fulfillment speeds.

Bob Lamoreaux, president of Waytek, said, “Our warehouse picking accuracy runs at around 99% and our throughput processing time has increased as well. What used to take about five hours, now takes a little less than an hour.”
Implementing a WMS into existing operations is an investment in both time and money. While these powerful solutions can require a lengthy installation period, the return on investment is well worth the time and cost.

Again, WMS implementations often yield measurable improvements in inventory control and customer order fulfillment. It is not uncommon to experience inventory precision levels of greater than 99%, enabling companies to maintain optimal inventory levels without incurring the expenses associated with carrying unnecessary stock. A comprehensive WMS can track customer orders in precise detail. The aVAIlability of such information enhances quality control and customer service capabilities. Deliveries are more accurate and timely as well. In fact, virtually every aspect of a business can benefit from a WMS implementation including accounting, production, warehousing, distribution and manufacturing. Simply, a quality WMS solution can help boost the bottom line-now what business couldn’t benefit from that?

For more details, visit www.VAI.net.