5 Ways a WMS Can Drive Business Growth

What Does a Warehouse Management System Do?

A warehouse management system, or WMS, helps companies manage their warehouses and inventory. It is a software solution that allows companies to improve efficiency and automate manual processes.

A WMS provides a centralized repository of information about your products, including their location in the warehouse, when they arrived, who received them, what condition they’re in, how much inventory you have on hand, and more. You can then use this data to make informed business decisions — like which products are selling well or which ones need attention. The information can give you an edge over competitors who don’t use a WMS!

Five WMS Benefits That Drive Growth

While it might seem like large retailers are the only ones who benefit from this technology, smaller businesses can gain plenty too. Here are just a few benefits you’ll notice once you implement a WMS in your operation:

Improved Inventory Management

Inventory management is the first step toward improving warehouse efficiency. By inventory management, we mean complete inventory control from receipt to shipping. That said, the nature of warehouses means that stock is always in motion. Things travel in numerous directions, whether coming in, being stored, or leaving, which can make the management process complex.

To ensure you store the right products and reduce shortages, tracking which products have the fastest turnover is essential. However, tracking the whereabouts of each and every product in your warehouse at any given time can be a monumental task, and losing track can be costly to your organization.

A WMS enables you to locate and retrieve products quickly. Even better, it gives you a gateway to view your product data, allowing you to see when and how quickly stock is being sold, so you can anticipate customer needs!

Expedited Inventory Turnover

Not having complete visibility and a full understanding of your inventory puts you at risk of carrying too much or too little stock. This can result in lower cash flow and backorders, irritating your consumers and damaging your business’ reputation.

A robust warehouse management system can significantly enhance inventory management and accelerate inventory turnover by eliminating costly manual activities such as re-keying data into different systems or manually transferring data between multiple applications. Additionally, a WMS can assist in cutting lead times by minimizing inventory movement and enhancing record accuracy, lowering the demand for safety stock.

With a WMS, you can manage your warehouse’s operations by accelerating throughput with accurate planning so that you know how much product to stock at any given time. This added information to your operation will allow you to reduce deadstock and shelf life in your warehouse, minimizing overhead cost, allowing you to pass on savings to your satisfied customers.

Enhanced Customer Support and Satisfaction

Customer support and satisfaction are imperative for any successful business. If your customers are not happy with your products or services, their experience with your company will be less than satisfactory. A WMS can significantly improve the way you interact with your customers.

A WMS reduces inventory paperwork by allowing reports, help tickets, and packing lists to be stored electronically. Electronic storage ensures accurate data entry, so product availability is precise and always known. In turn, a WMS provides customers with more realistic delivery dates and reduces complaints about missing items in their orders.

A WMS gives you complete visibility into every part of your warehouse operations. This visibility generates significant insight into operational performance throughout each step of the order fulfillment process. Equipped with this insight, you and your employees can make adjustments where needed, which helps improve overall customer service by expediting operations from the order through delivery. This can result in satisfied customers returning for more and recommending your products to new leads!

Optimized Warehouse Space

Running a successful warehousing enterprise necessitates ample storage space. With companies increasingly outsourcing their warehousing and distribution needs, equipping your facility with enough room to keep up with the demand is vital.

A WMS can help you organize your inventory so that you can optimize space in your warehouse. Warehouse optimization will make it easier for employees to locate items and improve the visibility of inventory levels at any given time. An effective WMS will also reduce inventory holding expenses by allowing users to search for products based on receiving assembly points or packing stations. This can help them determine when something should arrive at each location to meet its sell-by-date requirements or ship-date demands. Your optimized warehouse space can even be the first step in your plan to expand your product line!

Increased Workplace Productivity

Though it is last on this list, increasing workplace productivity is one of the biggest benefits a WMS can bring to your organization. Minor difficulties such as obsolete or inefficient methods and lack of employee enthusiasm will likely generate an unproductive warehousing business. A warehouse management system can help build on current procedures and practices to boost efficiency. Your WMS will help your team optimize their workflow, increase productivity, and minimize time spent on inventory management, picking, and packing. A WMS gives your team the tools they need to excel, turning their daily operations into efficient and measurable processes.

A WMS Solves Problems For You

Thanks to technological advancement, modern distribution strategies are now employed around the globe, with warehouse management systems assisting in resolving many of the significant difficulties that businesses face today. From inadequate inventory management to poor customer service, a WMS will help your organization overcome countless issues, proving to be a valuable first step toward developing a stronger operation.

Closing Considerations

A WMS is the key to meeting your goals for business growth. With it, you can increase productivity and efficiency, meet supply chain demands, improve inventory turnover, lower costs, and gain invaluable insights into how your warehouse operates. Best of all, it reduces overall complexity by streamlining processes across multiple channels.

We hope you learned a lot about the benefits of a warehouse management system and how it can help your business grow. Contact us today if you’re ready to learn more about what a WMS can do for your business! Learn more about how we can help you take your first step in growing your business today!