Warehouse Performance Management: THE WAY FORWARD FOR WMS

Today’s marketplaceBest of breed Warehouse Management (WMS) Systems often provide a more robust, comprehensive and flexible storage and distribution solution than their ERP family equivalent. So why do so many organisations adopt a ‘standard’ ERP software application to meet their warehousing needs? Simplicity and ease of integration are often the answer: the attraction of a plug-in inventory control application, and an easy fit with the company’s ERP-centric IT policy. Not so much best of breed, as “better buy” - the safe option.

A better alternative?But it does not have to be that way. More enlightened ERP vendors are now embracing a new wave of Warehouse Performance Management (WPM) technology, whose open flexibility is well suited to the rigorous demands of enterprise-wide IT policy and practice, and the need to support supply chain flexibility and agility - while also maintaining the high performance standards of best in class WMS.

WMS now finds itself in a marketplace where the greater visibility of and interconnectivity within supply chains - and the performance measurement and scrutiny of all their business processes - are seen as corporate imperatives. Performance metrics in the Supply Chain Council’s SCOR model include inventory turns, on-time shipment and delivery, order fulfilment and returns – all of which relate to warehouse performance. Yet despite its high visibility and physical presence, warehousing remains an undervalued area of strategic supply chain planning.

To unlock its full potential a new approach is needed – and we believe that WPM is the answer.

Impact on supply chain performanceWarehouse Performance Management technology allows warehouse operations (processes and workflows) to be continuously and measurably improved in order to enhance supply chain performance. In a WPM environment smart graphical map and KPI (key performance indicator) dashboard technology are used to manage and measure warehouse inventory movement - interactively and in real-time - optimising productivity.

We felt that [a WPM system] would best support the planned optimisation of our warehouse environment. We are moving from an alphanumeric picking and replacement process to a fully automated one. [It] will enable us to streamline and speed the warehouse operation, track its real time performance, view inventory graphically on-screen and share our schedules with larger customers. - MobiletronWarehouse business process improvement can be used to boost overall supply chain performance and cut costs – provided that the relevant WPM database and application interfaces are open and can be integrated with any SCM or ERP system, and provided also that the WPM environment incorporates management metrics that allow the organisation to track its warehouse

performance, in real time, against user-defined warehouse, customer, supply chain and other KPIs. WPM software now allows this type of KPI, ‘performance dashboard’ management tool to be plugged into any ERP, SCM or WMS system.

To save money and boost supply chain efficiency, instant, real time reporting of warehouse productivity levels should include the facility to highlight under-performance issues for immediate attention, as well as successes. Allowing employees to monitor their own performance against that of their fellow team members is both empowering and performance enhancing, while actionable visual information on current and outstanding storage and logistics tasks, performance peaks and troughs will allow management to react quickly to change and to make better informed and faster operational decisions.

Organisations can increase their supply chain performance and profitability by readdressing their warehousing and logistics performance, tracking productivity trends. They should ensure that they have access to accurate, real time and reportable performance information on key business process metrics including warehouse capacity and available space; operator activity monitoring; order demand / throughput monitoring; picking performance; supplier performance; stock availability; and load/dispatch monitoring.

In this way they will be using technology to measure, monitor and better manage their storage and distribution processes – saving time and money.

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Warehousing is a core business process that can be continuously improved. This paper makes the case for Warehouse Performance Management today, and also provides a ‘can do’ vision of future WPM.

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