March 19, 2020 
One of the most challenging aspects of any commercial enterprise is the systematic management of its inventory.
Any glitch in the inventory management may lead to lost sales for retailers due to the unavailability of stock or blocking of money in the excess stock, which remains unsold. It is worse for start-ups and growing businesses.
Most of the growing enterprises have a separate team of professionals specialised in logistics to look after the warehouses so that the demand and supply balance is maintained in favour of the organisation and funds can be saved by creating accurate products.
Benefits of Warehouse Management System
With the advent of technology, now the task is taken over by specially designed application software. A warehouse management system is a software that helps to manage the day-to-day operations in a warehouse.
A WMS maintains a record of the inventories in the warehouse, guides its receiving, and put-away. It also optimises picking and shipping of orders and indicates when fresh inventory is needed. The WMS may be a Cloud-based, ERP module, or stand-alone system.
Earlier, the functions of Warehouse Management System were limited to maintaining the record of the stock and its storage information. Now the functions have increased manifold. Not only does it keeps a record of the stock but also assists in complex activities such as coordinating advanced interaction with material handling devices, trace ordered products within the warehouse etc.
While these advantages are largely talked about, various other benefits of Warehouse Management System are hardly acknowledged ever.
The less talked about Advantages
Improved Customer Service
An efficiently managed Warehouse Management System helps minimise accuracy errors that are most likely to be occurred by humans. Accuracy ensures a smooth flow of commodity that leads to customer satisfaction.
It helps strengthen the relationship between all the members of the consumer value chain by effectively managing the inventory and its location. It never lets an out-of-stock situation arise. It is the efficiency of the process that reduces friction between the company and the suppliers, even customers.
A sense of value in improving operations
Because of the Warehouse Management System, the workspace gets more organised and systematic. This structural support helps to boost the morale of the employees. They feel better directed and hence more clear regarding their assigned roles. They get better autonomy and accuracy in their respected jobs.
With clearly defined jobs, it is easier for the management to access the efficiency of employees and give suggestive measures to the defaulters. It leads to a good competitive spirit among the employees in the warehouse.
Tighter Purchasing Procedures
An effective WMS helps reduce wastage by prioritising commodities for packaging. It offers a simplified way to monitor just-in-time inventory, improves record accuracy and enables appropriate demand planning. This is very important especially in the case of perishable goods such as milk, vegetables, other eatables etc.
The most costly component of a warehouse is the staff. With accurate estimations, the organisation can economise on the employees. The more effective the people, the more volume of goods can be pushed out and fewer people have to be allocated to each part of the supply chain. Accurate estimations help reduce the cost and increase the operating margins of people.
Reduced Floor Space
With a precise estimation through Warehouse Management System, the warehouse can be exploited to the fullest from product placement to the overall footprint. It helps in better optimisation and utilisation of the floor space.
It enables users to get a complete insight into slotting and pulling of orders, offering them a clear understanding of the actual need for the inventory.
With realistic figures, the on-hand inventory cost is reduced thereby bringing down the space cost. This reduces the overall expenditure of the business consequently increasing profits of the scheme.
Better Security
advanced tracking of the WMS effectively keeps meticulous records of the inventory.With factual records, the accountability of individuals in the warehouse increases. This helps in avoiding pilferage, shrinkage and other similar losses.
An on-point Warehouse Management System facilitates an audit trial that ties transactions to a specific worker. In addition, when supplier has access to their inventory use, they can plan better. Similarly, the customer service team can also handle problems more efficiently.
Reduced checking and faster deliveries
An unerring record by the WMS will help economise on time by reducing multiple checks of the inventory. It expedites faster deliveries by cutting down business’s shipping times by integrating order fulfilment, shipping and carrier management system.
By automating the records, the enterprise can accelerate the process and save time. Fast express deliveries help win the confidence of customers and boost sales turnover.
Continuous Optimization
With up-to-date records, an organisation at any time may access its progress and measure its performance against the goals. With the help of the data provided by Warehouse Management System, the enterprise can locate problem areas and introduce reforms. It helps to keep a check on the quality of operations.
The software offers multiple picking algorithms from which the firm can choose the one which is likely to give an optimal result. The methods offered are wave, discrete, zone and branch. There is also an option to optimise the layout of the warehouse.
Decisions based on Facts
A powerful Warehouse Management System integrates the inventory availability and sales channels which ensures that all the data is real-time. This helps in identification of possible inventory issues.
The decision thus made are data driven and responsive. It highlights training errors that need rectification which helps the organisation to avoid bigger glitches.
Wrapping Up
We see that Warehouse Management System has become an inevitable tool in almost all growing business organisations for the smooth flow of goods through the consumer value chain.
Also, a well-designed Warehouse Management Software helps better the overall productivity of the organisation and reduce time and cost which can be utilised elsewhere.
However, finding the software that would be the best fit for the business requires careful planning and a good technical understanding of the organisation.
