The Future of Warehouse Management: How WMS Solutions Are Changing the Game
Published on 20 April 2023
As a senior warehouse manager, you know that it can be difficult to spot the real game-changers out of all the ephemeral industry trends. Undoubtedly, at this point, you’ve already realized that “Industry 4.0” and the “Industrial Internet of Things” (IIoT) are far more than mere buzzwords. Leaders in your industry have been leveraging interconnected technology solutions to fuel their success. If your company is to maintain its competitive edge in the years to come, you just cannot ignore the operational and financial advantages unlocked by the new technology solutions on the market.
We’ve all seen it: warehouse management has evolved significantly in recent years. Central to that evolution is the latest breed of Warehouse Management Systems (WMS). The modern WMS is redefining what companies can achieve in the warehouse by automating and transforming how goods are being moved. From receiving to putaway to picking to packing and shipping, best-of-breed WMS solutions are helping companies optimize their storage capacity, maximize their employees’ output, and unlock new efficiencies that dramatically cut their costs.
Below, we briefly discuss the growing importance of WMS solutions in today's warehousing landscape. We also take a closer look at how the SOLOCHAIN WMS, and other SCE solutions marketed by Generix Group, are contributing to the evolution of warehouse management practices.
How WMS Solutions Have Become a Necessity in Today's Warehousing Landscape
The global rise of eCommerce and the post-pandemic reshaping of global trade initiatives have been transformative. If you add to that persistent labor shortages, you can easily understand why supply chains have become more complex and difficult to manage. As a result, companies have been forced to rethink their warehouse management strategies.
Being able to rely on warehouse management best practices is no longer a luxury that only a select few can afford. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say that it’s become a necessity. Businesses looking to compete and grow must adopt better, and more efficient methods to keep track of inventory and move goods efficiently across their network. In order to do that, distributors, manufacturers, and retailers need to implement the right technology solutions.
Thankfully, SCE and WMS providers like Generix Group are marketing innovative solutions that are pushing back the boundaries of what can be achieved in the warehouse.
Key Benefits of WMS Solutions
Increased efficiency and productivity – The SOLOCHAIN WMS/MES by Generix Group is a WMS solution that automates and streamlines all essential warehouse processes to increase an operation’s overall efficiency. While it’s not all companies that can justify a fully automated environment (not everyone is an Amazon or Ocado), none can thrive in today’s markets without a certain level of automation. Read this short blog to find out more about how a WMS like SOLOCHAIN can unlock the power of automation you need in your facility.
Improved inventory accuracy and visibility – To make the most of what you have, you must rely on an accurate and detailed picture of just what it is you actually have—yesterday’s data is simply not good enough to plan successful tomorrows. The SOLOCHAIN WMS/MES, by Generix Group, gives operators real-time visibility into their inventory across their entire network. Such visibility is a necessary condition to ensure that you never over-promise, never waste space on slow-moving SKUs, never suffer from unnecessary inventory shrinkage, and maximize your current storage capacity by implementing warehouse management best practices.
Streamlined operations and reduced labor costs – A best-of-breed WMS like the SOLOCHAIN solution developed by Generix Group enables you to automate processes and design optimized workflows that fully streamline the movement of goods in your end-to-end supply chain. SOLOCHAIN also enables the implementation of task interleaving and advanced picking methods, strategies that maximize employee productivity and thereby minimizes your labor costs.
The Future of Warehouse Management and WMS Solutions
You’d have to be living under a rock to ignore how Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have become all the rage. Unsurprisingly, those technologies are now also playing significant roles in warehouse management. And it’s not just a trend: emerging technology is already reshaping how companies manage their supply chain, right down to aisles and SKU locations in their warehouse. These advancements enable warehouse management professionals to make data-driven decisions, optimize workflows, and predict potential issues before they occur.
But that’s just the thing: Artificial Intelligence and machine learning processes cannot perform adequately if they do not rely on a reliable source of truth. Without accurate and constantly updated data, there’s very little to expect, in terms of intelligence, from AI and other such applications.
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In a nutshell: WMS solutions like SOLOCHAIN are a necessary component of today’s warehousing tech stack.
Not only does the SOLOCHAIN WMS/MES provide the highest levels of inventory accuracy, but the WMS solution is also built on a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) designed to facilitate its integration with other applications in your software architecture. This makes SOLOCHAIN a WMS solution that is perfectly aligned with the evolution of warehousing technology.
How to Choose the Right WMS Solution for Your Business
There’s a whole lot to consider when setting out to identify and select a new WMS. Of course, you’ll want to gather your requirements, list your use cases, identify gaps in your operation that the WMS is to help you bridge, etc. A good first step is to draft a solid RFP for WMS—if you’re not sure how to proceed, you can use this RFP template developed by experts at Generix Group.
Keep in mind that a WMS is a long-term investment, one that you’re not likely to renew in the next 8 to 10 years. The solution should therefore be able to scale as you grow. Your WMS should offer a maximum of flexibility going forward: the more configurable a solution proves to be, the more likely it is to adapt with success to your growing requirements.
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In recent years, the SOLOCHAIN WMS/MES has been setting the bar in terms of WMS flexibility and has been repeatedly identified in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for WMS as a leader in terms of configurability and adaptability.
By the same token, you’ll want to make sure that the WMS provider you select fully understands your business, your industry, and your objectives. Given the supporting role they’ll be playing in your company’s future, you should think of a WMS provider as a business partner[OM1]: make sure that your values and strategies are well aligned, and that there’s a good cultural fit between their business and yours.
Conclusion
It’s impossible to overstate the importance of the role that WMS solutions will play in the future of warehouse management. With a WMS like SOLOCHAIN and a business partner like Generix Group, you will revolutionize your warehouse operations and accelerate your business’ success.
About Generix Group North America
At Generix Group North America, we provide a series of solutions within our Supply Chain Hub product suite to create efficiencies across your entire supply chain. Our solutions are in use around the world and our experience is second-to-none.
We invite you to contact us to learn more.
Download our Guide to the Warehouse of the Future
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