Phases of Implementation in Warehouse Management System
The management of a warehouse involves dealing with the receipt, storage, movement of goods within a physical warehouse, and the associated transactions of the goods. To effectively manage a warehouse, it is essential to have the knowledge of controlling inventory, warehousing systems, management of transport and order, and calculations for optimizing storage and efficient accounting system.
Implementing a Warehouse Management System
The logic behind any WMS software is all about the directed movement of units before setting up the substantial warehouse system. It involves assigning a certain logic to the different combinations of all elements of a warehouse, item, order, quantity, location, and information in the right sequence.
Expectations and Motivations.
The first phase in implementing a new warehouse management system is to set different expectations and motivations from all parties involved in the management. Stakeholders expect that the new WMS is easy to implement and yields a quick result in terms of Return On Investment (ROI). Warehouse managers expect it to be user-friendly, making their job easier and eliminates ineffective and bad practices in the warehouse. Also, the staffs expect their job to become easier and more accurate as well, with better job security. An efficient WMS will be installed in such a way that it caters for all level of the organization and makes the process of transitioning adaptable.
Risk reduction
The next phase is ensuring that the WMS is effective in assessing and minimizing the variety of risks that may arise from the implementation. The more experienced the installation team handling the project is, the more the project is protected from unexpected risks.
Business review
When the planning is done properly, this phase becomes easy. All in all, the implementation schedule should be made flexible to allow for space and time in handling unexpected events.
Implementation schedule
Nearly 30 percent of perishable items are destroyed during transit across the globe. That is a significant financial hit on the business. According to UNFAO, most of this damage is caused by unregulated temperatures and poor storage conditions. IoT monitored consignments can reduce this transit damage and ensure that more perishables can reach their destination unharmed and on time.
Team Building
The teams required are the implementation team and the team of the installation executives. The level of understanding between the teams can determine if the whole WMS will succeed or fail. Hence, the team members should be selected with prudence.
Design and customization
The warehouse management system should be designed with the business review and minimum customization. This makes the future of the WMS flexible as it will be easy to take a step backward if things don't go as planned.
Training
While designing and customizing, users of the system should be trained. Although it may be time-consuming, it is very essential. Proper training makes it easier for them to adapt the new WMS as it gives them the ability to effectively and efficiently operate the new system.
Data Transfer
Transfer of warehouse data is another important part of the implementation of a new Warehouse Management System. It basically involves the transfer and at times, modification of the old warehouse data to perfectly work on the new WMS.
Testing
This is carried out using the actual warehouse data to determine how well the newly installed WMS will perform. Here, testing is done to detect if there are any bugs in the system, and if so, a solution is provided.
Deployment
After all tests and moderations have been done, what is left is to deploy the system. A date is set and full operation of the new WMS starts.
Support
During the course of working with the recently implemented WMS, some issues that weren’t addressed during the phases of implementation develops. Support from the warehouse client service that installed the system is essential to provide a solution to such issues. When the planning is done properly, this phase becomes easy. All in all, the implementation schedule should be made flexible to allow for space and time in handling unexpected events.