Warehousing and Inventory Management - Essay Example

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Any WMS must ensure an effective and efficient management of inventory. A WMS aims at controlling and storing of inventory in the warehouse. This process is closely linked to transactions such as putting away and picking, receiving and shipping.
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WMS also help in directing and optimizing inventory put-away based on real-time information concerning status of bin utilization.
WMS usually make use of data capture facilities such as wireless LANs, RFID, mobile computers, and barcode readers. Data collection is followed by either batch synchronization or wireless transmission to a central database. This can then give useful reports about the status of inventory in the warehouse.
WMSs aim at providing automated procedures of handling receipt and returns of inventory, modelling and managing logical representation of the warehouse, managing inventory within the store and enabling a seamless link to order processing. WMSs help in controlling the movement and storage of materials within a warehouse. They data-track inventory during production and interpret between existing ERP and WMS systems
Warehouse management should be incorporated with the rest of the business to help in streamlining operations, reducing costs and speeding up order fulfilment. Setting up of a criterion to help in guiding the most efficient put away locations, bin quantities, and pick patterns is very vital in warehouse management. Any warehouse management practice should help in reducing bottlenecks and multiple handling. Materials handling information should be input directly from the warehouse to assist in reducing inefficiency and data handling redundancy (Frazelle, 2001).

Pick and pack process in a warehouse should be automatically updated. This ensures accurate and timely fulfilling of orders and quickly responding to status inquiry. The warehouse management should decide on the sophistication level of their management system confidently. It should adapt to new volumes, technologies, products and processes with ease. It should also be at par with the growth of the business (Warman, 1971).

Integration of other business operations such as manufacturing and order processing with warehouse helps in optimizing the layout, handling multiple orders, managing replenishment, and proper utilizing of space. The warehouse manager should incorporate various pick prioritization methods that include FIFO, FEFO and LILO into directed movement, pick and put away decisions (Frazelle, 2001).

All credit or debit inventory records should be kept separate from sales, source documents and purchase receipts. This will help in maintaining accurate inventory records one when one needs to access records for display and testing among other operational needs. The warehouse manager should keep a visible inventory to help in increasing the efficiency and accuracy of management (Jenkins, 1968).

To help in item tracking serial numbers should be used to help in determining where the products were bought, processed and sold. This will help in reducing waste and limiting carriage of expired stock via FEFO handling. Warehouse management ...Download file "Warehousing and Inventory Management" to see next pagesRead More