WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
• Objectives
• By the end of this presentation, students should be able to;
A) Define warehouse management system, state functions of
warehouse management system, the role of IT in warehouse.
B) Explain the following material tracking technologies; Barcodes
Application, RFID Application, Electronic Data Interchange and
Electronic Funds Transfer at point of sale.
WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Overview of Warehouse Management System
• Warehouse management system (WMS) integrate warehouse procedures and
software support to standardize and handling work procedures. The WMS enables
the accurate management of receiving, put way, storage location, packing,
shipping, work planning, warehouse layout and analysis activities. WMS is a term
used to refer to IT- based system that integrate all aspects of stock management.
As well as being used for forecasting stock control, WMS can carry out the
following functions. Recording receipts of items into the warehouse, updating
stock records, allocating stock locations and preparing automated picking lists.
WMS can also be used as an interface with other departments such as finance or
purchasing. Such systems may either be purchased ‘off the shelf’ or can be
designed and tailored to suit the organizations specific need
FUNCTIONS OF WMS
• Verifies the item against the purchase order
• Adds the item to inventory
• Determines the stock location in the warehouse
• Keeps track of the item location
• Determinates the item picking arrangement on the picking list.
ROLES OF IT IN WAREHOUSE
Information and communication technology (ICT) is having a growing impact
on storage and distribution operations. Current and developing communications
tools are enabling faster, more accurate communication between organizational
control and operatives. The external role of IT is becoming more important as
organization continue to link system. To operate effectively the warehouse
requires a fast, flexible and accurate IT system with the ability not only to
control operations and reporting within the warehouse, but also to provide
required information to any number of outside users. Control and information
system should perform the following tasks.
• Capture delivery information accurately
• Record stock movements
• Maintain stock balances
• Monitor productivity and utilization
• Track the movement of goods through the system
MATERIAL TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES
• Tracking devices or technologies help organizations to ensure effective
management of materials/inventories held in stock. These technologies
generally fall under warehouse management systems as they facilitate
effective record management of materials. These tracking technologies
including barcoding, radio frequency identification, electronic data
interchange among others which is explained in the following page.
BARCODES APPLICATION
A Barcode does not change how a business operates, but it makes
procedures faster and more accurate, providing useful management
information in timely manner. Barcodes can be employed in virtually all
organizations and all professions to increase the productivity, efficiency
and accuracy of specific business processes. A barcode is simply a set of
symbols used to represent alpha-numeric information. Barcodes
symbologies come in two basic varieties. They can be either linear or
two dimensional in their configuration. A linear barcode symbology
consist of a single row of dark lines and white spaces of varying but
specified width and height. Similarly, a two dimensional symbology (2-
D) can be configured into a stacked or matrix format. Two dimensional
barcodes are special rectangular codes which ‘stack’ information in a
manner allowing for more information storage in a smaller amount of
ADVANTAGES OF BARCODES
The most compelling advantages of bar coding and automatic data
collection are:
• Accuracy
• Ease of use
• Timely feedback
• Improved productivity
• Barcode technology can be translated into three primary functions:
Trucking, inventory management and validation.
RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION APPLICATION (RFID)
• Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a fast and reliable means of
automatically identifying and logging just about anything, including retail
items, Vehicles, Documents, People, Components and works of art. Because it
makes use of radio waste there is no need for line of site reading of
information, which is one of the limitations associated with barcode system. It
means RFID tags can be embedded in packaging or in some cases, in the
goods themselves. Information from an RFID system-the- data capture
element of an IT system- is passed to management information system that
are used, for instance, to control stock levels and provide details of who is
currently in possession of what Assets. Apart from its automatic identification
and data capture capabilities, RFID can also provide the electronic
surveillance function- a case of single technology taking the place of two.
BENEFITS OF RFID
• Labour productivity: Workers productivity will increase in the
receiving of the warehouse.
• Inventory Reduction: RFID tags provides more visibility to the
products so their location is more easily determined in the warehouse.
• Facility/ Equipment productivity: RFID allows more data to be
processed faster through a warehouse management system(WMS).
RFID CHALLENGES
• Barcodes can be read only in the line of sight; labels must be positioned to be directly
visible to the barcode reader.
• Barcodes can not be read inside other containers. RFID tags can be read through most
materials. Therefore, the concept of shipping container can be verified easily without the
costly overhead of an Open Box Inspection and manual counts and comparisons with
shipments manifest.
• Barcodes provide only limited amounts of information -even two-dimensional barcodes are
limited in the amount of data they carry.
• Barcodes identify classes of products – RFID tags identify individual products. The Auto ID
center concept aims at identifying and trucking individual product instances as they move
through the supply chain. Therefore, achieving greater granularity and better accuracy.
• The migration of supply chains from barcodes to RFID will require significant investments
and will not happen overnight.
ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE
• Electronic data interchange is the movement of business data
electronically between or within firms (including their agents or
intermediaries) in a structured, computer-processable data format that
permit data to be transferred without rekeying from a computer-
supported business application in one location to a computer-
supported business application.
• Business documents – These are any of the documents that are
typically exchanged between businesses. The most common
documents exchanged via EDI are purchase orders, invoices and
advance ship notices. But there are many, many others such as bill of
lading, customs documents, inventory documents, shipping status
documents and payment documents.
Standard Format
• Because EDI documents must be processed by computers rather than
humans, a standard format must be used so that computer will be able
to read and understand the documents. A standard format describes
what each piece of information is and in what format ( e.g. integer,
decimal, mmddyy).
Electronic Funds Transfer at Point-Of-Sale(EFT-POS)
• It is an online transaction handling system commonly used in retail
trade. The buyer swipes his or her bank or credit card through a
magnetic- stripe reader and enters a personal identification
number(PIN). The amount authorized by the buyer is electronically
transferred from his or her account to that of the retailer. A method of
electronic payment which allows money to be transferred from the
account of the shopper to the merchant in close to real time. Generally,
the shopper will give the merchant a credit or debit card, which will be
swiped to obtain the account information. The shopper will then be
required to either sign a receipt or enter a PIN via a keypad to
authorize the transaction.
