Warehouse management systems to optimise global supply chains

The increasing global trade and emerging e-commerce have driven companies to adopt cutting-edge technologies to optimise warehouse management. Companies can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance productivity with warehouse management systems, leveraging technologies like AI, robotics, and data analytics.

The modernisation of warehouses is streamlining operations. The emphasis on warehouse management has increased with the rise in global trade and the emergence of e-commerce companies. Many companies have invested heavily in improving the efficiency and productivity of their distribution centers and storehouse facilities by integrating advanced technologies like AI, ML, and data analytics.

Advancements in warehouse management have been helping businesses to improve their logistical capabilities. The importance of a robust logistics sector in delivering goods and services has been increasing progressively with each passing year. Multinational companies from almost all sectors of the global economy have established their supply chains globally to procure raw materials and labour at cheap rates, manufacture goods in a cost-efficient manner, and deliver them even to the remotest parts of the world. Thus, management of such distribution networks has become quite for increasing the profitability of a company. The rise of e-commerce platforms in retail, healthcare, consumer goods, and other end-use industries has helped consumers to order different types of goods, thus compelling companies to effectively manage warehouses, inventories, transportation systems, and others.

Warehouse management for business operations

Over the years, businesses have started to pay attention to modernising their warehouse facilities to ensure delivery on time and address customer demands effectively. As a result, companies are developing full-proof strategies to administer godowns and distribution centers. Various studies have shown that warehouse management, which involves supervision and overseeing day-to-day operations, helps companies to streamline their business operations. It involves various activities such as receiving finished goods from factory outlets, transporting, storing, inventory administration, packaging, shipping, and many more.

Moreover, certain principles developed by experts in this field control the different tasks involved in godowns. For example, Oracle, a leading computer technology company, highlights that the company looking to simplify the stockroom function must devise mechanisms to fulfil its immediate and long-term commitments. The effective use of space, equipment, and labour is necessary. Secondly, implementing comprehensive control techniques to coordinate orders, inventory stocks, and people working in the facility is important. Oracle’s research on the rules of warehouse management also underlines that all the processes involved in this field should be customer-centric and data-driven.

Warehouse management systems

With the growing digitalisation of different services, supply chain management companies have partnered with information technology giants to develop specialised applications for managing storerooms and godowns. These solutions are popularly known as warehouse management systems, primarily deployed to simplify the complexity of logistical operations. Since these platforms use digital and automation technologies, their ability to handle large volumes of goods and products is much better than that of conventional tools. WMSs can be easily integrated with enterprise resource planning applications and transportation management systems, enabling the company to have an overarching view of the movement of goods.

One of the reasons behind the rising adoption of WMSs is that it helps companies reduce the cost and waste associated with inventory management. These systems, as part of inventory tasks, record the timeframe within which a certain perishable product should be delivered to the intended customer. At the approaching date, the platform notifies the warehouse staff to dispatch the goods. The advanced WMSs even help in creating floor plan simulations to optimally place shelves, pallets, and other equipment to improve the productivity of the facility.

The emergence of innovative technologies such as AI and ML, robotics, data analytics, etc., improved the quality of these WMSs significantly. AI tools, for instance, analyse large volumes of data and predict the inbound receipt and outbound delivery patterns. Machine learning algorithms can assist in demand forecasting, resource allocation, route optimisation, etc., to rationalise the processes involved.

In the past few years, automated guided vehicles, collaborative robots, and other systems have transformed the warehouse management market. These high-tech robotic solutions simplify repetitive tasks like picking, sorting, packaging, etc., freeing labour for more creative work. Similarly, the use of immersive technologies such as augmented and virtual reality to improve worker performance, accuracy, and training and upskilling of the employees has expanded the scope of the landscape. As per a report published by Allied Market Research, the sector is expected to witness significant growth from 2023 to 2032 owing to the interplay of all these factors and stakeholder actions.

Updates and advancements

The warehouse management industry is highly competitive. As a result, businesses have unveiled advanced products to cater to the demands of their customers holistically. In December 2022, WrxFlo, a software platform developer, announced the inauguration of its unique WMS to address the evolving needs of companies operating supply chain management. It stated that the application provides flexibility, visibility, system connectivity, and tracking capability to optimise activities.

In September 2023, Honeywell International Inc., a multinational conglomerate, announced the launch of the MesonX Warehouse Management System (WMS). According to the press statement released by the company, this newly launched software program helps streamline different processes ranging from handling inbound receipts to supervising outbound deliveries. Furthermore, MesonX WMS also aids in managing replenishments and shipping to address customer demands satisfactorily. Honeywell has also claimed that the tests conducted by its experts and analysts showed that its platform can assist businesses in cutting down their operational costs by around 80% if implemented appropriately. As per Jonathan Kwok, General Manager of Honeywell Logistics Solutions, the main aim behind the launch of this product is to reduce inventory inaccuracies, remove workflow bottlenecks, address disruptions in labour productivity, and improve the overall quality of customer service.

To summarise, the rising importance of logistics and supply chains in international trade has increased the importance of the warehouse management landscape. Principles aid companies in managing their godown facilities. However, emerging technologies like AI, data analytics, AR, ML, VR, etc., opened new avenues of growth in the sector.

Many companies have invested heavily in improving the efficiency and productivity of their distribution centers and storehouse facilities by integrating advanced technologies like AI, ML, and data analytics. The importance of warehouse management has increased significantly with the overall rise in global trade and the emergence of e-commerce companies.

Inputs provided by: Akhilesh Prabhugaonkar