The Logistics of Manufacturing
The ability to correctly track and manage the storage and movement of inventory within a warehouse is paramount to the success of any manufacturing organization. Accurate inventory information is also required to plan and execute production, and mistakes can cause high product losses and unnecessary downtimes. The most competitive manufacturers today leverage technology to synchronize material movements between the warehouse, the production floor and other operational processes, such as quality and regulatory compliance. Material synchronization drives significant efficiencies and cost savings by enabling flexible operations, lean manufacturing, just-in-sequence manufacturing, just-in-time inventory and other optimization initiatives.
Features of Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
Warehouse Inbound Process Management:
- Registration of inbound documents (PO, ASN, goods receipt)
- Receiving (workstation, customer return, recall, etc.)
- Acceptance of goods
- Qualitative and quantitative controls for each type of item (raw material, semi-finished or finished product)
- Multi-package management (box, bale, pallet)
- Sorting and repalletization
- Quality inspection and smart sampling management
- Lot generation, RFID and other labeling (for tracking and tracing)
- Item allocation and assignment according to configurable rules
- Kanban management
Inventory, Stock & Material Management:
- Storage location management (shelves, areas, drive-in, etc.)
- Warehouse mapping and route optimization
- Refilling picking locations by rules and/or request
- Kitting (Make-To-Order, Make-To-Stock)
- Rework and reconditioning
- Labeling and relabeling
- Real-time material visibility (levels, location, movement, etc.)
- Material tracking and management (e.g. expiration dates)
- Inventory replenishment and adjustments
- Rotating and massive inventory management
- Physical and/or accounting transfer management
- Shuttle service management
- External warehouse management (3PL)
- Automatic alignment of stock levels, planning and operations
Warehouse Outbound Process Management:
- Receipt of sales, work, procurement and/or preparation orders (from ERP, TMS or manual entry)
- Configuration and management of item delivery parameters
- Configuration and implementation of withdrawal methods
- Merchandise booking and assignment
- Picking and packing
- Weighing, sorting and packaging
- Load and truck loading management
- Issue of transport documentation (packing slip, Bill of Lading, etc.)
- Authorization and final sign-off
- Shipping and shipping adjustment management
- Yard and dock management
- Integrated transportation and supplier management
Warehouse Monitoring, Reporting & Analytics:
- Real-time performance monitoring
- Inventory levels and reporting
- Warehouse operational reporting
- Traceability reporting (electronic audit trail)
- Analytics reporting (KPIs and productivity)
- Automated alarms, notifications and alerts
- Customizable dashboards and user profiling
- Task monitor
- Available via web, smartphone, tablet, Andon, wearable devices, etc.
Benefits of Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
- Achieve the paperless warehouse
- Improve planning
- Synchronize workflow of warehouse materials
- Improve performance of warehouse workforce
- Increase throughput
- Improve flexibility in order handling
- Improve production and assembly efficiency
- Ensure "dock-to-dock" traceability and genealogy
- Minimize inventory and costs
- Increase visibility into warehouse and access to data
- Improve customer service
- Streamline and optimize supply chain execution
IndX’s Expertise
Tracking and managing warehouse operations in manufacturing is a critical process that can be extremely time-consuming and error-prone, so industry leaders are looking towards digitalization to help them better manage this process. Engineering Industries eXcellence can deliver the capabilities of the latest WMS technology on the market together with our unified approach to warehouse management in order to synchronize logistical operations across your entire production process and supply chain. Together with our expertise, your organization can make warehouse and inventory management a strength of your enterprise Supply Chain Execution strategy.
