Acknowledgement

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my Guru Mr.

Tanoj Kumar Chaturvedi AGM Commercial Vodafone Idea Ltd. who
gave me valuable time to do this wonderful project on the topic “ A Study
of Warehouse Management – World Class Operations ”, which also
helped me in doing a lot of Research and i came to know about so many
new things I am really thankful to them.

Secondly I would also like to thank my parents and friends who helped me
a lot in finalizing this project within the limited time frame.
 Table of contents

• Abstract

• Objective and Its definition

• Organization Structure of Warehouse

• Warehousing – World Class Actions:-

 Receipt and Inspection of Materials

 Issue of Materials
 Stock & Inventory Management
 Material Storage & Handling
 Material Handling Time
 storing the product in relation to flow/ rate of movement
 Location & Layout of the Warehouse
 Warehouse Design Criteria
 Operational standards needed
 Warehouse Safety and Security

• Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)

• Interpretation

• Conclusion

• Recommendation

• Bibliography
 Abstract
Warehouse management – A World Class Operations is the answer to reducing
inventory cost and improving degree of customer satisfaction, which means a great
deal to enterprises. It focus on the utilization of every component—space, manpower,
inventory and equipment—will impact the bottom line in profound ways over time.
Warehouse Management enables us to analyze these components continually, so we
can conserve effort, fill orders faster and more accurately, save space and reduce
inventory cost.
Objective – The Objective of the project is to understand the world class operations
and procedures in the warehouses and how efficiently the warehouses are managed
throughout the world.

Warehouse Management:
Warehouse management is the process, control, and optimization of warehouse
operations from the entry of inventory into a warehouse — or multiple warehouses —
until items are moved, sold, or consumed. Warehouse Management exchanges
information with many other functional areas in the solution including Logistics,
Production and Trade, to help improve your overall business performance.

Warehouse Management is used to optimize:

 Inventory: Its keep track of our all inventory stock according to categories e.g.
Fresh, (usable & non usable), Returned materials etc. Most importantly it helps
to manage inventory stock at bare minimum level.
 Manpower: Make manpower more efficient by managing their tasks and
improving their processes. Plan and balance workload and monitor activities
with integration to manpower management.
 Physical warehouse Space: Cross-docking and flow-through capabilities, plus
integration with port Management, reduce the need for warehouse space
efficiently.
 Time: Automatic picking, packing and shipping, and minimize the number of
efforts per order
 Production Support: Timely, consistent production support can dramatically
reduce your production lead times.
 Opportunity to expand: If we are not restricted by the need to store all
materials, components and finished products at your manufacturing facility,
you’re able to focus on your core business: producing your products. By
outsourcing storage and distribution to a warehouse or distribution centre, our
business is better able to use existing space for product development and
process improvement.
 Packing and Processing: Today’s warehouses and distribution centres do a lot
more than simply store your products. A good warehouse will provide picking,
packing and shipping services as well as inventory management.
Warehouse: A warehouse is a building that stores products for stocking, packing, and
shipping preparation. Warehouses are central locations that manage both inbound and
outbound products. Maintaining a warehouse is crucial for any business that sells
physical goods or receives products from a wholesale marketplace. As a business’s sales
grow, the need for physical space to maintain and package items grows, too.
Depending on a company’s needs or preferences, multiple service providers may handle
separate warehouse-related tasks. There are different types of warehouses for different
businesses, but every warehouse provides secure storage for products.

Need For Warehouses-

(i) Seasonal production:
We know that certain items are produced during ‘particular period of the year, like
agricultural goods are harvested during a particular season say summer, winter or
monsoon, but the requirement of consumption takes place all over the year. Therefore,
it requires proper storage or warehousing for these goods, so that supply should be
ensured throughout the year.

(ii) Bulk production:

Due to borderless economies and globalization, manufacturing generally takes place
throughout the year not only to meet the domestic demands or existing demands but
also for the future demands. In order to enjoy the benefits of economies of scale,
manufacturers produce goods in bulk because by purchasing large volume of raw
materials, the raw manufacturer can reduce the ordering cost as well as carrying cost.

(iii) Non-stop production:

Non-stop production commonly known as continuous or regular production of goods
requires the adequate supply of raw materials. Considering the uncertainties of future
and country specific problems like traffic jams, bad climatic conditions, inadequate
infrastructure facilities like bad roads, water logging, road blockage etc, it becomes
essential to have sufficient supply of raw material in the warehouse to ensure non-stop
production.

(iv) Seasonal/irregular demand:

In our day-to-day life, we use certain items, which are required seasonally, like
umbrellas in rainy season, woolen garments in winters. But the production of these
items takes place throughout the year because manufacturers cannot close their
factories. Therefore, it requires storage facility to store/stock these items to make them
available as and when required.

(v) Ensuring supply near the place of consumption:

This is a fact that agricultural as well as industrial (including FMCG) goods are produced
at separate locations but are consumed throughout the nation. Therefore, traders
(suppliers, wholesalers or retailers) in order to meet regular and uncertain demands of
the customers, stock adequate quantities of raw materials in the warehouses. Further,
they have the fear of loosing customers in case of stock out.

(vi)Price consistency:
As we know that shortage of anything in the market will lead to increased prices,
likewise excess supply of goods in the market results in full prices of the goods.
Therefore, in order to maintain consistency in the prices of goods, it requires adequate
stock in the warehouses all the time. By doing so, traders can maintain a balance
between supply of goods and its prices.

Organizational Structure for Logistics Warehouses Operations

Warehousing – World class Actions:

Using the best practices in managing the stocks of the industry becomes the part of
world class practices. Using most efficient methods for controlling the product
inventory and adopting outsourced techniques in order to control warehouse activities,
including receiving, storing, assembling, kitting, picking and the dispatching of
customer’s/ user’s orders. Some of the points need to be kept in mind in relation to the
world class practices. They become a platform for the adaptation of the world class
practices in the organization. They are-
1. Receipt and Inspection of Materials( GRN):

The following procedures are adopted in a warehouse on receipt of materials;

 Receipt of material: The materials on receipt are taken to their allotted spaces in
the warehouses. The delivery slip and the bill copy are filed in the warehouse for
reference. The original bill reaches the accounts department for the payment to
be made.
 The materials are then Unloaded from the delivery trucks. The materials are
handled carefully while unloading. Old worn out truck tires are used to provide a
cushioning effect while unloading heavy materials.
 The materials are then inspected for any defects against the required and
standard specifications. This is done by inspection controller in large
organizations by using defined checklist template. The quality controller also
plays a vital role in material inspection.
 The Control samples or standards are kept separately to check the materials to
be inspected.
 The Storekeeper documents the accepted materials.

Pic- Material inspected by warehouse team

2. Issue of Materials ( Goods Issue – GI)-

The procedure for the issue of stock items includes that the materials are to be issued,
to authorized persons only and upon presentation of completed and approved store
requisition and issue note.

In large organizations the distribution of issue notes is done by authorized persons.

They issue different colored slips to the different departments when a stock item is
issued.

Pink Copy – User

Green Copy – Finance Department

Original (White) – Stores Division

Pics- Materials placed in Kitting area for dispatch

3. Stock & Inventory Management

The biggest problem comes when we keep too much stock with us, so we need a proper
check on getting and sending the material. Stock within the warehouse need to take
care which will surely increase the cost of the organization and finally, it will increase
the price of the product.
  Stock Control is used to evaluate how much stock is used. Stock taking is
done by the Store Keeper. It is also used to know what is needed to be
ordered. Stock control can only happen if a stock take has taken place. Stock
rotation must be put into use with stock control by using the oldest products
before the newer products.
 Periodic Stock Checking: There must be proper check over the stock; it must
be evaluated from time to time. The task of the operation manager is to
make a proper flow of stock as when it is required. From time to time it must
be checked that how much of goods are with them and give the required
information from time to time to the production department, so that none of
the stock will remain stand still.

To ensure a proper check on the product that is with us, we need to use tools, such as;

ABC Analysis:

ABC analysis is an inventory categorization technique often used in materials

management system. It is also known as Selective Inventory Control. ABC analysis
provides a mechanism for identifying items which will have a significant impact on
overall inventory cost whilst also providing a mechanism for identifying different
categories of stock that will require different management and controls

When carrying out an ABC analysis, inventory items are valued (item cost multiplied by
quantity issued/consumed in period) with the results then ranked. The results are then
grouped typically into three bands. These bands are called ABC codes. It divides
inventory into three classes based on annual cost volume

Class A - high annual cost volume

Class B - medium annual cost volume

Class C - low annual cost volume

Cycle Counting

A cycle count is an inventory management procedure where a small subset of

inventory is counted on any given day. Cycle counts are less disruptive to daily
operations, provide an ongoing measure of inventory accuracy and procedure
execution, and can be tailored to focus on items with higher value or higher
movement.
 To conduct efficient and accurate cycle counts, many organizations use some
form of software to implement an inventory control system, which is part of a
warehouse management system. These systems may include mobile computers
with integrated barcode scanners that allow the operator to automatically
identify items, and enter inventory counts via keypad. The software then
transmits data to a database on a host system which can generate inventory
reports.

Product coding:

Product code is a unique identifier, assigned to each finished/manufactured product

which is ready, to be marketed or for sale. It enables easy method of tracking the
product until it reaches the customer or end user. The various Codes used are:

 Universal Product Code, common bar code used to identify products

 Electronic Product Code
 Serial number, a number identifying an item

Quality records are maintained for the materials/stock specification.

These include
 Procedures to be followed in handling material/stock
 Detail specifications of every item.
 Inspection reports.
 Quality reports.
 Descriptive reports.
 Details of approval period of retention of various documents.

Material Storage & Handling:

Handling the material is one the most important part of warehousing. Material
Handling is the movement, storage, control and protection of materials, goods and
products throughout the process of manufacturing, distribution, consumption and
disposal.
The focus is on the methods, mechanical equipment, systems and related controls used
to achieve these functions. The material handling industry manufactures and
distributes the equipment and services required to implement material handling
systems.

Material handling systems range from simple pallet rack and shelving projects, to
complex convey or belt and Automated Storage add Retrieval Systems (AS/RS).

Equipment’s used for handling material (MHE tools):

Hydraulic jacks, Dump trucks, Wheel Barrows, Trolleys, Forklift Truck (Diesel/ Battery
operated ), Damaged tires used for providing cushion support for heavy materials
during unloading; Iron bars, Slings and ropes, Chain Pulley Blocks, Hammers, Spanners,
Pliers, Wooden Blocks, pallets (Wooden, plastic)

Effective Materials Handling

 Good materials handling practice is the responsibility of all members of the

manufacturing team, form the top management down to the trucker working in
the aisle of the plant.
 Optimum effectiveness of materials handling procedures can only be attained if
each individual recognizes and plays his part. Education and training in materials
handling are prerequisite to minimum materials handling costs.

In world class warehouses the responsibilities assigned such a staff group may
well include:
1. Determining all new methods for the handling of new materials or
products and selecting the equipment to be utilized.
2. Conducting research in materials handling methods and equipment.
3. Conducting education and training for all manufacturing personnel in
good Material handling practices.
4. Establishing controls of current materials handling costs by analysis of
costs and comparison to budgets of either unit or total materials handling
costs.
5. Initiating and conducting a continuing materials handling cost-reduction
or cost improvement program.
6. Determining measurements for effectiveness of materials handling that
can become the yard – sticks for progress in this activity.
7. Developing and conducting a preventive maintenance program for all the
materials handling equipment.
 Forklift - used for loading /Unloading

Ladder- used for stacking material at height

Pallet- used to place material in Racks

Material Handling Time:

Reducing handling increases the productivity and lowers costs. If we are putting the
product into the store and picking from store it will raise its handling time and will prove
to be cost ejective for the firm.
Again and again putting the resources on a material; whether in its transportation,
packaging, storing, etc will raise the expenses of the firm which is not acceptable in any
form.
If we are putting our men, material and money in sending the good to the customer
again and again it will finally affects the overall expenses of the business concern.
In a world class warehouse the materials are inspected before they are shipped, to
ensure the quality and life of the product.

Hand Pallet Trolly is A conveyor is a material The AGV is a mobile

used to stack material handling device that ‘robot’ that follows wires,
using pallets and transports goods placed markers or other
quickly move loaded on it at a constant speed. indicators in the floor.
Conveyors (belt AGVs can also use lasers,
pallets at Warehouse conveyors) are used at magnets or cameras for
floor with minimal many worksites. guidance. They are often
human efforts .That used in large-scale
increase flow of industrial applications to
materials in warehouse move materials around a
warehouse.

Storing the product in relation to flow/ rate of movement:

Demand will not remain same for all of the year, there will be rise and fall in the
demand from time to time. For whole of the year there will be variations in the demand
and supply of the product, so as per this demand we need to maintain the flow of
material within the warehouse.
Demand forecasting is the way of estimating the quantity of a product or service that
consumers will purchase.
Demand forecasting involves techniques including both informal methods and
quantitative methods, such as the use of historical sales data or current data from test
markets.
Demand forecasting may be used in making pricing decisions, in assessing future
capacity requirements.
The Operations manager forecasts the demand and accordingly the stock and
inventories are stocked in the warehouse.
Location & Layout of the Warehouse:
Logistics refers to a complex operation involving people, facilities, supplies, and
delivery. Any company that is creating and transporting physical products needs to
understand their logistics path. Companies looking to expand their warehouse or
distribution centers have many factors to consider when looking at different locations,
depending on the product they are creating.

Current Route Performance:

When choosing a new location for a warehouse or distribution center, one of the most
important steps is to first look at the current performance of your supply chain. Is it
working efficiently? Is there a section of a route where there are consistent delays in
deliveries? Location trackers for trucks and pallets that leverage a hybrid positioning
system can provide a very precise look at where trucks continually stop for long periods
of time, how overall production is functioning, and can even help find lost materials.
This cuts down on both unnecessary time and cost.

Customer Locations
Companies need to first understand where their customers are located, especially
frequent repeat buyers. If a company making farm equipment were to place their
warehouse in Manhattan, they would have a difficult time justifying it being an efficient
path to their target customer base. While traditionally distribution centers are located
in metropolitan areas, businesses can instead use location intelligence to look at their
customer base and choose a location that is best situated to deliver to them in the
fastest and most efficient way possible.

Raw Materials
Access to raw materials is another important part of warehouse and distribution site
selection. If a warehouse is receiving shipments from another country for example,
access to an international airport would be a consideration that needs to be factored in.
By selecting a warehouse location that is close to a large amount of both customers and
necessary materials, the overall supply chain becomes more efficient as the miles that
need to be traveled by trucks decreases. With location tracking for the supply chain,
businesses can see where trucks are picking up raw materials and how long they are
spending on the road from point A to point B in the supply chain to see if there is a place
that makes sense to build a warehouse to cut down travel time and make the process
more efficient.

Transportation Access and Timing

Companies that transport by trucks should also look at access to highways, and then
the traffic patterns of those highways. Location intelligence can provide a look at how
traffic congregates throughout the day in those area and identify peak times during the
day. This helps optimize routes for products or materials that are time sensitive leaving
a warehouse and ensures timely deliveries overall.

Pics – Vodafone Idea Warehouse Punjab- Connecting roads 2 side

Competitor Locations
Competitor proximity is important to understand as well. If you are fighting over access
to the same types of supplies and materials as your competitors, you don’t want to be
in a location where you are limited to the same supplier. By analyzing where
competitors are located, and foot traffic at their locations, if applicable, businesses can
better choose a location for a warehouse or distribution center. If you are a supplier,
you can evaluate location compared to competitors and factor in how far away you
want to be from those companies.

Government Regulations
Some considerations for business include energy restrictions, limits on driver hours,
transportation limitations and more. Restrictions on the number of consecutive hours
drivers can operate a vehicle should be considered when choosing a warehouse. If raw
materials are coming from a location that is 12 hours away, you need to consider the
amount of hours on the drivers’ allowance. Using location intelligence for route
analysis, businesses can optimize driver routes to meet regulations most efficiently.

Warehouse Layout :
o Zones
o Locations
o Equipment
o Stations
Zones:
The zones are specific locations inside a warehouse that has common properties.
 A Zone ID used to represent a group of locations that share common properties
(refer zone, shipping zone, returns zone)
 Used to manage product flows into and out of groups of locations
 Used to determine users’ work assignments in the zone
 May represent a physical area
 A location can belong to only one Zone
Locations:
They are various physical areas inside a warehouse
 A Location ID is given to a space in a location where inventory is placed for any
length of time
 Always associated with a zone and a location
 Primary mechanism used for tracking and processing inventory as it is received,
stored, retrieved, and shipped

Example Locations:
o “STOR1-01020401” = at Aisle 1, Bay 2, Level 4 Bin 1
o “RECEIVE-1” = Receiving Dock 1
o “V1-000001” = Value Added Services Station 1
Equipment:
Equipment defines a vehicle or piece of machinery used to perform a processing activity
such as receive, move, pick, pack, or ship within a warehouse
Stations:
 A physical location that is used as a work space in order to perform a specific
activity or a group of activities
 A Station is unique for a Node

 Used for:
o Creating tasks
o Recording location where work is being performed
o Associating devices that may be used at the station level
Examples:
o Receiving Station
o Ship/Sort Location
o Value Added Services Station
 Warehouse Design Criteria

Warehouse design criteria address physical facility characteristics and product

movement. Three factors to be considered in the design process are:

 the number of storeys in the facility,

 height utilization, and
 Product flow.

Number of storeys in the facility

 The ideal warehouse design is limited to a single story so that product does
not have to be moved up and down.
 The use of elevators to move product from one floor to the next requires time
and energy.
 The elevator is also often a bottleneck in product flow since many material
handlers are usually competing for a limited number of elevators

Height utilization

 Regardless of facility size, the design should maximize the usage of the
available cubic space by allowing for the greatest use of height on each floor.
 Most warehouses have 20- to 30-foot ceilings; although modern automated
and high-rise facilities can effectively use ceiling heights up to 100 feet.
 Through the use of racking or other hardware, it should be possible to store
products up to the building's ceiling.
 Maximum effective warehouse height is limited by the safe lifting capabilities
of material-handling equipment, such as forklifts
 A mezzanine floor is an intermediate Pallet rack is a material handling
floor between main floors of a building, storage aid system designed to store
and therefore typically not counted materials on pallets (or “skids”).
among the overall floors of a building. Although there are many varieties of
Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and pallet racking, all types allow for the
projects in the form of a balcony. The storage of palletized materials in
term is also used for the lowest balcony horizontal rows with multiple
in a theatre, or for the first few rows of levels. Forklift trucks are usually
seats in that balcony. The word required to place the loaded pallets
mezzanine comes from Italian mezzano
onto the racks for storage
“middle".

Product flow

 Warehouse design should also allow for straight product flow through the
facility whether items are stored or not.
 In general, this means that product should be received at one end of the
building, stored in the middle, and then shipped from the other end.
 Straight-line product flow minimizes congestion and confusion.
 Operational standards needed:

1. Costs & utilization of Resources :-

Resources are always limited, so we need to utilize them at the optimum level
and make maximum benefit out of them. Whether it men, material or labor,
resources are always scarce in nature, which demands for its best utilization.
Whenever the resources are fully utilized, the cost will naturally come down.
2. Performance of activities :-
A number of activities are to be performed within the organization or the
warehouse. Every activity to be looked in a better way and should take care.
From lifting the material from the trucks to taking it to the store, care should be
taken, to save the goods or product from breakage or damage. A machine has to
be checked from time to time for its smoothness of working. Projects need to be
handled carefully, while planning and there execution.
3. Accuracy of activities :-
The orders that are to be given must be dispatched as per the guidelines and in a
complete way. Whenever there is order for the product, as the product is
demanded, guidelines are forward to the production department and as per the
specification goods are delivered.
4. Lead time for activities :-
The time taken from the receipt of order till the time of dispatching of goods is
known as lead time.
In the manufacturing environment, Lead Time has the same definition as that of
Supply Chain Management, but it includes the time required to ship the product
to the purchaser. The shipping time is included because the manufacturing
company needs to know when the parts will be available for Material
requirements planning. It is also possible for lead time to include the time it
takes for a company to process and have the part ready for manufacturing once
it has been received. The time it takes a company to unload a product from a
truck, inspect it, and move it into storage is non-trivial. With tight manufacturing
 constraints or when a company is using Just in Time manufacturing it is
important for supply chain to know how long their own internal processes take.
Warehouse Safety and Security:

Warehouses deals with large amount of inventory that need to be kept under proper
observation and must undertake the most efficient check system. Goods must be safely
loaded and must be taken care when they are taken out of the vehicle until it reaches
the store where it has to be kept.
 Entry to warehouse must be limited to authorize personnel.
 Operations Manager should hold the warehouse keys at the closing of the
warehouse.
 Issue of stock and inventory to authorized personnel.
 There should be adequate safety from fire and the materials are to be stored
under their required storage conditions.
 Warehouse Security Cameras. Security camera warehouse setups can be both a
great deterrent to thieves and a simple way to gather strong evidence to pursue
a case against them if they do steal something. Modern security camera systems
can collect high-definition footage and upload it to an offsite server to make
identification of thieves easier and preserve the evidence if they try to tamper
with the cameras or onsite recording stations.
 Warehouse Lighting. Yes, lighting can be considered a vital part of warehouse
security. Poorly-lit warehouses not only provide protection for thieves (making
them harder to identify), they can be a safety hazard for warehouse employees
and security staff. So, keeping warehouse facilities well-lit is a crucial safety
measure—both to prevent theft and on-site accidents.
 Alarm Systems. Alarm systems can be a crucial tool for deterring theft
attempts, minimizing the amount of goods stolen by thieves, and summoning
security or police in time to stop thieves from getting away. Knowing that there’s
an alarm keeps thieves on a tight time limit so they don’t steal as much (or
deterring them from the attempt). Getting an alert from a silent alarm helps
security and police arrive on the scene quickly so thieves can be detained before
they make off with valuable products.
 Security Patrols. Does the warehouse have on-site security staff to help deter
thieves? Do they make the rounds to verify that there are no intruders lurking in
security camera blind spots? Having manual security patrols to police the
premises can be a massive deterrent to casual thieves and trespassers that
minimizes large-scale theft risks.
 Access Control Systems and Security Cages. How high-value merchandise is
kept secure within the warehouse? How is access to these items controlled?
Security cages and access control systems make it harder for thieves to get at
valuable inventory—creating a high-security warehouse environment that
minimizes theft risks.
 Inventory Tracking. How is inventory in the warehouse tracked? How frequently
is inventory checked for missing products? Inventory tracking solutions are vital
for ensuring that inventory shrinkage can be identified quickly (and that
inventory availability reports in your ecommerce store are accurate). Keeping
track of inventory is a loss prevention 101 basic.
 Entryway Security Doors. How tough are the doors allowing entry into the
warehouse to bypass? Weak locks or doors can allow thieves into the warehouse
quickly, giving them easy access to the interior. Robust doorways delay thieves,
increasing the likelihood of them getting caught by police/security (and of them
giving up before making entry).
 Window Security. Are there ground-level windows that thieves can easily break
to get into the warehouse? Or, are they high up and reinforced to prevent break-
in and entry? Strong security means making windows as difficult to break into as
possible, such as using reinforced glass, window locking mechanisms, or even
steel bars/window covers to deter entry attempts.

Yellow marking Display board Fire Alarm Panel

at loading and
unloading Dock
in warehouse
 Warehouse Management System (WMS)
A warehouse management system (WMS) consists of software and processes that
allow organizations to control and administer warehouse operations from the time
goods or materials enter a warehouse until they move out

What does a WMS do?

Warehouses sit at the center of manufacturing and supply chain operations because
they hold all of the material used or produced in those processes, from raw materials to
finished goods. The purpose of a WMS is to help ensure that goods and materials move
through warehouses in the most efficient and cost-effective way. A WMS handles many
functions that enable these movements, including inventory tracking, picking, receiving
and putaway.

A WMS also provides visibility into an organization's inventory at any time and location,
whether in a facility or in transit.

Where WMS fits in the supply chain

The supply chain can operate only as quickly, accurately and efficiently as warehouse
processes permit. A WMS plays a vital role in supply chain management by managing
order fulfillment processes, from receiving raw materials to shipping finished goods.
For example, if raw materials are not received properly or parts are misplaced in a
warehouse, the supply chain may be slowed or disrupted. WMSes are critical in
ensuring that these processes work smoothly by tracking inventory and making sure
that goods are stored and sorted properly, as well as shipped and tracked accurately.
A WMS is often used alongside or integrated with other related systems, including
ERP, transportation management systems (TMS) and inventory management
systems
The role of the WMS is to help users manage the fulfillment, shipping and receiving
tasks in the warehouse or distribution center, such as picking goods from shelves for
shipment or putting received goods away. Its role in inventory is to track the inventory
data that comes in from barcode readers and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags
and update the inventory management module in the ERP system to ensure it has the
latest information. An integration link synchronizes the inventory data that is stored in
the ERP system and the WMS.
For its part, the ERP system handles the accounting and most of the invoicing, order
management and inventory management. The TMS is where the shipping process is
managed. It is essentially a repository of detailed information about shipping carriers
but is also a transactional and communication system for planning, executing and
tracking the shipments. Sometimes a TMS will be integrated with the WMS to enable
better coordination of the inbound and outbound logistics tasks that occur at the
interface of warehouses and freight shippers, such as palletization of goods, labor
scheduling, yard management, load building and cross-docking
Usually, orders come in automatically from ERP or order management systems that are
integrated with the TMS. The ERP system also outputs the order information the TMS
needs to prepare and execute shipments. Besides basics like customer name and
address, data from the ERP system also includes detailed information on items to
ensure the right products are shipped. The TMS returns the shipment details that the
ERP system needs for its accounting and order management functions, such as the
tracking number, carrier name and costs. The shipment information might also go to a
customer relationship management (CRM) module to help update customers about the
status of their orders.
Types of warehouse management systems-Warehouse management software
comes in a variety of types and implementation methods, and the type typically
depends on the size and nature of the organization. They can be standalone systems or
modules in a larger ERP system or supply chain execution suite.

WMSes can also vary widely in complexity. Some small organizations may use a simple
series of hard copy documents or spreadsheet files, but most larger organizations --
from small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to enterprise companies -- use complex
WMS software. Some WMS setups are designed specifically for the size of the
organization, and many vendors have versions of WMS products that can scale to
different organizational sizes. Some organizations build their own WMS from scratch,
but it's more common to implement a WMS from an established vendor.
A WMS can also be designed or configured for the organization's specific requirements;
for example, an e-commerce vendor might use a WMS that has different functions than
a brick-and-mortar retailer. Additionally, a WMS may also be designed or configured
specifically for the types of goods the organization sells; for example, a sporting goods
retailer would have different requirements than a grocery chain.

Features of warehouse management systems

Many features are common to WMS software products. They include the following:

 Warehouse design, which enables organizations to customize workflow and

picking logic to make sure that the warehouse is designed for optimized
inventory allocation. The WMS establishes bin slotting that maximizes storage
space and accounts for variances in seasonal inventory.
 Inventory tracking, which enables the use of advanced tracking and automatic
identification and data capture(AIDC) systems, including RFID and barcode
scanners to make sure that goods can be found easily when they need to move.
 Receiving and putaway, which allows inventory putaway and retrieval, often
with pick-to-light or pick-to-voice technology to help warehouse workers locate
goods.
 Picking and packing goods, including zone picking, wave picking and batch
picking. Warehouse workers can also use lot zoning and task interleaving
functions to guide the pick-and-pack tasks in the most efficient way.
  Shipping, which enables the WMS to send bills of lading (B/L) ahead of the
shipment, generate packing lists and invoices for the shipment and send
advance shipment notifications to recipients.
 Labor management, which helps warehouse managers monitor workers'
performance by using key performance indicators (KPIs) that indicate workers
who perform above or below standards.
 Yard and dock management, which assists truck drivers coming into a
warehouse to find the right loading docks. A more complex use of yard and dock
management enables cross-docking and other functions of inbound and
outbound logistics.
 Reporting, which helps managers analyze the performance of warehouse
operations and Features of warehouse management systems

Warehouse management system benefits-

Although a WMS is complex and expensive to implement and run, organizations gain
numerous benefits that can justify the complexity and costs.

Implementing a WMS can help an organization reduce labor costs, improve inventory
accuracy, improve flexibility and responsiveness, decrease errors in picking and
shipping goods, and improve customer service. Modern warehouse management
systems operate with real-time data, allowing the organization to manage the most
current information on activities like orders, shipments, receipts and any movement of
goods.

Top WMS vendors- A number of large enterprise software vendors sell WMS software
as standalone products or as modules in comprehensive ERP suites. These include:

 IBM
 Microsoft
 Oracle
 SAP
Interpretation:
Companies are constantly trying to find ways to improve performance and warehouse
operations is area where supply chain managers can focus to gain maximum efficiency
for minimum cost. To get the most out of the operation, a number of best practices can
be adopted to improve productivity and overall customer satisfaction. Although best
practices vary from industry to industry and by the products shipped there is a number
of best practices that can be applied to most companies.

When considering the level of effort involved in warehouse operations, the greatest
expenditure of effort is in the picking process. To gain efficiencies in picking the labor
time to pick orders needs to be reduced and this can achieved in a number of ways.
Companies with the most efficient warehouses have the most frequently picked items
closest to the shipping areas to minimize picking time. These companies achieve their
competitive advantage by constantly reviewing their sales data to ensure that the items
are stored close to the shipping area are still the most frequently picked.

Warehouse layout is also important in achieve greater efficiencies. Minimizing travel

time between picking locations can greatly improve productivity. However, to achieve
this increase in efficiency, companies must develop processes to regularly monitor
picking travel times and storage locations.

Warehouse operations that still use hard copy pick tickets find that it is not very
efficient and prone to human errors. To combat this and to maximize efficiency, world
class warehouse operations had adopted technology that is some of today’s most
advanced systems. In addition to hand-held RF readers and printers, companies are
introducing pick-to-light and voice recognition technology.

In a pick-to-light system, an operator will scan a bar-coded label attached to a box. A

digital display located in front of the pick bin will inform the operator of the item and
quantity that they need to pick. Companies are typically using pick-to-light systems for
their top 5 to 20% selling products. By introducing this system companies can gain
significant efficiencies as it is totally paperless and eliminates the errors caused by pick
tickets.

Voice picking systems inform the operator of pick instructions through a headset. The
pick instructions are sent via RF from the company’s ERP or order management
software. The system allows operators to perform pick operations without looking at a
computer screen or to deal with paper pick tickets. Many world class warehouse
operations have adopted voice picking to complement the pick-to-light systems in
place for their fast moving products.

Although many companies will not be able to afford new technologies for picking, there
are a number of best practices that can be adopted to improve efficiency and reduce
cost

Conclusion:
Warehousing clearly has a critical part to play, in all aspects of supply chain
management. It also needs to be involved in the strategic aspects of a business and this
will involve being aware of the development of the business in terms of the future
production, product, suppliers, customers, and all the associated product volumes and
throughputs.

Each and every day new technology is being evolved, so in warehousing with the help
of these world class technological innovations, we can make it more technically
competent and innovative; thereby increasing the efficiency of the business operations

Bibliography:

1. Vodafone Idea Warehouse, Mohali Punjab

2. Emmett, Stuart; Excellence in Warehouse management
3. K. S. Mohan ; Macmillan India Limited; Stores Management, 2nd Edition
4. www.smthacker.co.uk/lean_supply_chains.htm
5. http://logistics.about.com/od/tacticalsupplychain/a/wms_best_prac.htm
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warehouse_management_system
7. https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/warehouse-management-systems