What is Warehouse Management? Objectives and processes


For some time now, the warehouse has ceased to be a simple dark storage space with concrete floors. The management has understood the intrinsic importance of this space for the proper functioning of the company. And they have started to implement warehouse management.

But what is warehouse management all about? In this article we tell you what it is, what its objectives are and how it is implemented.

We have previously talked about inventory management in online stores, but we know that the situation can become more complex in more hybrid methodologies. That is why we are going to approach this topic from the base to carry out a proper implementation.


What is Warehouse Management?

Warehouse management is a logistic planning, by which the processes of reception, storage and movements within a warehouse are organized. It is responsible for optimizing the logistics area and the functional physical space, allowing a correct distribution flow and stock control.

The main task of warehouse management is to ensure that there is a safe, continuous and reliable supply of a project's resources necessary for the supply chain. It will also be responsible for keeping an exhaustive and complete record of any entry into or exit from the warehouse.

Objectives of a warehouse in a company

The warehouse is the center for the storage, control and distribution of raw materials, processed resources and finished products. Proper management of these elements and of this space ensures the proper functioning of the entire organization.

For this reason, it is of vital importance that warehouse management follows a rigorous guideline. Among the objectives of the management we can name:
  • Speed in the delivery of resources.
  • Reliability in its constant operation.
  • Cost reduction.
  • Use of available space.
  • Reduction of the activities involved in the handling and transportation of materials.
Warehouse management processes

When it comes to warehouse management, there are three basic processes. These ensure the correct transit of resources throughout the entire procedure.

Planning and organization in warehouse management

The planning and organization of warehouse management is directly related to strategic and tactical activities. Likewise, this is the procedure that is in charge of:
  • Designing distribution and storage flows.
  • Choosing the location, types of storage and sizes of warehouses.
  • Planning and execution of physical organization models.
  • Designing the layout of warehouses.
Leadership in warehouse management

As important as designing and managing the future space where resources will be reserved, is to manage the way they will be distributed from receipt to storage. This stage will be in charge of:
  • Receiving the materials.
  • Storing the material in the warehouse.
  • Manage the movement of materials when appropriate.
Warehouse management control

The warehouse management control area is in charge of managing the pertinent information of each movement that takes place in the physical space. In this way, each procedure will be duly registered and recorded.

Warehouse Management: Example.

Let's look at the example of a company that does not implement a warehouse management system.

After an in-depth analysis, it was detected that 50% of the problems in the distribution and delivery of materials were due to poor warehouse management. This was having a negative impact on customer relations. And it was leading to the collapse of other areas such as customer service.

The professionals who studied the case discovered that the main flaw in the current system was in the return of materials to suppliers.

The conflict began in the labeling and distribution of materials. Thus, when a fault was discovered in the product to be returned, they had to relabel it with the relevant codes used by the supplier. This caused confusion and ended up causing bottlenecks.

The other key problem was poor workflow management. Instead of implementing a warehousing system by sector, common areas were used. This meant that in the midst of the hustle and bustle of peak production times, the merchandise became disorganized. In turn, this caused a delay in order picking and supply chain processes as a consequence.

Warehouse Management Software

However, even if these problems were solved, there was another disadvantage that prevented the optimization of the sector. This conflict was due to the fact that they had no warehouse management software. As a result, every registration and labeling had to be done manually.

After implementing warehouse management through the appropriate software, they were able to return products to suppliers instantly. They also noticed a profound improvement in traffic in the most congested areas. This led to a 32% acceleration in the delivery of products to customers and other parts of the organization.

Conclusion

In this article we told you what warehouse management is and how it is implemented. We also mentioned the importance of having a software that streamlines the usual logistics process of registration and control of goods and resources. If you are interested in starting to try some of these tools in your organization you can check the products of Intelisis WMS, SAP EWM, Infor WMS and Bind ERP.

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