Overview of the Warehouse Management System

The Warehouse Management system (WMS) is a component of ’s Supply Chain Management and
Manufacturing solution. It spans the areas of warehouse resource management, warehouse
configuration, task management, advanced pick methodologies, and value added services.

WMS optimizes the material handling business processes for warehouses, manufacturing facilities,
and distribution centers. WMS supports both paper-based and automated environments with material
handling systems and radio frequency (RF) hand-held computers. To optimize the order fulfillment
process, WMS provides advanced distribution processes, such as value-added services, cross
docking, order assembly postponement, and resource and task management.

WMS also provides an easy-to-use interface for mobile, wireless hand-held computers. Mobility,
process automation, and bar code scanning greatly improve the efficiency of the Supply Chain
Logistics business processes.

WMS provides advanced materials visibility and expedited material movement for inventory control.
WMS provides advanced lot and serial attribute tracking and visibility, material status control, and
advanced space utilization capabilities.

Specifically, WMS addresses the following supply chain inventory management components:

■ Inbound logistics: Includes receiving directly into inventory, receipt inspections, label printing, and
rules-based directed put away to storage or opportunistic cross docking

■ Storage and facility management: In addition to 's suite of Mixed Mode Manufacturing storage and
facility management module, the WMS extends intra-organization replenishments, container
management, storage space optimization, cycle counting and physical inventory, and physical
warehouse mapping

■ Value added services: Includes labeling, packing, and kitting

■ Outbound logistics: Includes picking, staging, packing, product consolidation, loading, and shipping

■ Reverse logistics: Includes product returns, refurbishment, and recycling

WMS supports receipt of purchase orders and internal requisitions, return material authorizations
(RMAs) and inter-organization shipments in each of three receipt routing methods:

■ Direct (receive and deliver)

■ Inspection (receive, inspect, and later deliver)

Advanced shipment notices (ASNs) offer a form of collaboration that speeds the receiving process by
enabling the receiver to check in entire inbound loads. ASNs may contain such information as
purchase order number, item number, item serial number, item lot number, and so on.

After products are received, WMS can direct users to a dynamically determined staging location
based on pre-defined business rules and strategies. For example, a rule might specify that an item be
put away based on the temperature required for storage, hazardous storage requirements, or product
velocity.

If a shortage situation occurs, the system might direct you to immediately cross dock the item, versus
putting it away to a regular storage location.

WMS automates and helps manage warehouse picking tasks. These tasks include the following:

■ Assigning tasks to pickers, according to various business practices

■ Suggesting pick locations based on picking strategies that are configured using the WMS Rules
engine

■ Packing and consolidation of materials into LPNs

■ Vehicle loading and LPN Shipment confirmation

■ Interfacing with compliance labeling systems to generate labels according to customer- or carrier-
preferred format
WMS enables you to perform the following reverse logistics tasks:

■ Return Material Authorization (RMA) receiving

■ Supplier returns (RTV)

■ Refurbishment and recycling

WMS enables you to record and transact returns of material packed into a Licence Plate Number
(LPN) using the return to vendor feature.

WMS offers a one step or a two step process for returns. In a two step return process a manager can
initiate the return (step 1) and a picker can retrieve the material and deliver it to shipping (step 2).
Otherwise the return transaction is initiated and completed in one step.

WMS enable users to define inventory organizations, physical areas within the facility, and inventory
locators, as well as material valuation cost groups–that are used to track inventory costs, departments
within a facility, and the resources (both people and machines) that perform warehouse tasks, such as
material movement and value added services.
Container management enables you to track the contents of any containers in receiving, inventory,
shipping, and in-transit inventories. The WMS rules engine enables you to set up task strategies that
optimize warehouse execution and management.

An LPN, in WMS, is any object that exists in a location and holds items. An LPN might be a
container, but it does not need to represent a physical entity. It could be as simple as a label on a
collection of items. WMS enables users to track, transact, and nest LPNs and their contents. Using
License Plate Numbers Using LPNs, you can do the following:

■ Receive, store, and pick material by LPN

■ View on-hand balances by LPN

■ View contents of LPN, including item number, serial number, quantity, and so on

■ Move multiple items in a transaction by the LPN

■ Perform WIP completions into prepacked LPNs

■ Complete work orderless completions or discrete job completions into LPNs

■ Print labels and reports for referencing container contents

■ Track nested LPNs (for example, cartons on a pallet) The container and LPN concept enables you
to identify the complete contents and transaction history of each container.

WMS container management enables you to:

■ Use a unique LPN, identify a container and its contents

■ Pack and unpack LPN contents

■ Receive inventory into LPNs from suppliers and internal organizations

■ Move, and transact inventory in LPNs

■ View LPN contents

■ View the on-hand quantity packed in an LPN

■ Print LPN labels

WMS Rules Engine The WMS Rules engine is a modeling tool whose repository of business
practices and restrictions enable it to suggest the best process for a particular warehouse function.
You can set up rules and strategies to do the following:

■ Enable the system to allocate material for picking (directed picking)

■ Enable the system to suggest put away locations in which to store an item (directed putaway)

■ Enable the system to assign material valuation and holding accounts to received material (cost
group assignment)

■ Enable the system to suggest the label format and information content that are used to print a given
label (compliance labeling)

■ Designate warehouse task types to pending work, so that the system can dispatch work to the
appropriate users and equipment.
All of these features increase your ability to manage your warehouses more efficiently.

WMS directed picking and putaway enables you to dynamically select storage locations for material
that is received into the warehouse, or completed from WIP, and to allocate material for sales orders
based on user defined material selection criteria.

Cost Group Assignment If your company holds inventory on their premises, you can use the cost
group assignment feature to view the ownership associated with inventory. A separate cost group is
warranted whenever an item has a different account coding. Thus, a supplier’s warehouse inventory
can be identified, tracked, and properly costed, even if it is commingled with your company’s
inventory. The cost group assignment feature helps reduce physical inventory levels, while promoting
higher inventory turns.

Compliance Labeling WMS enables you to suggest a label format based on the customer, item, order
type, carrier, or other entities related to the material. The actual printing of the label is performed by a
third party label printing system. Label generation and format selection are performed within WMS,
either at predetermined points in the business process, or at user request.

Task Dispatching The WMS rules engine identifies the correct task type for system generated tasks
so that they can be assigned to a qualified user with the appropriate equipment.