16 July 2022 Do you believe your warehouse has already reached its full potential, meaning high performance and intelligent use of resources? Or is it still common for delays, errors, and losses to occur? In the first case, when there is great efficiency, you can offer a valuable service, differentiating yourself from your competitors. In the second, it is very likely that your company is lagging behind others that have already understood that optimizing logistics is essential to gaining a competitive advantage. Currently, with the strengthening of e-commerce and omnichannel, customers desire agility and quality in fulfilling their requests. Those who do not meet promised deadlines, deliver the wrong item, make exchanges difficult, among other similar situations, are out of the game. This means that companies that do not prioritize excellent logistics operations are losing ground in an increasingly competitive market. This scenario has shown companies the importance of investing in specialized technologies and solutions, such as the Warehouse Management System, WMS. The software adds more robust functionalities for inventory and movement management, as well as for executing activities such as receiving, storage, picking, replenishment, shipping, and loading. With WMS, companies can optimize the use of warehouse resources (people, equipment, and area), which leads to a significant reduction in costs. Additionally, of course, to improving intralogistic processes, which has a direct impact on customer satisfaction. If your company is among those that do not have a WMS, this text will show you that you can gain a significant competitive advantage by implementing the system. In the following paragraphs, we will practically show you how you can use the WMS to position your company at the top of the market. WMS System: The Key to Competitive Advantage Before specifically discussing how the WMS can provide a competitive advantage, let’s remember that to gain all the benefits offered by the system, your company needs to make a good supplier choice. The WMS must be selected based on business requirements and customer profile. Today, there are many options on the market; however, choosing and implementing the solution that has the flexibility and versatility needed to meet your specific needs makes a big difference in terms of results. When implementing the system in your company, some immediate changes can already be felt: tasks can be carried out more quickly, and errors are significantly reduced, as the WMS does not tolerate errors. Another advantage is that you now have real-time information about your activity, meaning you can monitor order progress, employee performance, loading time, among other essential information to ensure excellent service to your customers. Something interesting offered by the system is Active Summons, which ensures that all activities are executed on time, with the correct priorities and resources. In practice, it works like this: the WMS automatically summons the employee to perform a task, providing instructions so that it can be carried out quickly and accurately. This feature not only brings greater efficiency but also makes training new employees faster and simpler. Moreover, with Active Summons, you are assured that the lines will always be replenished, as the system automatically generates replenishment activities when an address reaches the minimum stock. This means your customers will always be satisfied with their requests. Additionally, the WMS takes care of prioritizing activities. For example, if you have a list of orders, one of which requires urgent delivery, the system moves this order ahead of others to strictly meet the deadline. So far, you’ve seen how you can gain a competitive advantage with WMS by speeding up deliveries, avoiding stockouts, and ensuring the best service for your customers, right? But the gains don’t stop here. One of the system’s prerogatives is to allow companies to do more with less. To this end, the WMS has a series of programmed automations so that the storage area is well utilized, equipment is used optimally, and the workforce works with maximum productivity. In many cases, savings reach up to 30%. With the savings generated, the company can allocate capital to what will truly grow the business, as well as offer more competitive prices to its customers. Another saving lies in reducing paper usage, which also results in increased process accuracy. When using lists and spreadsheets, in addition to spending a lot of time performing tasks, employees are more likely to make mistakes. With the automation offered by WMS, staff will spend less time on administrative functions, orders will be processed faster, and errors will be reduced. There are also savings related to reducing losses and increasing accuracy by performing periodic counts, automatically generated by the WMS. During shipping, by cubing volumes and indicating the best packaging for each item, the system also ensures cost savings. Improving services, reducing costs, and many other material and immaterial benefits… The competitive advantages that WMS offers can truly elevate your company to another level. But it’s not just the company that wins, its management does too. The system offers Visual Management, as well as several key KPIs for predictive analysis, problem correction, and strategic decision-making. You can access this information anytime and anywhere. WMS and the Warehouse of the Future In addition to all the mentioned benefits, the WMS will form the foundation for placing your warehouse in Logistics 4.0. The software integrates with the most modern automatic systems, such as voice picking, pick-to-light, shuttle, and sorter, transmitting the necessary information for them to perform their tasks. Additionally, WMS integrates with ERP, OMS, and TMS, making your operations unified and organized. In short, with WMS, your company will not only be ready to grow but also to offer unparalleled service to your customer! How to Gain a Competitive Advantage with a WMS System Deagor WMS per ecommerce può aiutarti!