WAREHOUSE_MANAGEMENT_Overview in Simple way

SAP WM Overview for SAP Beginners

1. WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM
EGEMEN MUTLUAY
2009503045
Industrial Engineering Deparment
Dokuz Eylül University

2. Definition of WMS
•Warehouse Management is a
proven, advanced WMS
software solution for
manufacturing, distribution,
and retail enterprises and
third-party logistics providers
(3PLs) that can be used by
enterprising organizations of
all sizes. It helps companies
maximize product placement
strategies, prioritize tasks,
implement fair productivity
standards, and increase
logistics efficiency.

3. WarehouseManagementSystems
(WMS)
•The evolution of warehouse management
systems (WMS) is very similar to that of many
other software solutions.
•To use the grandfather of operations-related
software, MRP, as a comparison, material
requirements planning (MRP) started as a
system for planning raw material
requirements in a manufacturing
environment.
•The expansion of the overlap in functionality
between Warehouse Management Systems,
Enterprise Resource Planning, Distribution
Requirements Planning, Transportation
Management Systems, Supply Chain Planning,
Advanced Planning and Scheduling, and
Manufacturing Execution Systems will only
increase the level of confusion among
companies looking for software solutions for
their operations.

4. I.Necessity of WMS
•Not everywarehouseneedsa WMS. Certainlyany
warehousecouldbenefitfromsomeof thefunctionality
but is thebenefitgreatenoughtojustifytheinitialand
ongoingcostsassociatedwithWMS? Warehouse
ManagementSystemsarebig, complex, data intensive,
applications.
•Youneedto"manage" yourwarehouse"management"
system. Oftentimes, largeoperationswillendup
creatinga newIS departmentwiththesoleresponsibility
of managingtheWMS.

5. The Claims
WMS willreduceinventory!
WMS willreducelaborcosts!
WMS willincreasestoragecapacity!
WMS willincreasecustomerservice!
WMS willincreaseinventoryaccuracy!

6. The Reality
•The implementation of a WMS along
with automated data collection will
likely give you increases in accuracy,
reduction in labor costs (provided the
labor required to maintain the system
is less than the labor saved on the
warehouse floor), and a greater ability
to service the customer by reducing
cycle times.
•While increased accuracy and
efficiencies in the receiving process
may reduce the level of safety stock
required, the impact of this reduction
will likely be negligible in comparison
to overall inventory levels.

7. •Thepredominantfactorsthatcontrolinventorylevelsarelot
sizing, leadtimes, anddemandvariability. Itis unlikelythata
WMS willhavea significantimpacton anyof thesefactors.
•Beyondlaborefficiencies, thedeterminingfactorsin decidingto
implementa WMS tendtobe moreoftenassociatedwiththeneed
todo somethingtoservice yourcustomersthatyourcurrent
systemdoesnot support(ordoesnot supportwell) suchas first-in-
first-out, cross-docking, automatedpick-replenishment, wave
picking, lot tracking, yardmanagement, automateddata
collection, automatedmaterialhandlingequipment, etc.

8. II. Setup
•Thesetuprequirementsof WMS can be extensive. The
characteristicsof eachitemandlocationmustbe
maintainedeitherat thedetaillevelorbygrouping
similaritemsandlocationsintocategories.
An exampleof itemcharacteristicsat thedetaillevelwouldinclude
exactdimensionsandweightof eachitemin eachunitof measure
theitemis stocked(eaches, cases, pallets, etc) as wellas
informationsuchas whetherit can be mixedwithotheritemsin a
location, whetherit is rackable, maxstackheight, maxquantityper
location, hazardclassifications, finishedgoodsorrawmaterial, fast
versusslowmover, etc.

9. •Althoughsomeoperationswillneedtoset upeachitem
thisway, mostoperationswillbenefitbycreatinggroups
of similarproducts.
Forexample, ifyouarea distributorof musicCDsyouwouldcreate
groupsforsingleCDs, anddoubleCDs, maintainingthedetailed
dimensionandweightinformationat thegrouplevelandonly
needingtoattachthegroupcodetoeachitem.

10. •Inrealitymostoperationshavea muchmorediverseproduct
mixandwillrequiremuchmoresystemsetup.
•Settingupthephysicalcharacteristicsof theproductand
locationsis onlypartof thepicture.
•It’sverycommontocombinemultiplelogicmethodsto
determinethebestlocation. Forexampleyoumaychoseto
usepick-to-clearlogicwithinfirst-in-first-outlogicwhen
therearemultiplelocationswiththesamereceiptdate.
Youalsomaychangethelogicbaseduponcurrentworkload.
Duringbusyperiodsyoumaychoselogicthatoptimizes
productivitywhileduringslowerperiodsyouswitchtologic
thatoptimizesspaceutilization.

11. III. Other
Functionality/Considerations
•WavePicking/BatchPicking/ZonePicking
•TaskInterleaving
•IntegrationwithAutomatedMaterial
HandlingEquipment

12. •WavePicking/BatchPicking/ZonePicking: Supportforvarious
pickingmethodsvariesfromonesystemtoanother. Inhigh-
volumefulfillmentoperations, pickinglogiccan be a criticalfactor
in WMS selection.
•TaskInterleaving:Taskinterleavingdescribesfunctionalitythat
mixesdissimilartaskssuchas pickingandputawaytoobtain
maximumproductivity. Usedprimarilyin full-pallet-load
operations, taskinterleavingwilldirecta lift truckoperatortoput
awaya palleton his/her waytothenextpick.
•IntegrationwithAutomatedMaterialHandlingEquipment:Ifyou
areplanningon usingautomatedmaterialhandlingequipmentsuchas
carousels, ASRS units, AGVs, pick-to-lightsystems, orsortation
systems, you’llwanttoconsiderthisduringthesoftware selection
process. Since thesetypesof automationareveryexpensiveandare
usuallya corecomponentof yourwarehouse, youmayfindthatthe
equipmentwilldrivetheselectionof theWMS.

13. •AdvancedShipmentNotifications(ASN)
•Cycle Counting
•CrossDocking

14. •Advanced Shipment Notifications
(ASN):If your vendors are capable of
sending advanced shipment notifications
(preferably electronically) and attaching
compliance labels to the shipments you
will want to make sure that the WMS
can use this to automate your receiving
process.
•Cycle Counting:Most WMS will have
some cycle counting functionality.
Modifications to cycle counting systems
are common to meet specific
operational needs.
•Cross Docking:In its purest form cross-
docking is the action of unloading
materials from an incoming trailer or
rail car and immediately loading these
materials in outbound trailers or rail
cars thus eliminating the need for
warehousing (storage).

15. •Pick-to-Carton
•Slotting
•YardManagement.
•Activity-basedcosting/billing

16. •Pick-to-Carton:Forparcelshipperspick-to-cartonlogicusesitem
dimensions/weightstoselecttheshippingcartonpriortotheorder
pickingprocess.Itemsarethenpickeddirectlyintotheshipping
carton.
•Slotting:Slottingdescribestheactivitiesassociatedwithoptimizing
productplacementin picklocationsin a warehouse.Thereare
software packagesdesignedjustforslotting, andmanyWMS packages
willalsohaveslottingfunctionality.
•Yardmanagement:Yardmanagementdescribesthefunctionof
managingthecontents(inventory) of trailersparkedoutsidethe
warehouse, ortheemptytrailersthemselves. Yardmanagementis
generallyassociatedwithcrossdockingoperationsandmayinclude
themanagementof bothinboundandoutboundtrailers.
•Activity-basedcosting/billing:Thisfunctionalityis primarily
designedforthird-partylogisticsoperators. Activity-basedbilling
allowsthemtocalculatebillablefeesbaseduponspecificactivities.

17. •THANKS FOR LISTENING