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Feature Warehousing & storage
Warehousing in tough times
Gursh Atwal, sales manager, AEB (International) talks
about the challenges, trends and solutions for
warehousing during a harsh economic climate
A
ccording to Capital Economics,
one of the City’s most pessimistic forecasters, the UK
economy is likely to experience
another weak 18 months before
rebounding strongly in 2015. This
economic uncertainty, paired with
market volatility, creates multi-faceted
challenges for warehouse managers.
Add the shifts in demand and distribution strategies (e.g. from in-store to
online, and local to centralised) and it
becomes obvious how powerful and
flexible today’s warehouse management systems (WMS) have to be: they
must enable quick reactions to unpredictable demand, offer multi-level,
multi-site and multi-client inventory
management, facilitate different
picking strategies and material
handling systems, support reliable
demand forecasting, and cater for
distribution of store deliveries and
online orders, all at the same time.
The right software should provide
complete visibility of inventory levels,
both in the warehouse and in transit.
Full transparency of incoming and
outgoing orders enables companies to
consolidate and time their deliveries
to reduce inventory levels, keeping
only the minimum stock required to
respond to emergencies. A good WMS
notifies suppliers and carriers when
inventory levels are running low,
which enables vendor management
inventory (VMI) and facilitates a continuous flow of goods while saving
money. Warehouse operators should
also look for end-to-end traceability of
order items, particularly in the food,
pharmaceuticals and chemicals sectors, where product recalls can quickly
turn into PR disasters. Integrated visibility and collaboration solutions offer
drill-down options for tracking, e.g.
from container level to stock keeping
unit (SKU) level, and collect all
‘Before signing on the dotted line, warehouse operators
should know exactly which internal and external factors
affect their operations, and what their specific workflow and
optimisation requirements are.’
But choosing the right WMS can be
a daunting task and rash decisions
should not be made. Before signing on
the dotted line, warehouse operators
should know exactly which internal
and external factors affect their operations, and what their specific workflow and optimisation requirements
are. This will have a direct impact on
their return on investment. They
should also bear in mind that, while
implementing a WMS can lead to
substantial savings on manpower,
because
integrated
warehouse
solutions improve visibility, e.g. on
current work load, peak phases and
possible bottlenecks, allowing both
management and warehouse staff to
focus on their core tasks, the overall
aim is to increase productivity, with
the same number of people working
more efficiently, So, rather than the
stock controlling the workforce to
react to the market, the workforce is
controlling the stock to proactively
cater for peaks and shifts in demand.
applicable progress reports and status
messages on one centrally accessible
platform. This provides for complete
audit trails and visibility within and
beyond the warehouse, which assists
in meeting performance indicators
(KPIs) and maintaining the supply
chain’s integrity.
Another crucial requirement is
system integration capability. A WMS
should integrate smoothly into existing
IT environments, and communicate
with both internal operations and
systems (e.g. procurement, customs,
shipping and sales) and external parties
(e.g. suppliers, service providers and
carriers), leading to transparency and
efficient work flows, ideally in realtime. Modular and scalable software
architecture is recommended, providing the required functionality with the
option to expand later as the business
grows. It’s also important the system is
integrated with transport and global
trade management systems, facilitating
comprehensive logistics execution and
Materials Handling & Logistics SEPTEMBER 2013
Gursh Atwal, sales
manager, AEB
(International)
AEB (International)
T: 01926 801250
www.aebinternational.co.uk
Enter 370
regulatory compliance with customs
and global trade procedures.
The ultimate choice of WMS
depends on a company’s individual
requirements and short-, mid- and
long-term goals – there is no ‘one-sizefits-all’ solution. That’s why it’s
crucial that the solution provider
offers the right portfolio, experience,
and consultative approach to guide
through the decision making process.
Ideally they should become a proactive partner, offering an outside view
and asking the right questions to assist
in-house teams to design improved
work flows, cut waste and increase
efficiency. WMS can have a staggering
impact on improving supply chain
dynamics and performance. An
integrated solution provides visibility
across the entire supply chain, helping
companies to increase delivery performance, streamline processes, lower
inventory costs and gain a competitive
advantage. The more information is
available to supply chain managers in
real-time, the faster they can respond
to customer demands and increase
efficiency. Logistics experts wanting to
make the most of their current WMS,
implement a new solution or even
introduce a WMS for the very first
time should carefully analyse their
detailed requirements and compare
available providers and system
options to ensure the new solution
supports all their goals.
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