Let's have a look at the typical flow you might see in an average Warehouse Management process to better understand what it encompasses. Starting from the reception of a product or good, until it’s delivery to the customer (and possible return).

Receiving or Inbound process

Whenever a good or product gets delivered to one of your facilities it needs to be verified, logged into the system and correctly stored or be prepared to ship through to its next location; this is sometimes referred to as cross-docking. Since this is the very first step for all incoming goods any mistake during its reception could cause problems down the line.

Layout and slotting 

This aspect of Warehouse Management truly benefits from data-driven decisions. Choosing where to place each item in your warehouse should be a process informed with data specific to your circumstances. Related items, that are often bought together, should probably be closer to each other while one that is often confused for the other might be better placed further away. Perhaps leave items with higher rotation closer to the front and items with slower rotation towards the back. A series of decisions that yield best results when backed by data.

So, with a now better scope dimension of WM, it becomes clear how complex it is to manage inventory and its logistical flow. In every step of the way there was a chance for human error to cause costly mistakes in more ways than one. You should ask yourself how much your errors are costing your company.

This also exemplifies how adopting software can have a serious impact on productivity and, in general, deliver better results. Aside from preventing many possible human errors a WMS provides incredibly valuable data points that allow you to optimize your operation along the way. Sometimes business owners don’t understand that optimization isn't just about fixing errors but to find ways to improve your process, however well it might be working now.