Good WMS have always delivered higher stock accuracy to ensure
ensure more deliveries are fulfilled correctly first time, to reduce the need for returns, or additional shipments that involve additional movements. Improving fulfilment accuracy by just a small fraction can have a significant impact on these processes. This may be an important consideration for specialist and high value shoe retailers because the impact on customer service can be more severe. While, conventional WMS typically offered order accuracy percentages in the high nineties, adding in newer technologies such as bar-coding, voice directed picking and RFID can, and do, offer near 100% levels of accuracy. Interfacing the WMS with other business systems, such as order processing and invoicing also helps to eliminate the potential for errors caused when data is rekeyed that lead to incomplete or incorrect deliveries and order fulfilment. The WMS can also help deliver more sustainable operations inside the
more deliveries are fulfilled correctly first time, to reduce the need for returns, or additional shipments that involve additional move- ments. Improving fulfilment accuracy by just a small fraction can
have a significant impact on these processes. This may be an impor- tant consideration for specialist and high value shoe retailers because the impact on customer service can be more severe.
This can be important when brands or retailers are planning seasonal
promotions or to tie in with special events, such as the World Cup. Most modern WMS can be set to any required picking scenario, but there may be a compromise with overall efficiency because the shortest route may not always be the most responsive to customer requirements. WMS have always supported the optimum utilisation of space in the
warehouse. The latest applications incorporate analytical and reporting tools that allow users to set a wide range of operational parameters and priorities to optimise their stock management and order picking operations. When the WMS is configured to minimise the picking route, for example, the aim may be to improve productivity but it could also minimise the energy consumption of the warehouse trucks which clearly has an environmental as well as cost benefit. This can be a particular advantage in shoe warehouses where many orders are assembled by picking single items or cases rather than complete pallet loads. Configuring the WMS to optimise the route so that items are picked in sequence as the operative and their vehicle move along each aisle or shelf, can reduce the “distance per pick”. This may have benefits when assembling orders for the larger shoe retailers or outlets. For smaller outlets and independents, who only order a few items each week it may be more efficient to pick multiple orders simultaneously, using separate bins of cages on the picking truck. Analytical tools in the latest WMS help to identify previously
unseen patterns in warehouse operations. Although there may be good internal reasons to keep similar items close together in the warehouse, it can often make more sense to group them using customer-centric parameters. For example, reorganising storage, so that all fast moving items are together and at the ends of aisles or at the front of the warehouse can help to minimise the number and distance of the most frequent handling tasks. This can minimise equipment utilisation, for energy and cost savings, while improving overall productivity and customer responsiveness. More generally, WMS with facilities to plan and schedule volumes, support a green strategy by aligning resources to requirements. Priorities may change, so the WMS must be able to support the kind of
flexibility required in dynamic handling environments by enabling different priorities to be set in real time.
warehouse. Using more of the available space and increasing throughput offers a better alternative to a larger building and slow moving operations and requires fewer natural resources. In footwear operations, for example, matching beam heights and lengths to the size of fully loaded pallets can help ensure maximum utilisation of horizontal and vertical space. Wasted space requires energy to light and heat and while the savings can soon mount up even if they are not as great in a footwear warehouse as they are in a cold store. Another solution to the need to reduce floor
space has been to build taller warehouses, especially for operations such as footwear that involve relatively light loads. As lift trucks became more powerful and efficient, this was
seen as an ideal way to maximise volume utilisation. However, lifting higher takes time and uses more energy and may not always be an ideal
solution. But, the best WMS should be capable of supporting any operation that is chosen or required. Simulation and modelling techniques, supported by the WMS, can help operators decide the optimum configuration for their proposed warehouse before they commission the
building or install racking. Chess Logistics Technology Limited has provided software for logistics
and distribution applications for more than twenty years and is recognised as a specialist in its field. The company has an extensive client list of national and international companies.
Contact:
Alex Mills, Sales & Marketing Director Chess Logistics Technology Limited Tel: 0161 888 2580
Web:
www.chess.uk.com
AUGUST 2010 • FOOTWEAR TODAY
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