What is a Warehouse Management System?

A warehouse management system is software that is used to keep track of inventory and day-to-day operations within a warehouse. A WMS can monitor the movement of products from the time they enter the warehouse to the time they leave. The purpose of having a WMS is to help ensure that products or finished goods are moving through the warehouse in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.

What Does a WMS Do?

A WMS has several functions, but the chief among those functions is monitoring inventory movement coming into the warehouse, throughout the warehouse, and out of the warehouse. A WMS can help with shipping and receiving, order picking and fulfillment, and even labor management.

With a WMS, warehouse workers know exactly how much of a certain product is on hand, where to find those products, details regarding how they should be shipped, and when the next supply of that product will be coming in. They can even provide reports to help you analyze the performance of the warehouse so you can make more data-driven decisions on how to improve. All of this together makes for more efficient warehouse operations.

Warehouse Management Systems also integrate into other business software like ERPs, TMSs, and multi-carrier shipping solutions like Shippo. This helps business owners maintain an even greater view of where their inventory levels stand.