In many cases, the platform potential WMS applications run on will be the first criteria to review when narrowing down your choices. "Platform" means what operating system and database is required to run the application. This will have a big impact what?s required to maintain the system, and could have significant financial implications as well.

A WMS is a typical business system like an ERP, which means it will normally run on some kind of relational database. Examples are Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, IBM DB2, and mySQL. Some WMS products are designed to be database independent, so that you can use the database of your choice. Others will only work with a specific database, which means you will be forced to license the required database at a cost additional to the WMS license. These licensing costs can become quite expensive, especially if you need a large multi-processor server, or will have many distributed databases instances. Often it?s possible to use free versions of database products for small implementations, but you need to be aware of the limitations so you're prepared if you run into them in the future. For example, Microsoft's MSDE product, a free version of SQL Server 2000, has a maximum database size of 2GB. You hit that and you've got problems. Free open source databases like mySQL or Postgres may also be options. But think long and carefully whether you are willing to trust a critical business system to an open source database. In the past open source databases like mySQL lacked some of the enterprise features available in traditional databases, although this has been improving in recent versions. Also keep in mind that even though the WMS vendor may claim to support multiple databases, in reality they may strongly push you to a particular one because that's what most of their customers already use and therefore is easier for them to support.

You?ll also need to know which operating system the user interface and application server needs (if one is necessary). Products built on newer technologies like Java or Microsoft .NET will often be multi-tier applications that have various components that need to be installed. The Java oriented products will typically allow you to run the solution on just about any operating system, but you still may find the vendor encouraging you to use a particular operating system anyway. Keep in mind many WMS products out there are based on "legacy" technologies. A lot of the more mature products in the market have been around a long time and don?t run on newer technology. Selection of these tools may force you into operating systems or databases that your IT people have never even heard of before.

Another platform decision to make is the delivery method of the software. Although most vendors license software to you to run on your own hardware, it's becoming more popular to offer hosted solutions where the vendor runs everything and simply provides your users access over the Internet. Web-based WMS are the best suited for a hosted environment, but virtually any kind of user interface can be delivered in a hosted model using products like Citrix.

The latest and greatest technology is not always the best. Many of the WMS based on legacy systems offer character interfaces that can frequently be much more productive for heads down data entry that Windows or web-based interfaces. Web-based applications are much easier to deploy than Windows applications, but the user interface can often be clunky and slow, although this isn't necessarily the case. Probably the most important factor is to choose a platform that's a good fit for your IT staff's existing operational environment. If possible you want technology that they are familiar with and trust. Trying to introduce a Java-based solution into a Microsoft shop could be a big mistake, even if the product seems to be a great choice from a business perspective. Make sure to include your IT operational staff in the product selection early on so that you know which technology they are comfortable in working with.

Let's first clarify what a WMS is and why you would need one. WMS stands for warehouse management software. It's an application that in theory should allow you to more efficiently run a warehouse operation. It's probably safe to say that the concept of a WMS grew out of the old inventory management systems that were present in early accounting and ERP systems. Before the rise of WMS, most of these systems had a basic component to help companies track and value their inventory. After all, inventory is an item on a company's balance sheet and it has to be accurately accounted for. But usually that just resulted in a simple system function that kept track of how many units of each product were currently in a warehouse and how much those products were worth. This just wasn't enough for companies with larger distribution centers. When many workers are scurrying around the warehouse picking hundreds or thousands of products a day, it can be very complicated to do this efficiently and without mistakes. Although the accounting system may at best tell the worker where the required product is located, it doesn't tell him which sequence of picks is the most efficient, or what the best way to organize products in the warehouse is. WMS products grew around these needs. The WMS was usually a 3^rd party application that worked in unison with the accounting or ERP system. The accounting system would pass orders to the WMS, which would then handle the physical distribution component. The WMS would pass completed order data and/or updated inventory levels back to the ERP system. This allowed the logistics people to independently work efficiently in their own WMS yet still keep the financial people happy with timely and accurate inventory data.

So why would you need a WMS' From a strategic perspective, here are some key areas a WMS should help with.

• Increased operational productivity A WMS should make it more productive to accomplish tasks in your warehouse like putaways, picks, ship outs, and cycle counts. For example, a WMS may tell you the best location to store a particular product based on product type, size, weight, or historical pick frequencies. A WMS usually supports processing inventory tasks in batches of efficient trips through the warehouse. If you have 10 orders that all need to go out, the WMS will often layout the specific path through the warehouse the worker should take to reduce back-tracking. It may also assist in designing the warehouse layout or reorganizing product locations to keep high frequency product in readily accessible areas.
• Increased accuracy Any kind of discrepancies in a warehouse operation directly impact the bottom line. Misplacing products or shipping the incorrect products are huge problems that need to be minimized. A WMS will help by providing very specific inventory location services, along with technologies like barcoding or RFID that reduce the likelihood of data entry errors when processing transactions.
• Quicker fulfillment cycle time Assuming the WMS is properly integrated with the order management system, it should improve the speed at which orders are fulfilled. In addition to the increases operational productivity already mentioned, the WMS may provide prioritization services which help warehouse personnel to fulfill the hot orders first and get to the lower priority orders later.
• Better visibility Depending on platform and architecture, the WMS will usually provide real-time or near real-time visibility on what's currently in the warehouse. If the order processing system has access to this information, it can provide immediate feedback to customers and sales people regarding up-to-the-minute product availability (think Amazon.com). Accurate and timely visibility into what's currently in the distribution center can also help logistics managers better plan not only for replenishment orders, but also better manage transportation costs. For example, it may be possible to ship new product via ocean freight rather than use airfreight which is more expensive. Another facet of visibility is labor metrics. Some WMS products track exactly how long each sub-task warehouse personnel takes, and makes it possible for management to analyze individual performance and take steps to improve overall warehouse efficiency.

So as you can see, there are a lot of great things a WMS product can do for you. Many of these features aren't available in every WMS, and many may be completely unnecessary depending on your warehouse operation. When approaching a WMS project, it's a good idea to start by documenting the high level strategic goals for the project. How do you envision your warehouse operation to run once the WMS solution is in place' What specific benefits will it provide' How much cost savings will it result in' Then you can begin to drill down into what's available in the market and how big or small your investment needs to be.