Table of Contents
- What is a Warehouse Management System?
- What are the Key Features of a Warehouse Management System?
- Three Key Drivers of Warehouse Automation in 2022
- Why Adopt Custom Warehouse Management Software?
- Benefits of Custom Warehouse Management Software
- Custom Warehouse Management System: A Case Study
- Develop Your WMS with Fingent
Allied Market Research estimates that by 2030, the market value of global warehouse management systems is estimated to reach $10.6 billion, with a CAGR of 16.3% during 2021-2030.
What is a Warehouse Management System?
What are the Key Features of a Warehouse Management System?
- Scans the barcode or RFID tags affixed to each item or material to enable easier storage and retrieval
- Flags items that require inspection by QA experts
- Automates the generation of identification labels for goods, pallets, etc.,
- Suggests storage recommendations based on the size, expiry date, demand forecasts, and fragility of each product
- Facilitates cross-docking by alerting warehouse workers when goods have to be transported from the receiving zone directly to a shipping zone
- Resolves issues through status reporting of incoming receipts to warehousing and merchandising staff
- Schedule the shipments judiciously by optimizing the delivery routes to reduce the travel time
- Calculate the shipping time and rates by integrating with the shipping carriers’ applications
- Merge multiple orders addressed to the same consignee into a single shipment
- Track the entire shipment history
- Ensure faster and timely delivery of shipments off the dock and in transit to the right destination
Case Study: Optimizing last-mile delivery: Software suite development for an e-commerce locker company helps gain 50% reduction in internal workload.
Three Key Drivers of Warehouse Automation
1. E-commerce and Rapid Order Fulfillment
- 66% of customers choose e-vendors based on the delivery options
- 63% select an e-vendor based on delivery speed
- 77% are willing to pay for faster delivery
2. Cost of Operations
- 66% of a warehouse’s functioning budget is consumed by labor costs
- 27% of fulfillment issues are caused by staff turnover
3. Growth of Technology
- AI and Deep Learning
- Blockchain
- Industrial IoT
- Connected warehouse systems
Why Adopt Custom Warehouse Management Software?
Off-the-Shelf vs. Custom Warehouse Management System
Off-the-Shelf Warehouse Systems
- Designed commonly for different types of users
- Requires additional components to function
- Needs high-end customization
- Slow to change with industry needs
- Subscription/ licensing costs are high
- Jam-packed with unwanted features
Custom Warehouse Management System
- Tailored to address your specific needs
- Highly adaptable and sustainable
- Scalable to your future requirements
- Integrates with your existing systems and third-party software
- Long time value- Easy to maintain and customize
- An investment for a profitable future
Benefits of Custom Warehouse Management Software
On-demand Functionality
Custom warehouse management software development allows you to build the required architecture and functionality designed to fit all your warehouse needs. When you choose to build a WMS, you have the option to modify the features list anytime during the development process. Thus, your WMS will be equipped to meet the ever-changing business needs.
Improved Scalability
When you build a warehouse management software, you can implement the required level of scalability based on the number of users and warehouses, number and frequency of orders handled, and other aspects during the process of development. Ideally, custom software development allows you to invest once and scale your business on the go. A scalable custom WMS allows you to add as many users as you need free of cost.
Integration Opportunities
Unlike many off-the-shelf warehouse software that provide a fixed list of out-of-the-box integrations, a custom warehouse management system supports on-demand integrations. If you are running a large e-commerce store with several multi-component business operations, the only way to automate your workflow is to integrate your WMS with the multiple platforms you use. A custom WMS software can be integrated with hundreds of products through APIs and plugins.
Custom Modules for Each Functionality
Custom WMS development enables you to integrate discrete modules tailored to meet your inventory, shipping, logistics, scheduling, cross-docking, and other supply chain fulfillment needs. You can also implement the software on any platform, say desktop, laptop, smartphones, wearable devices, and more. Cross-platform WMS implementation helps you keep track of all the inventory directly from any device.
Cloud-based Warehouse Management Solutions
Custom-built warehouse management software hosted on the cloud offers you higher security advantages. Your application will be hosted on a virtual private server which keeps your data safe. This is highly beneficial for businesses handling high-value inventory.
Custom Warehouse Management System: A Case Study
- Streamlined and accelerated ordering, tracking, and delivery processes
- Cut licensing and subscription costs by eliminating complex third-party software integrations
- 30% improvement in Turn Around Time (TAT)
- 40% time-saving attained through automated tasks and real-time reporting