Prior to receipt of inventory, purchase orders, scheduled truck arrivals/docks, and Advanced Shipment Notices (EDI) may be entered, viewed, and updated

Truck unloading and receipt of inventory against the purchase order may be completed on RF or PC-based terminals. Bar codes authenticate accurate inventory receipts. Additional labels may be applied.

Inventory may be stored with corresponding items or assigned random locations in the warehouse. These locations may include a specific bin size/height as well as predetermined velocity or temperature zone and warehouse. Dual-cycle putaway directs a retrieval on the return trip to the dock. RF, automation, or paper putaways are supported.

If inventory being received is immediately needed for shipping, the system directs the picker to take it to the shipping area instead.

Sales orders are entered or downloaded from the host accounting system. They are picked in priority order, in a specific sequence, by multiple pickers simultaneously. A picker may be restricted to a specific picking zone or roam among picking zones.

Routes with a customer delivery sequence can defined. Sales orders can be picked and the inventory loaded into trailers to correspond to the unload sequence.

At some facilities, a large quantity of one SKU is picked for multiple customers at the same time. Bulk pick quantities are separated into customer orders downstream.

Inventory is often used for mixtures, mechanical assembly, or to feed product equipment. In these cases, the line must be replenished with quantity updates by kanban (decrementing by assembly), by cycle counting, or by replenishment order when a worker observes a need. The WMS may be configured to automatically create the product part from its pieces and to scrap a remaining quantity.

After (or during) inventory picking for an order, it may need to be staged for prep or further consolidated into shipping cartons with labels and shipment routing information.

Shipping weight and contents documents often need to go with the driver, or electronic documents must be sent to the customer.

Will-call, expediting, labeling, sequence loading, bar code scanning into the trailer, trailer seals, weight monitoring/distribution, product visibility, etc. may be part of the WMS shipping system.

Statistics include quantities received, counted, picked, and shipped by area and by worker. Time estimates for work to be done may also be included.

Size and capacity for storage bins together with product piece, case, and load sizes help determine where items should be stored.

RF hand-held terminals with built-in bar code scanners display to the user the next pick location, what to pick, and where to put it. RF terminals can be used for receiving, putaway, picking, counting, consolidation, and shipping so the user does not need to dismount the forklift nor fine a full-screen wired terminal.

A WMS can track inventory within an automated aisle and give commands to store and retrieve there. This can be mixed in with the conventional storage system or replace it.

A WMS can direct conveyors to take bar coded containers into storage, to/through assembly areas, or to shipping.

The accounting system on a company's computer should not be affected by implementing an independent WMS. It does require, however, that the host send to the WMS expected receipts (POS), customer information, sales orders, and item master (SKU) information. The WMS returns to the accounting system inventory receipts, shipment confirmations, inventory adjustments, order statuses, and inventory uploads. The host accounting system must update its inventory accordingly.

EDI standards describe scores of messages for financial and industrial use. A distribution center commonly uses ASN (Advanced Shipping Notice), CSS (Confirm Shipment Status), and order messaging.

Oracle is the most widely used relational database and is commonly preferred because of accounting system database similarities or support. As with other relational databases, SQL queries from network PCs are supported.

Local Area Networks (LAN) are usually employed within the distribution center to communicate between the WMS computer and the terminals, printers, RF equipment, and automated systems. Internet and Wide Area Networks (WAN) may often be used to access the WMS from outside the distribution center.

The WMS should be packaged and configurable so as to need no software code changes. However, if the end user has special purpose needs, such as special messaging to the host computer or terminology changes, etc., the software provider should be able to quote and perform the required changes in a timely manner. Customization may, however, prevent package upgrades.

WMS installation means bringing up the WMS software on the customer's on-site computer to test all its functions in the distribution center facility. Following installation is the planned production start-up.

WMS integration begins when the distribution center database, the accounting system host interface, and the automated material handling equipment begin operation with the WMS. Integration time and effort is improved by early and thorough testing using emulators of the data, the interface, and the equipment.