Warehouse Management – What you Need to Consider and Know Before Implementing

As more and more companies beginning to upgrade to Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, a rather sizable decision will need to be made as it relates to which methodology to utilize for warehouse work. Those upgrading from a more basic warehousing solution need to consider and know the things that the systems Warehouse management system (WMS) will require.

Using WMS in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations is intended to change the way you operate. It offers an array of functionality that provides an efficient and controlled warehouse to give you full control every time you touch a piece of inventory. However, to take advantage of this, there are things you should consider before making the change:

1. One of the primary features of the WMS is the concept of “directed put-away” and “directed picking.” What this means is that the system can specify exactly where you need to put items in the warehouse and the exact items you need to pick for sales orders. While there are still ways you can operate without this, the advantages of using these “directed” processes are a way to insure that you operating in the most efficient manner.
2. When you stop to consider it, “directed put-away” means that the system needs to know the storage capacity of each location in your warehouse. It needs to know when a place is full and can handle the items to be put away, and when a location is empty enough to handle the quantity. There are two things to keep in mind.
   • You need to identify the capacity of each location by knowing the sizes of pallets or boxes that will be placed there.
   • In lieu of measuring all the items to be placed in the location, you can indicate the quantity of specific items that are to be stored at a location. This is easier, but it is also not as exact. For example, you would list, 5000 items of a certain product would fill up the location. However, if you would ever use that location for other items, you would continually need to update that record.
3. Using the WMS means taking advantage of the mobile device functionality in order to fully utilize all the features. This means a substantial investment in the proper devices for your company.
4. In order to use the features to its fullest and maintain total control of your inventory, workers need to be very disciplined to process a transaction each and every time an item is touched, even if it is just to move it from one shelf to another.

The reward for all these added tasks? By using the mobile device, processing all these transactions is much, much easier. You would not need to go into the system and create a journal to move an item. You don’t have to write quantities down as you do a cycle count, just scan and count. Warehouse work is faster and those that traditionally enter warehouse movements into a system will find themselves with more time to do other important work.

Utilizing the WMS system in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations is a win for most companies, but everyone considering it should be aware of what it will mean to your warehouse operation.

To learn more about how you can take advantage of this and other Dynamics GP features, visit RSM’s Microsoft Dynamics GP resource. To make sure you stay up to date with the Microsoft Dynamics Community, subscribe to our Microsoft Dynamics Community Newsletter. For more information on Microsoft Dynamics 365, contact us.

By: Howard LeCover

Howard LeCover