Enterprise manufacturing today faces higher expectations across the buyer board, especially when efficiency is taken into consideration. In order to elevate brand integrity and maintain customer loyalty, timely delivery of parts and types of machinery should take place at a low cost.
Having said that, it’s no secret that inventory availability and optimization are among top priorities for enterprise professionals. So how are modern enterprise manufacturers looking to scale?
Enter the Warehouse Management System
Established manufacturers have legacy systems which are costly and old to upgrade, configure, and maintain. Fortunately, new warehouse management systems are maturing. They’re offering improved integration with supply chain management systems and advanced built-in functionalities to guarantee fast delivery modes.
Enterprise manufacturing is adopting an increasing number of warehouse management solutions. And solution providers are responding with new and robust options. Increased demand and supply has resulted in significant growth of the warehouse management system market in the past few years, and the trend is only expected to continue.
The market is anticipated to grow to $3.23 billion by 2023, with a 14.1 percent CAGR between this year and 2023. The driving force behind the growth of this market (apart from the general increase in demand and supply) is the emergence of cloud systems, globalized supply chain networks, and the increased adoption of multi-channel distribution networks.
Enterprise Manufacturers on the Lookout
Acknowledging the traction gained by the warehouse management system market, manufacturers are on the lookout for WMS software that can streamline enterprise operations and feature integrated modules that together offer a full supply chain management solution. Fortunately, companies like Selecthub provide a list of resources that an enterprise can refer to when making propriety software decisions. Manufacturers can see the pricing, compatibility and features of different warehouse management software and pick an option that suits their current requirements.
Why is this necessary? Because software users are becoming demanding. In years past they’d be content with generating reports from the information in the warehouse and attempt to derive tactical insights from them. Now, they’ve begun expecting analytical data from their reports, which has added a standard point in the enterprise warehouse management game. Vendors have to ensure their offerings generate up-to-date and accurate data to meet manufacturers’ needs and promote trust. In a nutshell, vendors have to stand strong on all counts.
Rather than relying on annual physical counting of inventory numbers, manufacturers are relying on their software to perform cycle counts on a regular basis. Depending on the inventory stored in the warehouse, advanced software will allow them to perform these quarterly, monthly, or even daily. Realizing the benefits, several organizations are starting to train their workers in inventory management software best practices. Because, in order to grow and be truly successful, employees need to be engaged in inventory management policies and practices.
Manufacturers are also looking forward to giving their warehouse crew an opportunity to complete order processing and keep things clean before clocking out. The right software will allow them to schedule a time to end order processing, maybe a half hour before the day ends, and allocate the rest of the time to cleaning. This means that at the end of the day, it will be possible to leave the warehouse organized and the inventory in its right place, instead of lying around waiting for the following day to begin in disarray.
With these developments in place, imagine how much smoother warehouse management operations will be.