believe automating the warehouse in an attempt to fix a broken process is a mistake and doomed to failure. Years of official and unofficial policy results in a lengthy series of inefficient procedures. This "Band-Aid" approach to addressing issues creates exception processes that hinder productivity and increase costs. Unless these problems are corrected, they become part of the design documentation. The result is a system that helps the organization do all the things it has been doing wrong – faster. A WMS is designed to improve the flow of information within a warehouse only. By itself, it will not improve inventory accuracy, order accuracy or compensate for insufficient staffing. One of the greatest misconceptions I heard was that the WMS would allow for the site to reduce headcount further. While it is true that a WMS will improve true warehouse task efficiencies by managing and allowing for complex tasks, the cost for this is that it usually requires additional manpower to monitor the system. A reduction in warehouse worker headcount is offset by administrative department headcount, in effect.Developing Design Specifications:From our initial meeting with the WMS project manager, we began to examine every process step to determine the intent and efficiency. This included the movement of products as well and the movement of information. By carefully documenting our true core requirements and then seeking a solution that will address these needs, our goal was to efficiently implement a solution that will provide benefits beyond the initial project charter. As I expected, many inefficiencies emerged across all areas of our operation. In these cases, proposed changes were made, tested, and if successful, included in the documentation. Since we planned to use radio frequency scanners, we also had an RF survey taken. This survey establishes where the receivers and transmitters are to be placed within the warehouse a...
