Many companies could not be successful without a WMS. While a substantial portion sticks to key features, there are others with complex needs and regulatory concerns. Below are general attributes in various industries that fuel the need for a WMS.

Manufacturing

Manufacturers have some of the more complicated warehouse requirements,
making a WMS a necessity. Their operations include a mix of raw materials and ﬁnished goods that are combined in a variety of ways. Many manufacturers combine parts to make a new product. The WMS works with its ERP tools to maintain proper inventory levels to keep production running smoothly. There are also features in the WMS that allow for feedback on inventory balance based on product orders and returns where a WMS is invaluable for a manufacturer to know when to speed up manufacturing, and when to slow manufacturing.

Consumer Goods and Retail

Brick-and-mortar retailers are increasing their adoption of complex WMS to keep pace with changing consumer demands. Today more single-store locations and their stockrooms are operating as dual-purpose warehouses, where the stock is for in-store purchases and able to fulﬁll online orders for direct shipping.

The WMS also needs to know how to process an order from a large warehouse to a single or multi-store location, keeping inventory counts accurate as goods are physically moved, but not out of inventory.

Food and Beverage

Food and beverage are a special category for WMS providers. In this competitive market, you must consistently strike the right balance between supply and demand. This occurs because of the need for keeping foods fresh. Products must be shipped between certain times so that they don’t spoil in the warehouse or on the store shelves. Out of necessity to protect products food, and beverages almost always top the WMS industry’s usage lists.

Wholesale Distribution

Wholesalers also rely on WMS to manage their complex supply chains and orders. Warehouse automation tools allow them to maximize their inventory deployment, get orders out faster with cross-docking and picking features, and control their biggest cost: Labor.

All wholesalers will need a WMS to balance their inventory and shipment speeds while maintaining high inventory accuracy.

Health and Hospital Care

Hospitals warehouse a lot more than people realize. The facilities may have many complex needs that merit a WMS.
Just a few complex needs which a WMS can help:

Many drugs have expiry dates
Some medications will have speciﬁc storage requirements
Strict permission for who can access the items
Many materials have tight distribution controls

Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Companies