International Journal of Applied Information Systems (IJAIS) – ISSN : 2249-0868

Foundation of Computer Science FCS, New York, USA

Volume 12– No.35, December 2020– www.ijais.org

Factors Influencing the Successful Implementation of

the Warehouse Management System (WMS)

Natesan Andiyappillai
Senior Business Analyst,
NFI Industries,
2 Cooper Street,
Camden, NJ 08102, USA

ABSTRACT functionality that starts with receiving an order to meeting the

In the recent years, the increasing complexity of the logistics customer's request. These functions include product
and supply chain business requirements have been forcing the development, marketing, operations, distribution, finance, and
logistics and supply chain service providers to implement and customer service. As mentioned above, supply chain
use the Warehouse Management System (WMS) effectively management is essential for the business process. There are
and efficiently to satisfy those requirements. However, only many different links in this chain that require a lot of skill and
the successful implementation of a WMS could help in knowledge. When supply chain management has gone
meeting those requirements and provide the anticipated effectively, it can lower a company's overall costs and its
competitive advantage in the market. Hence, this research is boost abundance. If one link breaks down means, it affects the
attempted to explore and identify the key factors that could rest of the chain and can be costly to a company. The central
influence the successful implementation of WMS. In this part of the supply chain the Warehouse. A warehouse is a
research, a case study has been conducted in a leading vast, spacious and tenable building anticipated for business
Logistics and Supply Chain service provider to understand and management utilization. It functions as a storeroom place
and evaluate those critical factors that are contributing to a for large amounts of goods.
successful WMS implementation based on the actual project
implementation observations and project documentations.
This study is expected to help the logistics and supply chain
industry in learning these key factors and take necessary
actions to make the WMS implementation a very successful
one for their business.

Keywords
Warehouse Management System, WMS, Logistics and Supply
Chain Service Provider.

1. INTRODUCTION
Supply chain management is a concept that evolved in
manufacturing industries in the year of 1980s. The supply
chain is the management of a network of the interconnected
business involved in the ultimate provision of the product and Figure: 1 Process of the Supply Management System
the service packages which are required by the end customers.
The supply chain management can extend up to the movement Figure 1 represents the Process of the supply management
and the storage of the raw materials, process inventory and the system. Warehousing is not merely about the storage still. It
finished product from the initial point to the ending point. The also covers the Process of the administration and manual labor
supply chain management overlaps the planning and control required mainly for the storage and other several processes
of all the activities involved in the sourcing, procurement, such as delivery, documentation, examination and even for the
conversion and all the other logistical operations. In a Process of the certification or grading.
different sense, supply chain management integrates supply Mainly there are three types of warehouses:
and demand management within and across companies. More
recently, the loosely coupled, self-organizing network of o Public Warehouses
businesses that cooperates to provide product and service
o Owned by the third party logistics
offerings called as the Extended Enterprise.
o Company-owned.
A supply chain in which a sequence of steps involved to get a
manufactured good or service to the consumer. The steps The government uses this kind of the public warehouses to
which include the moving and transforming of the raw store shipments and contrabands they confiscated temporarily.
materials into the finished products, transporting those The business sector usually resorts to company-owned to meet
products, and distributing them to the end-user. The entities their storage needs. Wholesalers, exporters, importers and
involved in the supply chain include producers, vendors, manufacturers are some of the standard clients of warehousing
warehouses, transportation companies, distribution centers, service providers. Raw materials and finished products kept in
and retailers. The elements of a supply chain include all the the warehouses. There are different reasons for warehousing.

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 International Journal of Applied Information Systems (IJAIS) – ISSN : 2249-0868
Foundation of Computer Science FCS, New York, USA
Volume 12– No.35, December 2020– www.ijais.org

Mainly for storing the finished products in a bulk amount and

also for the safe storage.

Figure: 3 Disturbances in the Supply Chain

Figure 3 represents the issues in the supply chain. It reveals
Figure: 2 The General Warehousing process
that there is an essential need for the efficient monitoring of
Figure 2 represents the general warehousing process. For the supply chain management and the warehousing
example, the cheese making and wine and beer making management for improving the business opportunities.
industries require an extended time to produce their products
because of variations in the fermentation time. So only 2. LITERATURE SURVEY
Warehouses are the right places for their products to mature. Ul-Ain et al. (2019) [1] proposed comprehensive knowledge
Warehousing possibly will also cover the conclusion of goods about what has found in the domain of the B.I. system
before the Process of the distribution. The components and the adoption, utilization and the Process of the success. A total of
packing materials get delivered to the building. The 111 peer-reviewed studies, covering mainly three categories
assemblage and packing of the goods will sort out in the which are adoption, utilization and success – published
Warehouse. By doing so, the product cover will still look new between 2000 and 2019, which were selected. The findings
and appealing upon delivery to the distribution centers. If the will present the research methods, underpinning theories and
packing of the goods will take place before bringing them to key factors employed to study B.I. system adoption,
the Warehouse, the packaging may be damaged while on the utilization and success. Besides, the review identified the key
way. issues related to B.I. adoption, utilization and success and
highlighted the areas that have attracted more or less attention.
In the modern language, the distribution refers to the delivery This study also suggests future directions for researchers and
of the finished goods to the buying centers such as shopping practitioners in terms of unexplored themes that may help
centers, markets and other retailer stores. Some manufacturers organizations to obtain value from B.I. systems. Mahroof
deliver their products directly to their recognized retailers. (2019) [2] proposed about the barriers and opportunities of
This is a beneficial one for the retailers because business A.I. within the Warehouse of a major retailer. The findings for
establishments are undergone just nearby to the this qualitative study reveal A.I. challenges resulting from a
manufacturer's places. Direct delivery of the goods to the shortage of both skill and mindset of operational management,
retailers can save from the warehousing costs. However, if the while also uncovering the opportunities presented through
supply chain extends means due to the business nature, the existing I.T. infrastructure and pre-existing A.I. exposure of
warehousing cost also gets increases. Thus, it is secure to say management. Xu et al. (2019) [3] proposed about the full-
that warehousing and sharing go hand-in-hand by providing a turnover storage strategy significantly outperforms the
more cost-effective way of delivering the goods. Various random and class-based storage strategies. Jemelka, M., &
warehouses utilized as a trade or transaction center even as Chramcov, B. (2019) [4] proposed about the complex
maintaining its unique purpose. warehouse simulation to achieve effective solution. Most
Impact of Improper warehousing and distribution: attention is focused on the use of recursive ABC method for
Major and minor mistakes similar in warehousing and warehouse management. Davis et al (2019). [5] Proposed
delivery can result in high losses. Improper storage can about the information system and the neuroscience. Khan et
damage the goods. If the damaged goods sold, they will be al. (2019) [6] proposed about the strategic supply chain
either be sold gets at a much lower price or else it could not be management system. Benjamin et al. (1995) [7] proposed an
sold out. The manufacturers will acquire the loss and will not electronic markets and virtual value chains on the information
be able to get back their savings. Failure to deliver the goods superhighway. Bhagwat et al. (2007) [8] proposed about the
to the right destination and also deliver the wrong goods will performance measurement of supply chain management.
lead to the loss of business opportunities. Due to the Bititci et al. (1997) [9] proposed about an integrated
unexpected delays, goods can get damaged, and premeditated performance measurement systems. Cai et al. (2009) [10]
recipients cannot accept the product or else it may incur proposed an Improving Supply Chain Performance
additional losses to the business. Another adverse effect of Management to Analyze Iterative KPI Accomplishment.
wrong warehousing and distribution is that it can destabilize Chan et al. (2003) [11] proposed an Innovative Performance
the prices of goods. If there is not enough supply due to the Measurement Method for Supply Chain Management. Chan
ineffectiveness of the warehousing and supply management, et al. (2003) [12] proposed a Conceptual Model of
the costs of the goods may increase to meet the unaffected Performance Measurement for Supply Chains. Charan et al.
demand of the consumers. (2008) [13] proposed an analysis of interactions among the
variables of supply chain performance measurement systems.

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 International Journal of Applied Information Systems (IJAIS) – ISSN : 2249-0868
Foundation of Computer Science FCS, New York, USA
Volume 12– No.35, December 2020– www.ijais.org

Chikan (2001) [14] proposed an integration of production and case study collected from the project documentation,
logistics. Chia et al. (2009) [15] proposed about the discussions & learnings from the expertise for analyzing the
Performance Measurement in Supply Chain. Chin et al. factors influencing the successful implementation of the
(2010) [16] Proposed a model of determinants of supply chain warehouse management system. It observed that this company
performance in the Malaysian electronics manufacturing is operating the business at International level and also using
services (EMS) Industry. the sophisticated I.T. Logistics systems to monitor and
manage all their processes and partners. This company has
3. KEY FACTORS ON THE been implementing Tier-1, Tier-2 and Tier-3 WMS systems at
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE the facilities per business and customer requirements.
WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT A decade ago, the company has seen that there is a potential
SYSTEM growth of the Logistics business at the range of 10 to 15% a
There are many WMS systems available in the market and year and started to make remarkable investments in IT WMS
customers choose them based on their business nature, solutions and infrastructure. A few years later, the company
complexity and ROI. In the last decade or so, below are the has started enjoying the advantages such as great
key technological advancements happen in this WMS improvements on the Operational efficiency which directly
implementations. And, it is very important for the service contribute to the cost benefits to the business by implementing
providers to understand these advancements better to the Warehouse management System. It was observed and
implement them for being the distinct providers in the market. determined that the advantages that the business are gaining
due to the very successful implementation strategy and
1. Cloud and Warehouse Management System – The applying the lessons learned from the previous
benefits of cloud-based WMS is that they allow for fast implementations. The vital factors that were evaluated and
deployment, no maintenance costs, and lower I.T. costs. A monitored very closely for every implementation for the
cloud-based WMS can be customized to meet the unique successful delivery are listed down and explained below.
business needs and offers additional features such as higher
data security protocols for businesses that will handle higher- 1. Project Timeline
value inventory. Both systems are tailored to fit with the  Setting up the right project timeline is very critical.
various types and sizes of the businesses. While the Cloud
WMS is more ideal for medium to large size businesses as  Involves timeline for all the project activities such
well as those with the more complexities. Irrespective of the as WMS solution design, configuration, testing,
business size gets benefits greatly varied from a WMS that deployment and support.
increases the business efficiency and also the productivity.
 Project planning is the critical Process the project
2. Industry‐specific blueprints — some vendors offer the requires warehouse resources to collect data on the
industry‐specific templates that leverage the proven best physical Warehouse, materials, and inventory, as
practices and processes for specific industries. This is well as defining the strategies needed to operate the
expected to cut down the implementation and deployment Warehouse.
cycle, thus reducing the implementation time and cost.
2. WMS product expertise
3. Integration with the ERP system — ERP and WMS
integration is an important factor to consider when the  Getting the right WMS product implemented per
business model is complex to manage and require real-time business requirements.
system communications. It is crucial to achieve the liveliness  Implemented at the facilities per business and
to make effective business decisions, becomes more customer requirements.
competitive, and simplify the data management process.
 WMS functionality, EDI capability, Reporting and
4. Configuration and Customization — the vendors are other ancillary requirements.
finding out the advantage of agile approach to work as needed
so that the system can easily adapt and improving its 3. Business Data
performance. The ability to easily and rapidly configure and
 Getting the required data and valid data from
customize a solution, in a way, is a key required element for a
customer is critical for the entire life cycle of the
WMS for any business.
implementation.
5. Agile Versus Waterfall implementation programs —
Some WMS solution providers have agile or rapid  This includes the business volume data and all the
implementation programs designed to get business up and master data.
running quickly, within a restricted period of time. And, some  This is not only helping the system implementation
are using the Waterfall approach based on the implementation but also business planning.
schedule and timeline.
4. Training
6. Modern UI/UX — The ease‐of‐use of a WMS for small
businesses/SMBs can greatly reduce the system training  Train the resources end to end, and on the work,
needed, as well as make it easier to get new employees up to areas get intended.
speed in the future.
 Training happens at the Operator level, Supervisor
4. A CASE STUDY ANALYSIS level and Manager Level.
This case study has been conducted in a leading logistics and
5. System Audit
supply chain company. The necessary information for this

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 International Journal of Applied Information Systems (IJAIS) – ISSN : 2249-0868
Foundation of Computer Science FCS, New York, USA
Volume 12– No.35, December 2020– www.ijais.org

 Conducting the periodic audit in the system would 1. Real-time Inventory Management
help identify the issues and opportunities that may Managing and controlling the inventory in the facility became
find. very easier and real-time. This helped not just this Logistics
service provider but also their customers to plan the resources
 Taking corrective or necessary actions based on the and inventory accordingly.
audit result improves the Process.
2. Reduced Mishandling of Inventory
The company has developed the below workflow or As the product is scanned for every movement at the facility,
framework to monitor each WMS implementation closely. including inbound receiving, Outbound processing, Inventory
control and other system driven activities, it reduced the
mishandling of the inventory greatly.
3. Efficient Returns Process
Managing and handling the customer returns became easier
and efficient, since it tracks the returned inventory at the
detailed level. And, this goes back to Customer for accurate
payment processing.
4. Faster Product Delivery
In today’s competitive and dynamic environment, more and
more customers do expect the service providers with better,
faster and cheaper service. Hence the successful
implementation of the WMS will lead to faster product
delivery and this company has started realizing these on their
business.
5. Improved Customer Satisfaction
As WMS helps to track the inventory closely at the facility, it
helps the customer to work with the service provider
seamlessly. And, when WMS is integrated with the Customer
Figure: 4 Process of the Workflow system, it automates all the communication between the
partners electronically.
Based on these key factors, the company had overcome all the
down line critical factors and can seriously enjoy the Table: 1 Results summary
successful implementation of the warehouse management
system. If it gets successfully implemented means, it can Evaluated Before WMS After WMS
make changes to the warehouse processes in a better, faster factors implementation implementation
and cheaper manner. However, the basic principle of the Materials Low traceability Increased
warehouse system has remained the same that is to provide traceability and and low inventory inventory accuracy
information to allow efficient control of the movement of information accuracy
materials within the Warehouse.
Picking route Hardly random Best-of-breed
The company had identified the key factors that were sequence and
impacting the WMS implementation as detailed above, and optimization
the changes that were needed on each of these corresponding
factors were researched and analyzed by the company Bureaucracy Manual Process so An automatic
expertise. Those were implemented in the next level high level system so low
implementations and are detailed below;
1. Selection of the best implementation team – Project
manager, Operations manager, Database Delivery factor Low delivery due Accurate delivery
administrator, EDI expert, WMS expert and to loss of inventory
Business Analysts. Quality of the Very low Extremely high
2. Detail project plan and practices. logistics
operations
3. Collection of the warehousing data including Master
and Busienss data. Employee Regular Very satisfied
satisfaction
4. Hands-on and necessary training be provided to the
WMS users. Organization and Low High
standardization
There are many benefits that Warehouse Management System
(WMS) could bring to a business and this organization has
seen the great cost savings, reduced errors and improved The table 1 represents the comparison of key factors that were
customer service within their business, whilst increasing the
evaluated before and after the successful implementation of
transparency across their business partners in the supply
the WMS in a recent major project.
chain. And, based on the company project documentations,
below are the advantages that the company enjoys after
careful evaluation and monitoring the WMS implementations.

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 International Journal of Applied Information Systems (IJAIS) – ISSN : 2249-0868
Foundation of Computer Science FCS, New York, USA
Volume 12– No.35, December 2020– www.ijais.org

5. CONCLUSION [7] Benjamin, R., Wigand, R., (1995), Electronic Markets

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