In
today’s fast-moving logistics marketplace, logistics technology plays a key
role in determining how quickly, how accurately, and how correctly product can
be delivered to the customer. But what
kind of system, or systems, do you need?
The major components are:
ERP
(Enterprise Resource Planning) – This is the ‘Main Frame’ of old. This is the system where anything to do with
your product is stored. Usually
purchasing of raw goods through planning and building the finished goods,
through handling customer orders and invoicing, flow through this system. It knows how much of what is where and in
what stage of production it is in.
FMS
(Finance Management System) – This system manages all your dollars, assets and
liabilities. Sometimes this system is
‘built into’ the ERP system to help manage the costs of each step of your
operation. Other times the ERP is
interfaced to supply just the financial information to this system.
WMS
(Warehouse Management System) – This system knows exactly how many and where
every widget is within your warehouse(s).
It can help drive better productivity by managing building layouts and
travel time, and usually will direct your labor force via wireless devices vs.
utilizing paper printouts. It is usually
interfaced to your ERP in order to electronically communicate all receipts and
shipments from the warehouse(s). There
are MANY varieties of WMS systems, from generalized ‘do it all’ systems to
specialized, one-purpose systems. It can
be a daunting task to choose the logistics technology that fits your business,
and your warehouse, the best.
TMS
(Transportation Management System) – This is an often overlooked system as most
businesses see this as a Carrier’s system vs. a system that can help save them
money. All your goods have to get from
your manufacturing site to the customer somehow, right? Having a good TMS that helps route and
consolidate your shipments the quickest, most efficient, least expensive way
can save you big dollars in the long run.
This system needs to communicate to your ERP, FMS, and WMS systems to be
the most efficient.
LMS
(Labor Management System) – This is also an overlooked system as it deals
primarily with productivity only. This
system’s goal is to inform you of how efficiently your labor force is actually
performing and help you plan future work more efficiently. Without some kind of LMS in place, how do you
really know that all your employees are being as efficient as possible? How do you know how many people you need for
the tasks planned to be completed tomorrow?
This system should be tightly integrated with your ERP (for production
work) and WMS.
Most
companies have some sort of ERP and FMS systems already in place that work well
for them. Some larger ERP systems have
modules that try to handle WMS, FMS, or LMS tasks – but most have found these
modules to be lacking the true, flexible functionality that specialized systems
can provide. Where companies can save
significant dollars is by investing in a true WMS, a TMS, and a LMS.
In
a lot of cases manufacturers want to focus on manufacturing, not warehousing
and shipping – hence they outsource these functions to 3PLs (Third Party
Logistics providers) who already operate efficient WMS and/or TMS and/or LMS
systems. The best 3PLs run all three
systems as a tightly integrated logistics technology suite, increasing their
accuracy and efficiency during every step of handling the logistics side of their
customer’s business. Every penny saved
by the 3PL not only transfers directly to their bottom line, it also transfers
to their customers’ bottom lines with lower transactional rates, higher
accuracy, less compliance chargebacks, and the ability to know exactly where
every order, receipt, and widget is within the supply chain.
http://www.weberlogistics.com/blog/california-logistics-blog/bid/322064/Logistics-Technology-Systems-A-Primer