In a recent email exchange with my colleague Kail Plankey, we dove into the intricacies of warehouse management system (WMS) implementations, specifically focusing on three (3) of his bias/assumptions for such projects:
- Receiving is the most important process
- Putaway has a broader effect than any other function
- Replenishment is the most underutilized
As Kail explained, receiving is where we take ownership of inventory, establish accuracy, and normalize diverse incoming products into our standard SKUs, pallet configurations, and license plate numbers (LPNs). This sets the stage for efficient putaway and replenishment, ultimately enabling accurate outbound order fulfillment.
I initially questioned Kail’s prioritization of receiving over shipping, reflecting on my own experiences where shipping issues—I’ve spent many late-nights waiting on shipping confirmations to validate WMS go-lives—felt like the biggest hurdles. However, Kail’s perspective caused me to reevaluate my experience. I can point to several post go-live examples that illustrate how receiving issues pose the greatest risk to a project’s success. Inaccuracies at this stage ripple through the entire process. In situations where I have assisted clients with a WMS go-live course correction (our “Project Recovery” service), the vast majority are dealing with inbound docks that a clogged with product that is unable to be stored, accounted for and shipped. This insight made me reconsider how we approach warehouse workflows, emphasizing the need to get receiving right from the start.
In my response, I added that replenishment often feels like the most complex process to configure and test. The vision for seamless replenishment often requires compromises during deployment, a point Kail acknowledged.
This discussion on foundational processes inspired me to think about actionable improvements. For instance, we could invest in training to ensure accurate receiving practices and implement configurable putaway rules to optimize storage and explore ways to better leverage replenishment to prevent bottlenecks. A throughline for all these areas – receiving, putaway and replenishment – is ensuring the WMS properly configured and tested prior to go-live. More importantly, this means that a validated set of master data – item dimensions, unit of measure, storage media profiling, etc. – is available to be configured in the WMS. These steps could transform warehouse operations, reduce errors and boost throughput.
This dialogue with Kail reminded me of the power of collaborative problem-solving. By sharing insights and challenging assumptions, we can uncover solutions that drive meaningful change. This is what we do at St. Onge Company, it is our secret power. And we use this power for the benefit of our clients.
—Howard Turner, St. Onge Company
