RFID enabled WMS

In the last few years the scope of the Warehouse Management System (WMS) has undergone a lot of changes, even though the primary object of WMS still remains the same. As the name suggest WMS is meant to manage the resources of the warehouse efficiently. WMS not only manages the material flows and other resources of the warehouse like equipments, labor and space but it also tries to manage the flow of information and plays a vital role in the supply chain. Even though the core functionality of WMS is still picking, replenishment, and putaway but today the role of WMS is continuously evolving and it is expanding to include new areas like light manufacturing, transportation management, distribution, order management, and even the accounting system. Some of the vendors have even gone a step further by adding workflows, EDI and OLAP reporting modules. This evolution of WMS is not an isolated case, over the years even the popular Enterprise Resource Planning packages have undergone metamorphosis and have added business intelligence, supply chain management, warehouse management and other capabilities. The ubiquitous ERP is slowly giving rise to ERP II. The diffusion of role and expansion of functionalities is placing the WMS in same league with other enterprise packages like Enterprise resource planning (II), Supply chain management, Advance supply chain planning etc. This is creating utter confusion in the market and it is apparent that some of the segments would shrink as they make way for the rest. In spite of its new incarnation WMS is finding it increasingly difficult to position itself in the fiercely competitive market. According to a survey the market of WMS has shrunk by almost 3%.

WMS and RFID
Even though Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has been around for almost fifteen years now but it is only recently that the world has woken up to the immense potential of RFID. One of the obvious applications of RFID is in tracking the inventory with RFID enabled tags (Wal-Mart has already directed its suppliers to gear up and supply goods with RFID tags). The U.S retail supply chain which is today spending around $200 million on RFID is expected to spend around $1300 million by the year 2008. This has a direct bearing on the warehouse management systems. RFID can be utilized to enable the WMS into a real time system. The opening of this new possibility has immediately infused the WMS market with immense possibilities. RFID enabled WMS will not only reduce the operational costs, but will also increased the warehouse productivity by optimizing the storage and resource utilization. RFID enabled WMS can help in implementing collaborative sourcing strategies through real time flow of information with the suppliers.

RFID will not only hit the WMS when the good is received in the warehouse but RFID can also be used at the supplier side to send Advance Ship Notice (ASN). This early flow of information will help organizations to plan efficiently by determining the lead time accurately. RFID can streamline the handover process by removing human intervention of reconciling the goods received with purchase orders and goods being dispatched with sales orders. Suppliers can ship goods with RFID tags at both the case and pallet level. FIFO, LIFO and other concepts in inventory can be easily implemented through RFID. Effective slotting logic can now be implemented through active RFID tags in a warehouse. RFID enabled WMS can automatically route goods to line haul vehicles thus saving time in the loading process. Distribution centers will be RFID enabled which will help in tracking the outbound logistics. Providing updated information and tracking the returned or rejected goods is one of the vital tasks of a WMS. RFID holds lot of promise in this area by streamlining the Warranty Support.

The RFID enabled features will increase the average selling prices of the WMS systems and will open up the gates for a host of other value added services which can be provided by the WMS vendors.

The Approach
The WMS vendors can take a three pronged approach to manage this change. The first approach would be to build new RFID enabled WMS modules which can be bolt on to the existing systems. The other approach is to upgrade the existing WMS to bring in RFID features. The final approach will be to build new RFID enabled WMS which will eventually replace the existing WMS already in place. WMS vendors can work in tandem with the suppliers who have already been asked to become RFID compliant. The first two approaches can be used to help suppliers under immediate pressure in the short run but the third approach would be a long term approach. Most organizations would not be able to reap the benefits of RFID unless it is used create a pull across the whole supply chain.


Immediate Approach
Long Term Approach

RFID Compliant WMS
Upgrade existing WMS to support RFID
RFID enabled WMS modules to be plugged in.
Replace existing WMS with RFID enabled WMS

















The WMS market will slowly crystallize and cluster along the following lines: The first would be the continuation of the standard warehouse management systems. The other would be warehouse management modules as a part of the ERP packages and finally the RFID enabled WMS components.

The challenges
Of coarse the RFID technology opens up the Pandora’s box and there are a number of technical difficulties which need to be tackled before the dream turns to a reality. WMS has to be integrated to RFID readers and they will have to read RFID tags in bursts rather than sequentially, to increase the efficiency. Also the volume of data is going to be enormous which is going to stretch the limits of a WMS. Making business sense out of the enormous volume of data is also a big challenge which has to be overcome. Error Proofing is another technical hurdle which needs to be surmounted. Accidental and inadvertent reading of adjacent RFID tags can result in erroneous data. Different materials like metals and liquids interfere with reads. It is believed that excessive exposure to radio frequency (RF) can lead to certain ailments. Even though this has not been proved scientifically but this has lead to cases where workers have resisted RFID implementation. In addition to this the effect of RF on food and drugs need to be explored. Standardization has to be bought in the RFID reader and printer market otherwise making a WMS capable enough to interface with all the possible readers and printers available in the market is going to be a humungous task. Unless this standardization is brought in quickly it will create mayhem and might even kill the promising market.

The Future
In spite of the capabilities, all is not calm and quite on the western front. There are other important issues which need to be addressed before the WMS market is rejuvenated. ERP is slowly eating away the niche positioning of WMS. Already the popular ERP vendors are including RFID enabled WMS modules in their applications. This might also lead to consolidation in the WMS market through acquisitions. The realizable potential benefits through RFID enabled WMS may not be the same across all regions and industries hence WMS vendors need to quickly narrow down on the promising regions and industries. Retail, Distribution and logistics, Manufacturing etc. are some of the promising industries. Only time will tell if WMS will come out victorious with the new RFID enabled features or will eventually be a victim of the market, but it is apparent that RFID is revolutionizing the way WMS functions.

The article was originally published by Express Computers. For the complete article visit www.expresscomputers.com