Assessment of the implementation of a Warehouse Management System in a multinational company of industrial gears and drives

Assis, Rafael de; Sagawa, Juliana Keiko

doi:10.1590/0104-530X3315-18

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Original article • Gest. Prod. 25 (2) • Apr-Jun 2018 • https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-530X3315-18 copy

Assessment of the implementation of a Warehouse Management System in a multinational company of industrial gears and drives

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

The companies may gain competitive advantage when they have an efficient logistics. In this aspect, the use of tools for the management and control of material handling and storage are essential for a fast and efficient logistics. The Warehouse Management System (WMS) is one available alternative for the automation of the logistic operations. In this context, this study has the central objective of analyzing the results of the implementation of a WMS system in a manufacturer of mechanical parts, in terms of operational efficiency and quality. The results of this study are focused on the satisfaction of the workers involved with the logistic operations, evaluated by means of interviews, and on the operational results, evaluated by means of a comparative analysis of the logistic performance indicators at two different times, the time before and the time after the implementation of the WMS. The analysis of the performance indicators demonstrated that the logistic operations have become more agile, what has reflected on financial gains. In addition, the workers involved with the change have reported a decrease in the functional conflicts and an increase in the reliability and credibility of information available to internal and external customers.

Keywords:
Warehouse Management System; WMS; Logistic; Supply chain management

	Features	Banzato (2005) Banzato, E. (2005). Tecnologia da informação aplicada à logística. São Paulo: IMAM.	Moura (2010) Moura, R. A. (2010). Sistemas e técnicas de movimentação e armazenagem de materiais (7a ed.). São Paulo: IMAM.	Costa & Gobbo (2008) Costa, W. A. S., & Gobbo, J. A., Jr. (2008). Etapas de implementação de WMS: estudo de caso em um varejista moveleiro. GEPROS - Gestão da Produção, Operações e Sistemas, 3(4), 101-121.	Klabusayová (2013) Klabusayová, N. (2013). Support of logistic processes in modern retail chain warehouse. Applied Mechanics and Materials, 309, 274-279.
Possibility of integration and customization	Enables integration with radio-frequency system	X	X		X
	Enables integration with barcode system	X			X
	Enables integration with RFID	X			X
	Enables integration with automated storage systems	X
	Enables interface with costumers and suppliers			X
	Enables customization	X
	Enables parameterization	X			X
	Possess its own register	X			X
	Accepts different rules/policies for items	X			X
Receiving and inspection	Manages receiving/staging area	X	X
	Manages scheduling and order entry	X
	Controls concierge	X
	Executes “blind” conference on the receiving	X
	Controls batches	X		X
	Checks each item in the order	X	X	X
	Designates automatically storage locations		X		X
	Generates labels		X
	Supports systematic classification of items			X
	Controls quantities	X		X
Storage processes	Controls FIFO	X			X
	Updates records in real time	X
	Assigns the addresses automatically	X			X
	Recognizes the physical storage limitation of each address	X
	Checks storage at the correct addresses	X
	Supports resources' allocation	X
	Defines usage characteristics for each storage location			X
	Stores accurately		X
	Confirms transfer and replenishment	X
Order separation	Drives picking activities		X		X
	Controls routes	X		X	X
	Generates picking list		X	X
Cyclic counting	Manages cyclic counting	X	X	X
	Identifies and records inventory receipts based on storage		X
	Tracks all inventory by location		X
Shipment	Generates shipping sequence/schedule		X	X
	Calculates the needs for packaging		X
	Generates shipping documents	X	X
	Updates system for issuing invoice		X
	Calculates dimensions of packages		X
Management support	Plans and controls capabilities	X	X	X
	Manages backorders	X
	Monitors performance of activities	X			X
	Allocates human resources for the activities	X			X
	Supports productivity measurement	X			X
	Supports the whole inventory management process	X			X
	Tracks all operations		X	X

VARIABLES	DESCRIPTION
Level of bureaucracy	Related to the volume of indirect activities associated to the recording/processing of information, the amount of documents needed, and the time spent with these activities
Performance of logistics operation	It is measured by the historical monitoring of logistic indicators
Satisfaction and credibility	Considers the level of satisfaction of the stakeholders regarding the performance of the logistics operations and the credibility in the information related to these operations
Accuracy	It is defined as the level of correspondence between the physical stock of the item and the data recorded the system (quantity and type)
Quality	Considers the improvement in the logistics processes regarding agility, operational errors, storage, identification and traceability
Cross-functional and customer relationships	Evaluated by means of he frequency and intensity of complaints from internal and external customers in relation to the logistics sector

Indicator	2013	2014	2015
Quantity of operators	16	14	10
Average picking time (minutes/equipment)	8	7	5
Picking performance (orders/day/operator)	60	68	95

Evaluated factors	Situation prior to the deployment of WMS	Situation posterior to the deployment of WMS
Traceability of materials and information	Low traceability and low inventory accuracy	Total traceability of the logistic operations
Inventory accuracy	Reliability of 87%	Reliability of 98% with a projection of 99% for the next year
Picking route	Random. The operator chooses the route, leading to exessive and repeated displacements/movements	Route planned by the system according to the location of the itens, optimizing the displacements and movements
Bureaucracy level	High. Very manual process, many parallel electronic worksheets and papers	Low, without the use of papers; transactions automatically recorded
Delivery performance	Delayed deliveries, caused by failures in the process and lack of inventory accuracy	On time in full deliveries
Quality of the logistics operations	Low; avarage grade of 4.76 out of 10	High, average grade of 8.63 out of 10
Main financial impact potentials	Rework, overtime, loss of orders and freight courtesies	Reduction of picking time, reduction of overtime and increase of productivity
Degree of employee satisfaction with the logistics system	Regular	Very satisfied
Picking performance	On average 8 min/order	On average 5 min/order
Lead time of the receiving operations	20 hours per day	8 hours per day
Organization and standardization	Low	High
Evaluated factors	Disadvantages and difficulties
Reversing operations	In the WMS, requires several transactions
Dependence on the radio frequency system	All operations stop without radio frequency
Investment	High investment of hardware e software
Difficulties of implantation	Cultural change
	Organization and standardization
	Infrastructure
	Interface with ERP
	Recording itens (for the first time)
	Labelling

Universidade Federal de São Carlos Departamento de Engenharia de Produção , Caixa Postal 676 , 13.565-905 São Carlos SP Brazil, Tel.: +55 16 3351 8471 - São Carlos - SP - Brazil
E-mail: gp@dep.ufscar.br

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