Modern warehouse management systems deliver a comprehensive suite of capabilities addressing every aspect of distribution center operations. Understanding these features helps you evaluate WMS solutions effectively and identify the capabilities most critical to your operation. This guide provides detailed coverage of the core features found in leading WMS platforms.
Receiving and Inbound Management
The receiving module manages all aspects of inbound inventory processing, establishing the foundation for inventory accuracy from the moment goods arrive at your dock. Key receiving capabilities include:
Advance Shipment Notice (ASN) Processing
Modern WMS platforms accept electronic advance shipment notices from suppliers, enabling receiving preparation before trucks arrive. ASN data populates expected receipt information, allowing dock scheduling and labor planning. When shipments arrive, receiving associates verify against pre-populated expectations rather than keying information manually.
Dock Door Scheduling
Dock scheduling capabilities coordinate inbound appointments with available door capacity and labor. This prevents congestion, reduces driver wait times, and ensures adequate staffing for expected receipts. Integration with yard management systems extends visibility to trailers in the yard awaiting doors.
RF-Directed Receiving
Barcode scanning on handheld RF devices guides receiving associates through standardized verification processes. Workers scan incoming items, verify quantities against ASN or PO expectations, and capture lot, serial, or expiration data as required. This systematic approach ensures consistent data capture regardless of which associate performs receiving.
Quality Inspection and Hold Management
Quality inspection workflows route items requiring inspection to designated areas and assign inspection tasks. WMS tracks inspection results and disposition decisions. Hold management places suspect inventory in quarantine status, preventing picking until issues are resolved and holds are released.
Cross-Docking
For items needed immediately for outbound orders, cross-dock capabilities bypass put-away to move goods directly from receiving to shipping. The system identifies cross-dock opportunities based on pending order demand and inventory availability, reducing handling and accelerating order fulfillment.
Put-Away and Storage Optimization
Intelligent put-away systematically directs inventory to optimal storage locations based on item characteristics, velocity, and warehouse layout. Advanced systems continuously optimize storage to maintain picking efficiency.
Directed Put-Away
Rather than allowing workers to choose storage locations, directed put-away assigns specific locations based on configurable rules. Rules can consider item dimensions, weight, velocity, storage type requirements, and zone assignments. This ensures consistent storage strategies regardless of which worker performs put-away.
Slotting Optimization
Slotting optimization engines analyze historical movement data to determine ideal storage locations for each SKU. High-velocity items are positioned for fastest picking access. Related items frequently ordered together may be co-located. The system generates reslotting recommendations as velocity patterns change.
Storage Type Management
WMS manages multiple storage types including bulk floor storage, pallet racking, case flow, pick-to-light, carousels, and automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS). Put-away rules direct items to appropriate storage based on unit of measure, velocity, and physical characteristics.
License Plate Tracking
License plate management associates multiple items and quantities with a single container identifier. This simplifies tracking of mixed pallets, totes, or cases moving through warehouse processes. Put-away, moves, and picking can reference the license plate rather than individual item details.
Inventory Management and Control
Comprehensive inventory management provides real-time visibility and control across all storage locations. This is the foundation for accurate order promising, efficient picking, and optimal inventory investment.
Real-Time Inventory Visibility
WMS maintains perpetual inventory with updates captured as transactions occur. Every receipt, move, adjustment, and shipment updates inventory immediately. Managers and planners access current inventory positions without waiting for batch updates or overnight processing.
Multi-Level Tracking
Inventory tracking supports multiple attributes including lot number, serial number, expiration date, manufacturing date, country of origin, and custom attributes. This granular tracking supports FIFO/FEFO fulfillment, product recalls, and regulatory compliance requirements common in food and beverage and pharmaceutical industries.
Inventory Status and Holds
Inventory status codes control availability for allocation. Common statuses include available, hold, damaged, quarantine, and reserved. Rules prevent picking of items in restricted statuses while maintaining visibility for planners considering total inventory position.
Cycle Counting
Systematic cycle counting maintains inventory accuracy without requiring complete physical inventories. WMS generates count tasks based on configurable triggers including location activity, random sampling, or ABC velocity class. RF-directed counting guides workers through verification with variance thresholds triggering recounts or adjustment workflows.
Inventory Adjustment and Audit Trail
When discrepancies require adjustment, WMS captures adjustment reason codes and maintains complete audit trails. Adjustment approval workflows can route significant changes for manager authorization. Audit history supports investigation of accuracy issues and compliance requirements.
Order Fulfillment and Picking
Order fulfillment is often the most labor-intensive warehouse activity and the area where WMS delivers the greatest productivity impact. Multiple picking strategies optimize throughput for different order profiles.
Pick Strategy Selection
WMS supports multiple picking methodologies and can apply different strategies based on order characteristics:
- Discrete Order Picking: Single-order picking where one worker completes one order at a time. Simple but labor-intensive for high-volume operations.
- Batch Picking: Multiple orders combined into a single pick tour. Workers pick total quantities needed across orders, then sort to individual orders during packing.
- Zone Picking: Orders divided by warehouse zone with different workers picking different zones. Orders then consolidated before shipping.
- Wave Picking: Orders grouped into waves based on carrier cutoff, priority, or other criteria. Waves release together for coordinated processing.
- Waveless/Continuous Flow: Orders released continuously based on capacity and priority without wave batching. More flexible but requires sophisticated orchestration.
Pick Path Optimization
Regardless of picking strategy, path optimization sequences pick tasks to minimize travel distance. The system considers warehouse layout, current worker location, and all assigned tasks to determine efficient sequences. Even small efficiency gains per pick translate to significant productivity improvement across thousands of daily picks.
RF-Directed and Voice Picking
Workers receive pick instructions through handheld RF devices with barcode scanning or through voice-directed systems. RF picking displays location, item, and quantity with barcode verification at each pick. Voice picking provides audio instructions and captures verbal confirmation, enabling hands-free operation beneficial in cold environments or when handling large items.
Pick-to-Light and Put-to-Light
For high-velocity areas, pick-to-light systems use illuminated displays to direct workers to pick locations. Put-to-light systems then guide sorting of batch picks to individual order containers. These technologies accelerate picking in fast-moving zones while maintaining accuracy through system direction.
Cartonization
Cartonization algorithms determine optimal shipping carton selection for order contents. The system considers item dimensions, weights, and carton options to minimize shipping costs while ensuring appropriate protection. Some systems support pack-to-order that directs picks directly into shipping cartons.
Packing and Shipping
Packing and shipping capabilities ensure orders leave the warehouse correctly with appropriate documentation and carrier handoff.
Pack Station Management
WMS directs completed picks to pack stations where workers verify contents, add packing materials, seal cartons, and apply shipping labels. Verification scanning confirms correct items before sealing, catching errors before shipment. Weight verification can compare actual weight to expected weight as an additional check.
Carrier Integration
Integration with carrier systems enables rate shopping across multiple carriers, selection of optimal service levels, and generation of compliant shipping labels and documentation. Small parcel, LTL, and truckload carriers each have specific integration requirements that WMS must support.
Manifesting
End-of-day manifesting compiles shipment data for carrier pickup. The system generates required carrier documentation and may transmit electronic manifest data. Manifest reports provide shipping summaries for accounting and customer service.
Proof of Delivery Integration
Integration with carrier tracking systems captures proof of delivery information, providing shipment visibility from dock to customer door. This data supports customer service inquiries and billing validation.
Labor Management
Labor management extends WMS with productivity tracking, performance measurement, and workforce optimization capabilities.
Task Time Tracking
The system captures time spent on each task, enabling productivity measurement at individual, team, and operational levels. Automatic task timing eliminates self-reporting and captures accurate performance data.
Engineered Labor Standards
Engineered standards define expected time for each task type considering travel distance, item characteristics, and process requirements. Comparing actual performance to standards identifies productivity variances and improvement opportunities. Fair standards support incentive programs rewarding top performers.
Labor Forecasting and Scheduling
Forecasting tools project labor requirements based on anticipated order volume and historical productivity. Managers can plan staffing levels and shift schedules aligned with expected demand. Some systems integrate with workforce management platforms for advanced scheduling.
Performance Dashboards
Real-time dashboards display individual and team performance against standards. Managers identify workers needing coaching and recognize high performers. Historical trending reveals productivity patterns supporting continuous improvement initiatives.
Reporting and Analytics
WMS platforms provide operational visibility through standard reports, configurable dashboards, and data exports for business intelligence tools.
Operational KPIs
Standard reports cover essential metrics including orders shipped, units picked, lines processed, inventory accuracy, dock-to-stock time, and productivity by worker and zone. Daily and weekly summaries support management review and performance tracking.
Real-Time Dashboards
Visual dashboards display current operational status for managers monitoring warehouse floor activity. Metrics may include orders in process, shipping status, receiving queue, and labor utilization. Alert thresholds can trigger notifications when metrics fall outside acceptable ranges.
Exception Reporting
Exception reports highlight items requiring attention such as inventory discrepancies, pending orders at risk of missing cutoffs, or stalled work. Focusing management attention on exceptions enables efficient oversight of large operations.
Data Integration and Export
API access and data exports enable integration with business intelligence platforms for advanced analytics. Organizations can combine WMS data with sales, financial, and other operational data for comprehensive supply chain analysis.
Integration Capabilities
WMS does not operate in isolation. Integration with surrounding systems is essential for end-to-end supply chain visibility and coordination.
ERP Integration
Core integration with enterprise resource planning systems exchanges order data, inventory transactions, and master data. Orders flow from ERP to WMS; shipment confirmations and inventory updates flow back. This integration is typically the most complex and critical WMS connection. Learn more about WMS and ERP integration.
E-Commerce Platform Integration
For e-commerce operations, integration with platforms like Shopify, Magento, or custom storefronts enables automated order import and inventory synchronization. Real-time inventory updates prevent overselling and provide accurate availability to customers.
Transportation Management Integration
Integration with TMS coordinates shipping planning with warehouse execution. TMS can provide carrier selection and routing decisions; WMS manages packing and loading to meet transportation schedules.
Automation and Material Handling Equipment
Modern WMS integrates with warehouse automation including conveyors, sortation systems, AS/RS, goods-to-person systems, and robotics. These integrations enable orchestrated operations across manual and automated processes.
Compare WMS Features
Feature availability varies significantly across WMS platforms. Enterprise solutions like SAP EWM, Oracle WMS Cloud, and Manhattan Associates offer comprehensive feature sets. SMB-focused solutions may prioritize ease of use over advanced capabilities. Our comparison tools help you evaluate features across vendors, or request quotes from matched vendors based on your specific requirements.