An ERP software alone can help manage inventories pretty well. Yet, many businesses implement an additional helping hand in the form of a warehouse management system or WMS. The primary function of both these systems is to allow seamless data transfer, increase transparency, and streamline the processes. But when combined, they can do wonders for the warehouse and the inventory.
Although it sounds pretty tempting, integrating the WMS with the ERP software cannot be done overnight. Instead, it requires thorough planning and detailed execution. If not, both systems may not yield the expected results, causing business process disruptions. That being said, we have prepared a detailed guide on integrating WMS with ERP for better business efficiency and higher productivity.
Benefits of integrating WMS and ERP systems
Connecting the warehouse management system and the enterprise resource planning software comes with immense business benefits. So, below we have listed a few that will help you make the right call for your company.
Improve supply chain visibility
Once the systems are integrated with one another, you will complete visibility of the supply chain. Tracking orders, checking shipments, verifying inventory stocks, and fulfilling customer orders will become easier and hassle-free. In other words, you will be able to monitor product movements from warehouses to the customers through these systems.
Real-time updates
Most businesses struggle with keeping shipment tracks or inventory details in the real time. They mostly rely on data updates for hours before taking any decision. However, WMS and ERP system combinedly can help with real-time data tracking and analysis. This will give you valuable insights about your business processes without any latency.
Improved inventory accuracy
Data entry can be automated through both WMS and ERP tools. Any change in either of the system will be synchronized with the other without any manual intervention. As a result, human errors can be minimized significantly, helping businesses to tackle issues like stock-outs or overflowing inventory.
Streamlined order processing and fulfilment
When warehouses are filled with numerous SKUs, it can become challenging to process orders faster. But the WMS tool will reduce the time involved in order picking and packing by providing product locations and priority details. Also, ERP will help in real-time inventory tracking and automated order processing routine. This way you can fulfill more bulk orders and ensure your customers receive the right products.
Best practices for successfully integrating WMS and ERP
Pre-integration phase and planning
You cannot integrate two major systems without having a -prior plan in hand. If that’s done, you may not be able to use the tools to their fullest capacities. Every pre-integration phase for the warehouse management system and the ERP tool should cover these below aspects.
- Listing down business goals and objectives that you want to cover through the integration.
- Discussion with stakeholders from various departments to understand their specific requirements.
- Detection of key loopholes and gaps in the current strategies and business processes.
- Discussion with the warehouse personnel to know their pain points and the goals they would like to meet.
Proper planning can streamline the entire integration process and eliminate failure risks.
Selecting the best integration approach
There are mainly two ways in which the WMS can be integrated with the ERP system. These are Direct API integration and Middleware solutions. Choosing the best approach will help in reducing deployment time, minimizing system disruptions, and optimizing resource utilization.
Direct API integration
APIs or Application Programming Interfaces can be used to connect the WMS and the ERP systems together. These allow real-time data exchange and synchronization between the two platforms. Also, it’s possible to customize the APIs and align them with your specific business goals and objectives. However, designing and implementing APIs will require immense technical expertise. so, you should have a skilled in-house technical team for further support.
Middleware solutions
If your business lacks the necessary technical expertise or skilled resources, it’s better to go with middleware solutions. These allow data exchange between the two systems directly without involving any code or API. Also, these are highly scalable and can be modified later on with the growing business needs. However, middleware solutions can increase the latency between data exchange and synchronization due to their dependency on a third-party platform.
Data standardization and mapping
Maintaining data consistency across both the WMS tool and ERM system is crucial. Otherwise, it will be difficult to maintain transparency and integrity. Below are the two main techniques that can be used for data consistency and integrity.
- Standardization: All data fields should be consistent across both systems. For instance, if you are defining inventory item number in the ERP, the same should be done in the WMS>. Formats and names must be kept the same for all the data fields. This way you can eliminate discrepancies easily.
- Data field mapping: A single field used for the same purpose in the WMS and ERP systems should be mapped. This way the data will be transferred and interpreted accurately without any misalignment.
System configuration and testing
After you have planned the integration of the ERP tool with the warehouse management system, you need to configure all the systems accordingly. In other words, you have to change the settings of both tools, customize workflows, and set up different data exchange protocols for their seamless integration. Proper testing should be done to ensure the ERP and WMS systems are ready for the integration process.
Conclusion
Integrating the ERP system with WMS can bring a lot of benefits to your business. However, ensure the pre-integration and implementation steps are carried out carefully. If not, you won’t be able to make the best out of either of the tools. It may impact your customers and could also slow down your business workflows.
