Enterprise mobility and Warehouse management are best friends

Warehouse management is a critical part of supply chain management for retail, manufacturing, and distribution companies. In recent years, Microsoft has made several improvements in this area, especially in the warehouse management capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Dynamics AX. More recently, solid warehouse management became part of the new cloud ERP solution, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations Enterprise Edition.

STAEDEAN offers turn-key solutions that close remaining functionality gaps in mobile warehouse management for Microsoft ERP systems. The STAEDEAN NAV Anywhere, AX Anywhere and Dynamics Anywhere suites are fully integrated with Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics AX, and Microsoft Dynamics 365.

What does enterprise mobility in a warehouse actually help you accomplish?

Enterprise mobility is an essential, strategic asset for modern warehouse and ERP systems and can greatly improve the business outcomes of your warehouse management. In an line of business where accurate and cost-effective inventory management or order-picking accuracy are critical for success, enterprise mobility enables warehouse operations to achieve higher levels of productivity and profitability.

Enterprise mobility, in simple terms, is a technology direction where employees use mobile devices and cloud services to perform business tasks at any time and anywhere. This trend is becoming more prominent across warehousing and distribution management processes because as companies see how mobility with business information available anytime, anywhere can increase worker productivity and the efficiency of warehouse processes. It also can contribute directly to improved customer satisfaction.

Important benefits of enterprise mobility in the warehouse include, at a high level:

• Refined visibility and traceability: Mobility facilitates real-time data collection and visibility of inventory information, which can largely eliminate inventory errors. Accurate inventory reporting not only keeps item levels low, but also supports greater profitability for products with shortening life-cycles.
• Improved throughput, productivity and efficiency on the warehouse floor: Workers have more immediate access to data and tasks. That, in turn, reduces execution times and increases their productivity. In addition, companies can improve their resource allocations and become more cost-efficient.
• Fast, accurate order fulfillment: More accurate and faster inventory management makes it easier to meet rising customer expectations. Order fulfillment, in turn, also can become more efficient and reliable. You can boost customer satisfaction and improve customers’ experience with your company.

Inbound and outbound processes as well as inventory management are core areas of warehouse management where enterprise mobility can increase the efficiency of processes such as:

• Item receiving: Inbound Items can be scanned, checked, and received in the warehouse with a mobile device. Workers can update the receiving status in real time on the warehouse floor, reducing the overall lead time of purchasing.
• Item inspections: The use of mobile devices allows warehouse workers to perform real-time inspections, compare their findings with predefined quality management specifications, and take the right next steps.
• Guided put away: Based on predefined location directives, suggestions for putting away items can be visible on mobile devices, helping workers consolidate items properly.
• Fast, accurate inventory transactions: No matter whether items need to be received, transferred or shipped, enterprise mobility can provide workers with accurate information about inventory levels and locations.
• Inventory counts: Mobility lets workers verify inventory accuracy by scanning items at specific locations, reducing the counting effort. Data are sent in real time to the ERP system, which can compare, update, or reconcile differences.
• Stock management: Workers can benefit from mobility to update stocks, check stock conditions, and manage stock locations or stock transfers. The overall efforts involved in stock management are thereby reduced.
• Guided picking: Mobile warehouse management systems let companies generate pick lists assigned to specific users, based on business rules such as material availability or optimal routes. The warehouse worker can then execute the optimal picking based on directions provided on the mobile device, saving time and costs in order picking.
• Packing, loading, and shipping: These tasks can be streamlined through mobility. Workers can confirm in seconds that they located and are about to pick the right item, reducing errors and saving time and money.

Our mobile warehouse management solutions offer a high degree of flexibility; companies can meet specific business requirements by providing them to workers on their mobile devices, ranging from industrial scanners to modern smartphones. They are easy to use and learn thanks to their simple and intuitive interface.

We would love to learn from your experience and challenges, so let us hear from you. If you are interested in a demo of our mobile solutions for Microsoft Dynamics 365, AX, or NAV, or have questions about them, please get in touch.