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You may have read our blog post on the four reasons businesses want Warehouse Management Software (WMS) and decided you want some barcoding technology for your business. Our customers who use Dynamics Business Central in their manufacturing environment often want to implement a WMS.
Even with Business Central for your Manufacturing increasing your efficiency substantially; you need to consider how you’re going to implement a barcode Warehouse Management System that takes into account people, technology, processes and considers your warehouse needs.
Good WMS systems help streamline processes such as packing, picking, putting away, shipping, and cycle counting. Manufacturing oriented WMS might also support output and consumption of materials. Having a Business Central compatible WMS in place isn’t all you need to worry about. Sometimes implementing a warehouse management system can be challenging, especially for beginners.
You have to change the culture of your personnel, get the right hardware for the job, and provide training on how the system works. If you have a staff already accustomed to inventory control, then it should be a streamlined transition to the barcoding system.
If your staff aren’t used to this kind of software; here are some issues you may encounter as you implement the system.
Over Extending
Don’t fall into the temptation of deploying the whole system all at once! Start off with a particular feature or module. It could be cycle counting to start. Move ahead and work with that first before testing the rest of the system. Only implement the rest of the system when you are comfortable you have the capacity to run it.
Unnecessary Delays
More or less related to the first warning, don’t overthink your implementation. Don’t spend endless time planning and organizing before you start. A common mistake is wasting a lot of time on tests and piloting. Start off with an easy module and if possible roll it out early and quickly. Try and pick something that will be easy to use. Such a module will help you get a feel of the system and what it has to offer. Once you decide to move on to a more advanced features, you will have the basics needed to make the most of it.
Failure to Put in Place Guiding Rules and Principles
Your management needs to set the rules and goals for the implementation. Using these for guidance, provide proper training programs to all your employees. Come up with a set of expectations for your staff and assign responsibility and authority to make it happen. Write down these rules and enforce them effectively. There should also be well laid out consequences for workers that won’t adhere to these guidelines.
Implementing features you don’t need
Your barcode warehouse management software comes with a wide range of features. It is easy to make the mistake of trying out every module. A feature might be there, and it is fine if it remains unused for a long period of time. Remember that what you use needs to be relevant to your business. Shelve the features that won’t add value to your business. Just because you paid for something doesn’t mean you’ll benefit from using it.
If you’re in the market for a WMS for your Dynamics 365 Business Central manufacturing environment, then you should read our Top Warehouse Management Systems for Dynamics Business Central blog.
To learn more about how Business Central works in Manufacturing companies, visit Sabre Limited or give us a call at (519) 585-7524
