WMS Overview

Editor's Notes

• #9: Thermos increased their warehouse operator productivity by 30%Royal Appliances/TTI Floorcare and Enseval brought inventory accuracy to almost 100%Life fitness decreased handling cost/ unit by 30%Life Fitness reduced overtime by 95%Tenderheart treasures reduced scrap by 30%Grupo abril increased on time shipments by 50%
• #12: The Oracle WMS solution has been designed to be an integral part of the overall Oracle e-Business Suite. It provides Warehousing Management from the Procurement, Manufacturing and Fulfillment aspects of the suite – and does so as a seamless extension to those functional areas.This was the message given to us by many of our existing customers. In response Oracle decided that to address the dual business needs of providing strong WMS functionality while at the same time addressing the challenges intrinsic to a bolt-on solution, the only approach was to build WMS functionality within the framework of the existing E-Business suite. And this is what we have done with Oracle WMS.Because Oracle Development was able to build on the strong foundation that already existed, it simplified and reduced the overall development effort. Unlike the bolt-on WMS vendors, Oracle did not need to create a separate infrastructure for security, transaction processing, installation, logging, reporting, etc. Instead, the same infrastructure that is used by the rest of the E-Business suite is directly used by Oracle WMS. This same ability to leverage existing strengths also applies to to the underlying Inventory model, which was already very strong. What changes were required for Oracle WMS were actually integrated and shipped with Oracle Application as part of the first 11i release in May 2001.
• #15: This represents the main components of the Oracle Warehouse Management solution. This includes advanced WMS features such as:Built-in RF/Barcode supportFull Inbound processing capabilities for a variety of transaction sources and with directed put awayA full complement of internal processing capabilities, including full integration with Costing and ManufacturingSophisticated Directed Picking and Outbound Processing, again supporting a variety of transaction sourcesA Task Management process to organize and dispatch work automaticallyAn innovative Business Rules engine – which permits tailoring the application without the need to resort to customization.All of this is delivered with seamless integration with the rest of the e-business suite.
• #17: Oracle Applications is already highly flexible through the use of numerous setup and configuration options. However, due to the variance in the needs of each WMS implementation, and the challenges this has traditionally posed for WMS products, Oracle decided that an additional level of flexibility was required. The WMS Rules Engine is the vehicle that provides this flexibility throughout the Oracle WMS application. The areas it supports are:Directed Put Away – what is the optimal location or locations for this put awayDirected Picking – what is the optimal source for this pickAutomated Task Management – who should do this next taskCompliance Labeling – which label format should I print and whenCost Group Assignment – what inventory accrual account should I use for this inventory holding
• #25: Crossdocking allows warehouses to increase its operational efficiency by transferring inbound material directly to an outbound area. It bypasses the inventory-holding function of a warehouse while still allowing it to serve its consolidation and shipping functions. Prior to Release 12, crossdock execution had many limitations such as outbound staging to default locator, lack of consolidation support, etc. With Release 12, crossdocking can be planned in the warehouse using a set of crossdock criteria. The system can identify crossdocking opportunities in the warehouse by comparing expected receipts and outbound shipments. When a crossdocking opportunity is identified, the scheduled inbound receipt is pegged to the outbound shipment. A specific inbound receipt is identified based on whether the warehouse wants to maximize crossdocking or minimize wait time. In Release 12, Opportunistic crossdocking has been enhanced such that crossdocking occurs on the basis of crossdock criteria. In addition its no longer necessary to have backordered sales orders to perform opportunistic crossdock. The execution of crossdocking has been streamlined as well. This feature extends the Advanced Task Framework in the crossdock execution process. Features such as consolidation, suggestion of staging lane, creation or merge with an outbound delivery etc. can be leveraged to better support your crossdocking  material handling processes.Planned Cross DockingPeg demand to inbound receipts based on flexible optimization criteriaRules based determination of eligible supply & demand typesManagerial override & approval as requiredLeverage Oracle’s Configure to Order pegging to expedite assemble to order business flows Also supports express ASN receipt, load and pick
• #26: Without a WMS system, the process by which locators are selected for picking or put away is often the result of simple rules of thumb or “tribal knowledge”. This can lead to significant training issues, inventory obsolescence, and inventory fragmentation.Directed Picking and Put away is the process by which Oracle WMS suggests locations based on business process rules, which are defined by the user in the WMS Rules Engine. These rules may be as simple or as complex as required to address the business needs of the situation. For example, a pick rule could require that for this particular customer delivery location, on this day, for this item category, a lot with at least a certain number of days before expiration should be preferred - and that the entire order line should be satisfied by a single lot. A put away rule could require that a receipt should first be used to replenish the forward pick location and then placed in an open slot in the hazardous material area which has enough space to fit the remaining quantity, and located as close as possible to the same item. And so on …Directed Picking and Put away, together with the WMS Rules Engine, will enable the automatic implementation of the specific “best practices” for the warehouse. This will yield savings in training, storage utilization and inventory obsolescence.