Definition
A warehouse management system (WMS) is software that directs the physical work inside a warehouse, such as where each item is stored and how it's put away, picked, packed and shipped, usually down to bin level and with scanning.
What is a warehouse management system used for?
Inventory management answers “how much do we have, where and what is it worth?” A WMS answers “which bin, which picker, which route?” It adds bin and location tracking, putaway rules, wave picking, handheld scanners and labour reporting, and pays off in high-volume warehouses handling thousands of picks a day.
Example: a third-party logistics provider uses a WMS to send pickers to bin A-12-03 by scanner.
Many trading companies with a few warehouses need accurate stock, pick lists and dispatch control rather than a full WMS, with available-to-promise figures per warehouse.