At its most basic level: ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning and helps to efficiently manage core processes in a single system including: finance, manufacturing, HR, supply chain, services, procurement, and others.
A warehouse management system (WMS) is a software that helps wholesalers and third-party logistics (3PL) providers simplifies the warehouse daily activities including, receiving, put away, storage and shipping.
Let’s go deeper.
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
The simplest way to define ERP is to think about all the core business processes needed to run a company: finance, HR, manufacturing, supply chain, services, procurement, and others.
At its most basic level, ERP helps to efficiently manage all these processes in an integrated system. It is often referred to as the system of record of the organization.
ERP solutions are designed for businesses of all sizes – small, midsize, and large. You can also get industry- and company-specific functionality to meet unique business needs.
At Consensus International we work with small and medium-sized businesses.
ERP for small and growing businesses
SAP Business One is an affordable business management solution designed for SMEs that helps you streamline key processes from accounting and financials, purchasing, inventory, sales and customer relationships, and project management to operations and human resources.
Unlike accounting packages and spreadsheets, SAP Business One makes growth simple and helps you capture all your critical business information so you can act fast and make more strategic decisions based on real-time data.
SAP Business One is easy to use, easy to set up, quick and easy to optimize and is available on-premise or in the cloud.
ERP at any size : Get the basics in this guide to ERP from SAP
WMS (Warehouse Management Software)
A warehouse management system (WMS) is a software that helps wholesalers and third-party logistics (3PL) providers simplifies the warehouse daily activities including, receiving, put away, storage and shipping.
It offers real-time visibility into your entire inventory, from the moment goods and materials enter a distribution center until the moment they leave.
The right WMS will not only help you manage your inventory but also offers tools for picking and packing processes, resource utilization, analytics, and more.
According to Aaron Armendariz, Sales, and Business Development at WiSys, “a WMS will organize your warehouse in an efficient manner to give you more accuracy, speed, and visibility. Everybody, from the CFO to warehouse workers and managers will have access to a single source of truth”.
What are the minimum features that companies should look for in a Warehouse Management system?
Armendariz advices companies to first identify your warehouse needs and processes to look into the features that really match your unique business requirements.
“Looking at how flexible the system can be is very important in a WMS as well as how easy is to expand once implemented, so it can grow with you as you add more warehouses, locations or users” added Armendariz.
For the WMS system to work cohesively with the rest of your operations, it is crucial the integration with your ERP system.
During your WMS evaluation, you should also consider the following features:
- Labor utility
- ABC classification
- Utility classification
- Warehouse capacity management system
- Cross-docking management
- Inventory location systems.
“People that need a WMS want another level of believability to their data, they are expanding their operations where they can’t do everything paper-based or live by tribal- knowledge of where things are located”, Armendariz said.
WiSys WMS: a third party addon for SAP Business One
WiSys’ Agility WMS is designed and built to be an out-of-the box WMS addon for SAP Business One. It is a real-time, flexible, and scalable solution that is easy to install and configure.
WiSys Agility solutions have seamless, certified integration with SAP Business One for both the Hana and SQL database platforms.
It is a software for every industry, from manufacturing, wholesale distribution and food and beverage to health and pharmaceutical, retail and consumer goods and Third-Party Logistics (3PL) companies.
More resources
Read What WiSys WMS addon for SAP Business One includes to learn about key features and functionality available in the 3 tiers of WiSys’ Agility WMS: Essentials, Professional and Enterprise.
Learn more about WMS, who needs it and what does a WMS do in our blog article WiSys WMS addon for SAP Business One
Are you evaluating a new ERP system for your business? Learn more about SAP Business One
WiSys WMS addon for Manufacturing and Distribution companies
Learn how distributors and manufacturers can seamlessly buy/make, stock, and ship items in real-time using the WiSys WMS add-on for SAP Business One.
If you are evaluating a WMS add on for SAP Business One, get in touch with us.
