WMS versus ERP: Who Wins in the Warehouse?

Sluggish or Speedy Random or Ordered Slow or Fast Learning Disconnected or Real-Time Cumbersome or Efficient Delayed or On Time 6 Reasons to Choose WMS over ERP LATITUDE WMS ERP-BASEDOR 3pathguide.com | [email protected] How does your average ERP-based warehouse module stack up against a tried-and-true Warehouse Management System like Latitude WMS? It turns out that a real WMS will trounce ERP-based warehouse modules in even the most basic functions. GOOD TO GO! GOOD TO GO! LATITUDE WMSERP-BASED WMS Problematic and Sluggish Each RF gun uses an ERP license, which takes as much processing power as someone working on the ERP terminal. This ties up user licenses on the ERP and makes the system sluggish. Speedy and Nimble Latitude WMS uses a different set of servers and licenses than your ERP system, so it doesn’t hog ERP licenses. This makes Latitude WMS more nimble and speedy. 54 pathguide.com | [email protected] | [email protected] LATITUDE WMSERP-BASED WMS Random and Difficult ERP-based WMSs print item labels in random order at the conclusion of a receiving job. Receiving personnel then spend valuable work hours trying to match labels with received products. Ordered and Quick When receiving a PO in Latitude WMS, the user can print a label immediately after each item is received and affix the label to the product right away. If labels are printed later, they are printed in order of receipt. 76 pathguide.com | [email protected] | [email protected] LATITUDE WMSERP-BASED WMS Learns In Minutes Barcode learning is slow, taking up to several minutes for the system to learn a single new barcode. Learns in Milliseconds With Latitude WMS, barcodes are learned in milliseconds. A single product can also have unlimited barcodes associated with it. 98 pathguide.com | [email protected] | [email protected] REAL-TIME INVENTORY SUCCESSFUL B3A2 QTY: 3 B3A2 - I I : LATITUDE WMSERP-BASED WMS Disconnected Warehouse jobs take place on an RF gun, and aren’t uploaded to the rest of the system until the job is complete. No real-time tracking makes it hard to manage inventory accurately or to track the progress of a picking/putaway/receiving job. Real-Time In Latitude WMS, every warehouse task is visible in real time via Latitude Web. No more wondering whatever happened to that one PO – you can see it being received as it happens. 1110 pathguide.com | [email protected] | [email protected] EFFICIENT OVERWRITE? I I I ? LATITUDE WMSERP-BASED WMS Cumbersome Received items aren’t automatically entered into putaway jobs – putaway jobs have to be manually created. Putaway jobs are also limited to primary bins, and any exceptions had to be manually written down and changed later on a computer system. Efficient To begin a putaway job in Latitude WMS, a user only needs to scan the load or cart that items were received into. Latitude supports multitude putaway routines and is customizable so that distributors can decide what rules and modes of putaway make sense. 1312 pathguide.com | [email protected] | [email protected] LATITUDE WMSERP-BASED WMS Delays and Expense ERP-based WMS doesn’t offer simple ways to organize orders according to carrier, making it easy to miss cut-off and pick-up times. Missing a pick-up time leads to late orders. On-Time and Correct The Latitude WMS audit trail offers management a real- time view of orders in progress to better coordinate with carrier pickup schedules. With Latitude, it’s easy to sort orders according to shipment type, carrier, and priority level, so orders are picked on time and shipped right. 1514 pathguide.com | [email protected] | [email protected] Some ERP vendors offer warehouse “solutions” that tack on to their ERP platforms, hoping that a low-cost WMS impostor will prevent their customers from seeking out a best-in-class WMS solution. Here are six reasons why a real WMS will out-perform an ERP solution any day of the week (and twice on Sunday). 1. ERPs Aren’t Made For Warehouses ERPs are great for the world of purchasing and sales, but warehouse management systems live in the physical world of receiving, storing, and shipping goods. In the same way that your workforce specializes in different areas, your technology solutions should concentrate on a particular area. You probably wouldn’t ask your salespeople to find inventory discrepancies; in the same vein, you wouldn’t ask your ERP to perform cycle counts. 2. A WMS Offers More Checks and Balances A solid WMS functions as a set of checks and balances against your ERP, making sure that you always know what’s in your warehouse, exactly where it is, and who’s handling it – in real-time. Your ERP vendor can create software that works with the system that they have in place, but is that system designed to challenge the warehouse to do better? Or is it designed to make you feel like everything is working well as-is? 1716 pathguide.com | [email protected] | [email protected] 3. A Good WMS Has Free, Lifetime Upgrades A good WMS grows when your business does (and conversely, can allow you to choose a simpler path should your business change or divide into smaller units). Our Latitude WMS grows to meet customer demands. Latitude’s modular design lets you roll out your implementation at your own pace, so you can pick ala carte features as needed. We also include free lifetime upgrades to the latest version of our software. Does your ERP do that? 4. You Get Performance Metrics With A WMS No good leader can be an ostrich, head stuck in the sand. Insight into your operations is your greatest tool for increasing business efficiency. Latitude WMS is teeming with metrics reports, charts, and employee performance tracking tools. Shine a spotlight on your warehouse and find out what works and what doesn’t. You’ll know right away if new methods are increasing efficiency, and boosting sales. 5. WMS Can Integrate With Different ERPs If you choose an ERP-based warehouse solution, what happens when you switch ERPs? It happens! Sometimes you outgrow your ERP or become dissatisfied with a particular ERP vendor. A good WMS must integrate with all major ERP platforms. For instance, Latitude WMS interfaces with Epicor as well Top 6 Reason To Choose WMS Over ERP as Infor, Microsoft Dynamics, J.D. Edwards, Oracle, SAP, and and others, making WMS implementation a breeze, even if you change ERPs. 6. WMSs Are Made By Warehouse Experts Our Latitude WMS is a broad application with rich, deep functionality, and it saves you time and money. What else can you expect from a company that’s been promoting distributor growth for over 25 years? Warehouse management solutions aren’t something that you can create overnight - they take years to develop and fine-tune. At PathGuide, we have WMS experts that collaborate on, design, engineer, sell, and implement our WMS solution. You won’t get THAT from an ERP. Top 6 Reason To Choose WMS Over ERP 1918 pathguide.com | [email protected] | [email protected] PATHGUIDE.COM