Definition of Warehouse Management System (WMS)

A Warehouse Management System (WMS) is a key part of the supply chain and primarily aims to control the movement and storage of materials within a warehouse. It processes transactions including picking, packing, shipping, receiving, and putaway. The system also directs and optimizes stock putaway based on real-time information about the status of bin utilization.

Warehouse management systems often utilize technology such as barcode scanners and Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) to efficiently monitor the flow of products. Once data has been collected, there is either a batch synchronization with, or a real-time wireless transmission to a central database. The database can then provide useful reports about the status of goods in the warehouse.