Eight success factors for mobile warehouse management

A promising mobile future is emerging for logistics: warehouse managers communicate seamlessly with their warehouse staff and organize themselves better. They save a lot of time, in the preparation as well as in the follow-up of goods movements and inventory. In the process, mobile solutions also reduce the error rate and provide a more accurate view of process steps. This increases transparency. Because it is possible to track where the goods are at any time. Additional ecological benefits: Paper savings of up to 70 percent. However, these advantages of a mobile warehouse solution do not come automatically. The ERP manufacturer proALPHA has identified eight success factors for mobile warehouse management:

1. fully integrated instead of patchwork

In times of digitalization, no company can afford to establish new systems that create additional media disruptions or high-maintenance interfaces. Mobile apps must therefore be seamlessly connected to the leading system of all company processes. As a rule, this is an ERP system.

2. individual adaptability and expandability

Mobile applications must fit the context and the company processes, and these are very different in every manufacturing or retail company. In addition, processes in the warehouse are highly dynamic and change rapidly. A solution should therefore be flexibly expandable.

3. safety

Data protection and data security are top priorities in mobile solutions. A basic requirement here is to regulate the access options with an authorization concept. SSL/TLS encryption of the data connections between the mobile devices and the ERP system protects against unauthorized "eavesdropping". So that only those can access who are allowed to.

4. practicality

The solution should already be in use at other companies in the industry. This increases the likelihood that the requirements of the company's own operations will also be met. References can then also report first-hand on the stability and robustness.

5. user-centered design

A mobile application should be developed starting from the user. This means iteratively, using prototypes. So that inventory, goods receipt, transfer postings or picking processes run in all sub-steps exactly as the optimized process envisages. Because only interfaces and processes that employees can handle quickly and without a great deal of training ensure increased productivity.

6. hybrid and intelligent control

The easiest and fastest way to capture data is via scanner. If the environmental conditions, such as the distance to the label or a damaged label, do not allow scanning, it must also be possible to enter data quickly and easily via the keyboard. A mobile application should then recognize that a scanned number is a document number and directly start the associated process, for example, goods receipt.

7. full service

Nothing is more tedious than coordinating a wide variety of manufacturers, and in case of doubt, the others are always to blame when problems arise. Companies should therefore prefer to purchase a complete solution including the infrastructure, such as the mobile devices, and consulting from a single source in order to have a responsible contact person - even when it comes to future expansions of the solution.

8. internationally applicable

When it comes to scanning itself, language plays less of a role. However, time zones must be taken into account for time stamps in order to cleanly document transcontinental supply chains or warehouse movements. If warehouse staff also enter texts or quantities, both the mobile solutions and the connected ERP system must fully master various character sets, languages and number formats for international business.

Anyone who fulfills these eight points is well on the way to a successful solution, but not yet at the finish line. After all, the basic prerequisite for efficient warehouse management is the processes. "Processes must be as lean as possible and, above all, clearly defined," emphasizes Daniel Schüllner, Product Manager Usability and Mobile at ERP manufacturer proALPHA. "Paired with a future-oriented application that meets all of the above requirements, only then does it become the 'winning team,'" says Schüllner. Complex processes can be optimized and simplified via the ERP system. Thanks to proven scheduling procedures, companies are free to choose which storage type they want to work with. The range includes the classic fixed bin organization, dynamically changing or mixed storage bins, and special warehouses.

More information: proALPHA