As a result of big changes in supply chain management, warehouse management system software needs to evolve further to deal with another phenomenon: Returns.
In regards to returns, 2 questions are relevant:
- Should a warehouse management system (WMS) become a returns management system? or
- Should a warehouse management system (WMS) integrate with a returns management system?
In a previous blog we concluded that it makes sense to have a dedicated returns management system taking care of product grading and storage of non-grade A products. This means that the warehouse management system (WMS) should not handle returns from the moment they arrive at the warehouse. The WMS should only handle pre-screened grade-A products.
So in a warehouse management system demo we would like to see an integration with a dedicated returns management system.
So, the next question would be:
- What does this integration look like?
Typically, a WMS needs a pre-alert to be notified about an incoming shipment containing products in good condition. This means that the returns management system should provide the WMS with a pre-alert for all returned products that have been received as grade-A in the returns management system.