Branschvertikaler inom lagerhantering och hur de påverkar WMS

Warehouse management is the science of optimizing warehouse activity with the intention of reducing inventory holding costs and increasing material throughput. A warehouse management system (WMS) is an IT system used to support warehouse processes and ensure a smooth ow of material. The main objectives of the WMS are to keep track of inventory levels and distribute tasks to warehouse sta. The system has an overview of the material ow and controls which tasks should be carried out and when, based on decision rules and mathematical models. General warehousing operations managed by WMS include: goods reception, put away, replenishment, stock taking, picking, packing and loading. There are considerable dierences in the way companies manage their warehouse activity. In order to full customer needs, vendors of WMS must provide a wide variety of IT solutions and a system that is adaptable for different business requirements. It is therefore important to understand which requirements exist for dierent types of businesses. In this thesis we have identied certain patterns in how companies with similar characteristics manage warehouse activities. We have also evaluated if business specic versions of WMS should be developed in order to reduce the cost of adapting a standard system for every new customer. The thesis has been conducted at Consafe Logistics in Lund and most of the studies are based on customer data provided by the company. The information has been gathered by both qualitative and quantitative methods. Consafe Logistics has a relatively wide range of customers in dierent business areas, which indicates that the results are valid for warehousing in general. The study shows many industry similarities but also considerable inconsistencies within business verticals. We therefore conclude that business speci c versions of WMS are not suitable solutions from a system design point of view. Instead, system oriented architecture (SOA) is recommended. The base of the solution is to put all customer specic development in a SOA library from where it can be retrieved and reused when needed. This implies a generic system design, standardized development processes, comprehensive documentation and a thorough understanding of the supply chain requirements of dierent businesses.