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An inventory management system allows you to optimise your intralogistics in a time- and cost-efficient manner. At the same time, it maximises safety and speed in the warehouse.
Find out everything you need to know about the SAP WM application and why the software is right for your company.
A warehouse management system, or WMS for short, is a software program that helps companies manage and control their daily warehouse processes, from the receipt of goods to their shipment, so that the costs, efficiency, security, and speed of warehouse operations can be optimized in a profitable way.
WM software management systems provide real-time insights into a company’s entire inventory (including goods in transit) and tools for picking, packing, resource utilization, and other analyses, making them a key component of clean and simple supply chain management.
A warehouse management system offers the possibility to systematically map, control, and optimize all warehouse activities, both internal and external, as well as measures that affect the extended logistics chain.
The following core functions of a WMS can support everyday warehouse activities:
A warehouse management system allows warehouse activities such as goods issues and goods receipts or material provision for production processes to be processed, validated, and managed automatically and efficiently. WMS systems map strategies for all types of warehouses, such as pallet warehouses, block warehouses, cantilever warehouses, push-back racks, etc.
WMS can significantly simplify and accelerate inventory management, which leads to considerable efficiency gains, especially for companies with high inventory turnover rates. Both traditional periodic inventory management and the concept of continuous inventory management are supported profitably by a warehouse management system.
Accurate inventory tracking is crucial to reliably meeting order fulfillment rates. WMS provides real-time insights into a company’s inventory at any time and from any location. Even goods that are in transit or in stores can be tracked using modern warehouse management software.
You can dynamically adjust inventory levels at any time to ensure that demand is always met, both in stores and in e-commerce.
In addition, highly up-to-date inventory management at the shelf level enables maximum automation with regard to the restocking of picking and order picking locations, eliminating unnecessary process delays and productivity gaps due to shortages or mismanagement.
With methods such as single order picking, batch picking, zone picking, wave picking, and much more, warehouse management solutions help make order fulfillment easier and better. Optimized picking routes also help to significantly reduce costs.
Most warehouse systems are integrated into logistics and transport management software. This speeds up shipping processes, ensures that agreements and delivery dates are met on time, and reduces error rates. In addition, real-time tracking functions provide the most accurate monitoring of the shipping process.
Modern WMSs help warehouse employees work faster and more efficiently and assist in structuring warehouse processes in a logical and streamlined manner. Based on factors such as priority or proximity, warehouse management systems can structure tasks in such a way that working hours are used optimally and productivity is increased.
In addition, the systems provide important insights into working hours and performance statistics and can thus help to quickly identify and implement optimizations in terms of personnel costs, response times, or planning trends based on real-time analyses.
Warehouse management systems collect data accurately and in real time. This precise data collection can be converted into graphical reports that provide important insights and analyses of warehouse processes. With a warehouse management system, all processes in the warehouse can be tracked and potential areas for improvement identified in order to achieve significant cost reductions and maximize efficiency and satisfaction.
A digital warehouse management system is essential for keeping up with today’s fast-paced world, reducing costs, and generating efficiency gains.
The advantages speak for themselves when it comes to introducing warehouse management software into your company:
✓ Real-time process and inventory transparency
✓ Cost reduction
✓ Increased efficiency in work management
✓ Intelligent warehouse automation
✓ Optimized & automated picking strategies
✓ Improved supplier and customer relationships
SAP WM is an SAP application and part of the SAP Logistics Execution (LE) module. The application can be used to map and control all of a company’s intralogistics processes. The goal of an SAP warehouse management system is to provide both employees and managers with all the necessary information about inventory levels and goods movements and to control, optimize, and automate warehouse processes using real-time analyses.
Essentially, both SAP WM and SAP EWM (Extended Warehouse Management) offer an efficient solution for warehouse management. SAP WM was integrated directly into SAP S/4 HANA as Stockroom Management. Further development of Warehouse Management was then discontinued. However, it is still possible to use Warehouse Management in SAP S/4 HANA as a compatibility package.
SAP EWM is the latest warehouse management software from SAP, which is used to network and control all logistics processes in the warehouse and logistics chain. SAP EWM covers far more functions and aims to make companies fit for Industry 4.0.
Since support for SAP WM will be discontinued with the expiry of SAP ERP 6.0 at the end of 2025, non-existing customers are advised to implement the updated application.
A basic distinction is made between three categories of warehouse management systems, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages and is suitable for different types of companies:
A standalone WMS is usually company-owned hardware.
The advantages are more individual customization options and the possibility of closer and stricter control of data and software.
However, standalone WMSs involve significantly higher costs, both in terms of purchase and maintenance. Regular updates are essential, however, as system functions can become outdated and difficulties can arise when implementing other technologies.
Warehouse management systems in the cloud are provided as SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) and score points with low acquisition costs and high flexibility. Regular updates facilitate the rapid introduction of innovations, and easy scalability allows for simple adaptation to the needs of growing companies. In addition, cloud WMSs can usually be easily implemented in other solutions and platforms. Maintenance and updates are handled by external providers, so companies have to invest little in terms of costs and effort. However, customers should be aware that they are largely relinquishing control of the system.
Some warehouse management solutions are already integrated as modules in ERP or SCM platforms. This has many advantages. On the one hand, installation and maintenance costs are manageable and the effort required for implementation is low. Furthermore, ERP-based WMS can be easily combined with overlapping areas such as purchasing or business intelligence, thus providing a comprehensive overview of the entire business and logistics chain.
However, even with this solution, you need to be aware that although the system can be customized, it does not represent a company-specific and individual solution.
A warehouse management system, or WMS for short, is a software that supports companies in managing and controlling daily warehouse processes, from the receipt of goods to their dispatch, so that the costs, efficiency, security and speed of warehouse operations can be optimised in a profitable manner.
Warehouse management systems offer numerous functions designed to support daily warehouse processes. The range of services extends from the management and control of storage units and stocks, through simplified inventory and replenishment, to optimised work management and the clear provision of real-time analyses and key figures.
Automated processes and real-time monitoring help to optimise and simplify warehouse processes in a profitable way. Your company will benefit from reduced costs, increased profit efficiency and improved relationships with customers and suppliers, among other things.
Both applications are warehouse management solutions. SAP EWM offers more extensive functions and is therefore suitable for larger companies and corporations. Medium-sized companies can rely on the range of services offered by SAP WM. However, it should be noted that SAP is not introducing any new functions in WM and support will end at the end of 2025.
Due to the end of support for SAP WM at the end of 2025, it makes sense to switch to the significantly more comprehensive SAP EWM. Companies that are experiencing a certain amount of growth in particular will benefit from the extraordinary range of functions offered by the enhanced warehouse management module.
