Innovation in technology has brought the importance of automation and digital tools (e.g. customer experience platforms, analytics software, and warehouse management systems) to the forefront of the logistics industry. New ways to add accuracy, automation, and efficiency into logistics and supply chain processes seem to arise daily, and those companies that can successfully adopt and integrate digital solutions into a single system are getting the upper hand.
The CargoWise Warehouse Module is an important part of this puzzle for freight forwarders that offer warehousing services. Here’s how it works.
How to Use the CargoWise Warehouse Module
CargoWise Warehouse is a comprehensive solution to manage and improve warehouse and distribution processes. This software module equips CargoWise users with tools to increase visibility, improve data quality, and enhance accuracy in their warehouse operation management.
Creating different types of Warehouses:
Under the Maintain section of CargoWise One, select the Warehouse Module, then Warehouses to open the warehouse screen. Then, click New to create a new warehouse.
On the next window, you can establish the basic information and criteria for your new Warehouse. Each Warehouse will be assigned a three-letter code and name. Then the correct branch and organization, the stored address for the location, and Warehouse Type will be selected (types include Product, Transit, Foreign Trade Zone, or Container Yard).
The Parameters tab on this window will appear differently based on the Warehouse Types selected and are used to set up basic configurations for the products that will be stored there. The location section on the parameters tab will determine how locations will appear on documents, labels, and screens throughout the Warehouse.
Creating and assigning products to Warehouse Areas:
After creating your Warehouse, your team will then set up Areas in the Warehouse that name and identify the location of different processes that will occur in that location of the building. By default, your Warehouse will be given a Default Area and prompted to create your first Default Dock Door Area. Dock Door Areas are used when unloading products into a Warehouse. Each Area added will be assigned a location in the warehouse, a name, and the type of Area to describe the activities that will be performed there.
Warehouse Area Types are based on the type of Warehouse created.
- Bonded Area (Customs Warehouse Module): Customs transaction entry numbers are needed for any receipt or order created in a Bonded Area.
- Dock Door (All Warehouse Modules): Dock Door Areas are used when unloading products into a Warehouse.
- Excise Area (Customs Warehouse Module): Customs transaction entry numbers are needed for any receipt or order created in an Excise Area (for products that incur excise duty in AU only).
- Free Store Area (All Warehouse Modules): Free Sore Areas house general storage of products.
Areas can be assigned printers for easy access, to increase efficiency, or decrease backup at one printing area. Users can use Areas to create putaway rules to put damaged packages in a specific location to ensure a secure, standardized location for efficient management and accounting. CargoWise Warehouse will also tell users how much volume and weight capacity is left in an area based on defined dimensions and product dimensions of active inventory.
CargoWise Warehouse has the capabilities to help heighten the productivity levels of each of its four warehouse types, but the most commonly created and used warehouse on CargoWise is a Product Warehouse.
How to Use the CargoWise Product Warehouse
The CargoWise Product Warehouse module captures product codes, serial numbers, expiration dates, and additional attributes to combine with inventory metrics to provide comprehensive software to 3PL Warehouses. Adding automation, offering productivity settings for pick and pack, and providing RF scanners/processes are just a few of the ways the module sets up operations for success.
Pick and Pack Features
3PL warehouse orders get added tools in CargoWise Warehouse for products being picked and packed for further distribution. The ability to split picking into waves and enable simultaneous picking lets people within your warehouse be easily assigned to complete part of a pick and pass on further picking and packing to other team members, resulting in higher productivity and faster order completion. Travel time is reduced, accuracy is increased, and overall efficiency is achieved. You can also edit a Warehouse to:
- Require pickers to verify a location is empty when the system count has determined so, assisting in stock accuracy.
- Enable packages to be picked by UOM.
- Use their ABC analysis which categorizes products using historical data, labeling moving inventory as Fast, Medium, or Slow automatically to better plan where inventory is located in the warehouse.
Financial and Accounting Capabilities
Specific features on CargoWise Warehouse specifically target the complexities that come with the management of a Product Warehouse. Handling and storage charges can be directly managed and accounted for through the module. Periodic invoices can be set up for customers to combine all orders, intake, handling, and storage charges into a comprehensive, scheduled invoice. Customer-specific contracts and rates are also easily accessed within the module to reduce repetitive manual entry and ensure accurate invoicing for all return customers.
RF Scanning
This module also offers your team RF scanning, RF customization, and even the actual equipment associated to reduce the upfront cost of implementation as part of their unique “logistics device as a service” program. RF scanning ensures the right product, the right quantity, and the right destination for orders leaving your warehouse.
While there are many more benefits and features that can be utilized to get the most from the module, making sure to correctly implement the ones outlined above is a great start to ensuring your Product Warehouse is running smoothly within CargoWise Warehouse.
The Benefits of CargoWise Warehouse
As with many modules within CargoWise, the Warehouse module results in advantages to both the internal operations of a freight forwarding company and the experience their customers will have with their team.
As a logistics company using CargoWise Warehouse to integrate warehouse operations with the rest of your logistics offerings, your team will reach new levels of productivity. The automation available gives more time back to your workers, resulting in higher employee retention, greater accuracy, increased efficiency, and the drive to get more customers in your warehouse. The scalability of your operation will also increase as you use the module’s tools to empower the productivity of each team member, using digitization to simplify what it means to bring on more business.
When it comes to your customer’s benefits, the experience and trust that is built by equipping your team for success will strengthen your business. Being able to easily share inventory metrics, digitally sharing accounting/invoicing processes, and increasing accuracy around your operations will provide more transparency that helps secure and retain customers.
To learn more about getting the most from your CargoWise software, check out the recently published training guides below.
