Warehouse management software is dynamic and flexible, allowing you to save time and money at each step of your process. Packing is another area where a WMS can offer multiple solutions, depending on the organization of your workflow. Whether you are simply looking to reduce waste during packing or you are hoping to eliminate an entire step in the process, a WMS can help you accomplish your goals.

Shipping Box Sizes

With modules like our own 3D Pack, warehouse management software can use the dimensions of the items in an order to calculate the minimum volume that is required in order to ship them. If you have a certain number of standard box sizes, this means you can always be sure that you are using the smallest one necessary to ship the order. In fact, when used in conjunction with custom box production equipment like Packsize, 3D Pack can even have a box produced especially to fit one particular order, resulting in the smallest amount of dead space possible.

Pick-to-Pack

Since your WMS can know in advance what the right box size is and what the order of packing should be (largest to smallest), it follows that warehouse management software can direct a worker to get a particular box type and to pick items in a particular sequence. This results in a completely and accurately packed order at the end of the picking process. For certain companies that can use this methodology, the "packing process" might only consist of adding a packing list and sealing the box with tape.

Less Downtime

If all of the steps up to packing have been followed correctly, your packing team will have far fewer problems that they have to try to correct on the fly. As a result, you will be able to significantly reduce the amount of time you spend verifying orders on the shipping dock. If your team is following the WMS process during receiving, dispatch, putaway and picking, it should be obvious that all products have been picked correctly. In addition, the WMS will use up-to-the-minute information to ensure that your shipments are packed as soon as the last item in the shipment arrives from the warehouse. Since the dispatch system can prioritize orders based on the carrier they will be on, your products should be reaching the dock just in time for the truck rather than sitting there all day taking up space.

Warehouse management software can take your packing operations to the next level by consolidating steps, improving efficiency and ensuring accuracy. While the improvements you will see in time and energy are obvious, the savings you will experience in shipping costs and packing materials can also be significant. Since the WMS has all of the available information about the products going into an order, it can direct packers to use the smallest box size needed for the order and even send specifications to have specialized equipment produce a custom-sized box on the fly.