SUMMARY

A Warehouse Management System (WMS) offers packaging manufacturers significant advantages, including improved inventory accuracy and real-time tracking of materials and products. It streamlines warehouse operations by optimizing storage, picking, and packing processes, leading to increased efficiency and reduced errors. Enhanced visibility into inventory levels helps prevent stockouts and overstock situations, while integration with other systems ensures seamless coordination across the supply chain.

In the marketplace, there are many choices for warehouse management systems. In fact, software cataloger Capterra recently listed more than 800 different solutions, from companies such as NetSuite, SAP, Microsoft and more. These solutions offer a wide array of capabilities, but few, if any, are designed to be specific to the labels and packaging industries.

Capterra describes warehouse management software as “an online tool that allows businesses to manage and optimize warehouse operations, including warehouse designing, inventory management, order fulfillment, picking and packaging goods, shipping, staffing, and receiving. It helps businesses automate warehouse processes, reduce errors, increase efficiency, and improve accuracy.

“Warehouse management software typically includes features such as real-time inventory tracking, barcode scanning, cycle counting, and integration with transportation management and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, among other software.”

While it is true that some of these could be integrated with a print/packaging MIS/ERP system, that requires time, cost and IT resources, can be disruptive to the operation, and the end result is likely to still be a solution that is not specific to the needs of label and packaging converters, requiring additional expensive customization to get the system just right.

That’s why HiFlow Solutions, the leading MIS for the packaging industry, has included a robust Warehouse Management System (WMS) in its packaging-specific MIS offering optional modules already completely integrated within the HiFlow software system. Matched with HiFlow’s Manufacturing Execution System (MES), its WMS provides complete tracking of all items relevant to a converting operation, including complete tracking of raw materials, and quality control and traceability for regulated products, an important aspect of packaging production for many industries that require regulatory compliance.

INVENTORY OF MATERIALS 

INK MIXING  

PRODUCT INVENTORY 

INVENTORY LOCATIONS MANAGEMENT 

DELIVERY MANAGEMENT 

SUPPLY MANAGEMENT 

MATERIAL FORECASTING  

BARCODE MANAGEMENT  

AUTOMATIC PRODUCT RECEIVING 

BATCH TRACEABILITY 

SHIPMENT MANAGEMENT 

PICK & PACK 

INVENTORY REVIEW 

SEMI PRODUCTS INVENTORY 

Within HiFlow’s WMS, there are 16 different sub-modules, ranging from barcode management, material forecasting and batch traceability, to ink mixing, inventory and delivery management, pick and pack, and work in progress (WIP) inventory. This allows converters to quickly and easily configure the system to meet their warehouse management needs, adding additional capabilities as the need arises without complex integration requirements.  

Need to add another production location or supplier? No problem. Want real-time information on warehouse operations? A customizable dashboard, alerts, and daily dashboard updates help you stay on top of inventory changes as they happen for fast response times and accurate analytics. And audits are easy – every test, report, sign-off or other activity is attached to a specific job.  

HiFlow also offers robust reporting across all of its modules for a full 360-degree view of the operation. Reports can be easily customized by users, or with the assistance of HiFlow’s extensive and responsive Professional Services team.  

Leveraging HiFlow Solutions’ integrated WMS/MES offers many benefits to converters, enabling full, real-time visibility of all stock, real-time warehouse reports, warehouse performance data, automation of warehouse processes and much more. Because the system is designed with the packaging industry in mind, users can quickly adapt the WMS and other HiFlow modules to their specific operational needs without extensive (and expensive) integrator services.