News & TrendsOUR BLOGS AND ARTICLES HAVE BEEN DEDICATED TO THE CONCEPT OF SHARING NEW INFORMATION ON OUR PRODUCT, THE INDUSTRY, AND GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON INVENTORY MANAGEMENT OVER THE YEARS.
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Inventory allocation is often lamented for its degree of difficulty. Most ERP systems are just not equipped to handle the many supply chain exception conditions. And then layer the need to go paperless using advanced mobile inventory solutions and the inventory challenges become complex. Sophisticated warehouse management designed to be easy to understand becomes the only answer  The top 3 challenges which face most supply chain folks are:
With unlimited supply, these challenges would never be an issue. But that is rarely the reality. More common are scenarios of ever-changing forecasts and demand. It turns out that one company has cracked the code. And the answer was right in front of us all the time … item attribute allocation sets. Take scenario one, a typical use case in the omni-channel where Shopify, Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), and a multitude of other e-commerce platforms need visibility to AtP. It turns out that Available to Promise is a simple calculation: Inventory on Hand – Sales Orders = AtP. It can get complicated quickly though if you need to separate availability by channel. Take one franchisor customer of ours for example. Most of their items need to be sold in 3 different channels. 1. Internal Franchisor consumption, 2. External Franchisees and 3. Their B2C ecommerce channel. Each channel can have unique criteria around what constitutes Inv on Hand and Sales Orders. For example, the franchisor channel is more willing to unallocate their inventory then the B2C channel. In B2C, if you can not fulfill on your AtP, there can be severe fines or even defaults on agreements with major channel partners like FBA. Inv on hand needs to be more closely managed for this reason. Business rules are enabled to handle multiple channel needs for AtP within the WithoutWire console. This creates the need for security and permissions around mobile functionality. Managing allocation in this way optimizes your revenue AND customer satisfaction! In the illustration below you can see that item #2425 is allocated to (reserved for) the Customer “Cayman Water” and is not available to any other customer’s order:  Scenario two utilizes our WithoutWire tools for 3PL, consignment and Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI). The WithoutWire platform extends seamlessly with the Microsoft Platform through our Power Automate, Power Connectors and Power Apps. This not only allows us to identify Customer inventory with ownership, but it drives reporting to Customers to not only make requests to meet their needs, but real-time visibility to their inventory, its quantities, its movements, and corresponding invoicing. We connect our system to the Microsoft Customer Portal so that our clients have a security-controlled environment to address the common inventory questions, and power to win new 3PL customers … and retain them!  The third scenario is perhaps my favorite. Have you ever had inventory disappear in your warehouse? I believe this has been the case for every prospect I have ever spoken with over the past 14 years! Now you see it … now you don’t. Where does it go? Warehouse Ghosts must exist! Well not really, this problem has led WithoutWire to ghost-busting new functionality using “Allocation Sets”. Think of this as “reservation” of inventory. The ability to set aside critical inventory for its intended purpose, out of reach of others who may not have done proper inventory planning. This has several common use cases including technicians who need the same part. Or various channels who would like to grab a high-demand part. But perhaps the most common, is for staging parts against long running projects. Suppose you are procuring parts over the next 30 days to stage for a project that you need to install. If every time you turn around your “reserved” parts are being taken by other “immediate use” projects, you will quickly feel like you are in a never-ending game of “whack-a-mole”. To solve this, our customers stamp each item to its designated project as it arrives. Now stealing of inventory can still occur, but no longer by accident. With the proper Supervisor authority, inventory swapping is planned and executed thru our mobile application. For these use cases, a little bit of discipline goes a long way in optimizing supply chain inventory movements.
We hope that you will contact us to today for a product demonstration of complex inventory made simple for Distribution, Manufacturing and/or Field Service. Steve Dwyer, Chief Revenue Officer WithoutWire steved@WithoutWire.com
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 Leaving paper and spreadsheets can be challenging. Resistance to change is only half of the battle, the other half comes from complex alternatives. Complex inventory challenges can be met with complicated solutions and that can feel like you are doubling down on expensive! What if you could achieve a return on investment with improvements in usability and the following hard dollar savings:
WithoutWire has modernized the mobile interface for warehouse, production and field technicians. With real-time integration to Dynamics, our solution needs minimal training to gain maximum adoption among your workforce. Contextual intelligence guides workers to follow a process that is predictable and repeatable. With our focus on simplifying complex inventory challenges we have introduced a powerful mobile experience for replenishing inventory with a Just-in-Time (JIT) supply just when you need it, in just the right quantities. Distribution Laboratory and medical supplies are examples of where stock-outs can literally be a case of life or death. Who says supply chain is not important? Lab technicians and nurses should never run out of critical hospital and medical supplies to do their job. Gloves, syringes, and masks can be critical to their protection and the protection of their patients. Through WithoutWire enhanced replenishment, lab closets and hospital supply rooms never run out of those critical supplies. Cross-site replenishment was a challenge that WithoutWire had to simplify and solve for our clients. Transfer picks, in-transit and cross-site moves all follow one set of logic within our system. Simple, consistent, and predictable flow of goods need to extend beyond the 4 walls of your warehouse to hospital and lab closets of supply.  Manufacturing If only manufacturing staging had unlimited space ... A common challenge for our Manufacturing Clients. Production jobs often span a whole day or multiple shifts throughout the day. Shutting down the line to wait for raw material delivery creates tremendous inefficiency. WithoutWire has constructed the replenishment logic to schedule raw material deliveries JIT. Fully automated through mobile we take the complexity out of your required production inventory supplies. Just set it. And forget it. We can drive an hourly re-supply via our automated mobile WithoutWire software. Production runners follow the pick tasks and replenishments driven by our mobile application. No more production shutdowns. No more interruptions in each shift. Reducing the overflow in staging has the added benefit of minimizing cross-contamination of raw goods. By automating the repetitive replenishment tasks your production team can focus their attention on accurately recording the raw material and finished good lots, expiration dates, recording scrap, returning unused raw materials and conducting a proper quality inspection.  Field Service Field technicians serve a critical role in performing installations against work orders, closing service tickets, and executing on maintenance and repair jobs. Too often our field technicians become “logistics magicians!” When the tech does not have the right parts, or not enough parts, they are faced with multiple trips to close their work order and/or they become engulfed in supply chain challenges … which is not the best use of this precious field resource. Through WithoutWire enhanced replenishment, JIT supply is automated through the easiest mobile experience on the market today. Technicians can ‘Request Inventory’ required for upcoming jobs through their mobile device and have them automatically shipped to their driveway or an unmanned facility for pick-up. No paperwork, no data entry, and the most efficient use of your skilled workforce.  NEW! Ask about our mobile field service embedded within D365 CRM for Field Service. One app for the technician brings field service mobile power to the palm of their hands. Enabled through the Microsoft Power Platform using our low-code, no-code WithoutWire Power Connector. We hope that you will contact us to today for a product demonstration of complex inventory made simple for Distribution, Manufacturing and/or Field Service. Steve Dwyer, Chief Revenue Officer WithoutWire 612-839-4058  WithoutWire Inventory Sciences solves complex inventory challenges through a powerful mobile interface that is friendly and easy to use.
WithoutWire has modernized the mobile interface for warehouse, production and field technicians. With real-time integration to Dynamics, our solution needs minimal training to gain maximum adoption among your workforces. Contextual intelligence guides workers to follow a process that is predictable and repeatable. With our focus on simplifying complex inventory challenges we have introduced a powerful mobile experience for replenishing inventory with a Just-in-Time (JIT) supply just when you need it, at just the right quantities.  Field Service Field technicians are a valuable resource for completing those tough service tickets, performing installations against work orders and executing on maintenance and repair jobs. When the tech does not have the right parts, or not enough parts, they are faced with multiple trips to close their work order and/or they become engulfed in supply chain challenges … which is not what they were paid to do. Through WithoutWire enhanced replenishment, JIT supply is automated through the easiest mobile experience on the market today. Request inventory required for upcoming jobs through mobile and have them automatically shipped to your driveway or an unmanned facility for pick-up. No paperwork, no data entry, and the most efficient use of your skilled workforce.  Manufacturing If only we had unlimited space in our warehouse. Particularly in manufacturing staging. Production jobs often span a whole or multiple shifts throughout the day. Shutting down the line to wait for raw material delivery creates tremendous inefficiency. WithoutWire has constructed the replenishment logic to schedule raw material deliveries JIT. Fully automated through mobile we take the complexity out of your required production inventory supplies. Just set it. And forget it. We can drive an hourly re-supply via our automated mobile WithoutWire software. Production runners follow the pick tasks and replenishments driven by our mobile application. No more production shutdowns. No more interruptions in each shift. No more overflow of materials in staging. By automating the mundane replenishment tasks your production team can focus on accurately recording the raw material and finished good lots, expiration dates, recording scrap, returning unused raw materials and the proper quality inspection!  Distribution Laboratory and medical supplies are examples of where stock-outs can literally be a case of life or death. Who says supply chain is not important? Nurses and lab technicians should never run out of critical hospital and medical supplies to do their job. Gloves, masks, syringes can be critical to their protection and the protection of their patients. Through WithoutWire enhanced replenishment, lab closets and hospital supply rooms never run out of those critical supplies. Cross-site replenishment was a challenge that WithoutWire had to simplify and solve for our clients. Transfer picks, in-transit and cross-site moves all follow one set of logic within our system. Simple, consistent and predictable flow of goods throughout and beyond the 4 walls of your warehouse!  We hope that you will contact us to today for a product demonstration and a free download of our mobile app. From the appstore or google play search “WithoutWire” … all one word and take advantage of our Use-it-Free system.
WithoutWire has extended its solution to the Microsoft Power Platform using low-code, no-code power connectors. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/connectors/withoutwireinventory/ Now Microsoft partners and customers are empowered to complete their solution using the WithoutWire Inventory Platform of low/no code connectors. We hope to collaborate with you soon to solve your complex inventory challenges … just in time! Steve Dwyer, Chief Revenue Officer WithoutWire 612-839-4058 steved@WithoutWire.com In the world of inventory, a trend has emerged causing executives and supply chain operations to redesign process and operations. This trend is the use of big data to feed into AI and machine learning.
Warehouse management is typically tedious and stressful work. However, it is an aspect of business management that plays a crucial role in the delivery and manufacture of products. Inefficient management of your inventory can waste company dollars through labor costs and even cause delays which can decrease customer satisfaction. Ultimately, warehouse management is something that should be prioritized in running businesses.
Thankfully, technological advancements have made warehouse inventory easier. Some practices are commonly used by businesses for efficient warehouse management. As the market grows, the importance of warehouse management has never been more important. Here are some popular practices in warehouse management:  How important is it to meet the expectations of a promised ship date?
The answer, to most, is complex. Customer expectations are at an all-time high, and thus, the importance of promise-ship dates is also. Just recently, a distributor's primary concern was big-box retailers. In the 21st century, however, you need to include next-day shipping orders based online play just as big of a part. Not meeting your promise dates can be a reason your company loses its edge. If you're working with promise dates with distributors like Target, Wal-Mart, or Amazon, there are severe penalties if you don't get your product there in a timely fashion. So, your business needs to focus on specific pick orders and the importance of allocating products to those. Damned if you do—damned if you don’t
It’s a common enough phrase, and for most companies today, they are really feeling it in the tech sector. Whether you’re a manufacturing, distribution, or a field service operation, ERP + WMS integration into 21st century tech is both difficult, and necessary. We’re going to cover the “what ifs” in the decision-making process, and go over suggestions. Use a system that’s best with both.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. There’s a tool for every job. Work smarter, not harder. There’s a million and a half euphamisms about process, building, and fixing something. Today we’re here to say, they’re right. But, it’s about how you use what you’ve got, and use it well. What’s the answer to the inventory management problem? The waters are murky, but we’re here to help you find out. Paper is easy, cheap, and universal. But, it also has shortcomings. Today, let’s dive into when paper is better, and how to use it in a system that utilizes the best parts of digital as well. We’re all living in the real world, with real jobs. The best part of it is, this isn’t high school. If somebody else is crushing it, you can copy their crib-notes.
It comes as no surprise that the biggest 3PL in the world is Amazon. They make weird, cylindrical robots that tell you about your groceries and servers that the majority of businesses use; for the most part, they make their money off of shipping other people’s goods. Storing them, transporting them, and doing it faster than the post office. How did they become the biggest 3PL in the world? Simply by working to be the best at it. They didn’t invent a new plane that can store more products and they certainly didn’t build new roads that only Amazon trucks can drive on. They streamlined processes and made decisions easier to make. They used the best + newest tech that was (and still is) available: Artificial Intelligence. By taking the headache of decision-making out of the picture, they’ve been able to make cross-country shipments daily, hourly, and sometimes, even by the minute--without a sweat. If there are seven trucks and five of them need to reach a certain weight limit, the machine learning inherent in their programming can do it. And, it can pack it better than the world’s best Tetris player. Got 300,000 packages going to Minnesota? We know which trucks can make it there the quickest. This point is that at the end of the day it’s about working smarter, not harder. There is no reason you can’t look at your classmate’s notes for this one. In fact, you’ll probably both do better on the test if you do. We know that the biggest 3PL in the world is using AI + Machine Learning to keep things moving. So, why not beat the system? With our Inventory Platform, you can boost your functionality, save on data entry, and build a better, scan-happy system that works on the same principles as the best in the business. With an ever-growing market and an increased demand for high-performing supply chains, effectively managing a warehouse has become more challenging than ever. According to Statista, 50% of respondents identify warehouse management as one of the most important inventory practices in the current era of business.
The global medical industry is one of the world’s fastest growing industries, accounting for more than 10% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in most developed countries. This includes drug, pharmaceutical and medical device companies that have made significant contributions to the improved health and well-being of billions of people worldwide.
A typical process to move parts from a warehouse to a field technician generates a 77% reduction in barcode scans using automated optimization
Insight into techs, warehouses, and neighboring sources have a direct correlation to customer satisfaction. Automating this process by using mobile devices, field service technicians keep inventory updated, allowing everyone in the eco-system to review part inventories. When a part is needed, warehouse operators are notified on their device immediately for fast delivery or pick up. Once a part is in the possession of the tech, inventory is automatically tracked to that tech location. This automation ensures that techs can perform part requisition lookups from the main screen of the app, searching on item description, item number, or scanning an item. When it comes to the job of the field tech, the last thing you want to do is add more steps when there are already too many. Technology is supposed to enable the field tech, not prevent them from best servicing the job ticket. Learn more about Field Service Inventory Management from WithoutWire!
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