We spend a lot of time in warehouses, and we have most of the bases covered for our warehouse customers. Mobile computing, label printing, wireless networking, and even location labeling. But the software is always a challenge.
Customers who already have warehouse software in place make it easy. Then the questions revolve around how we render the WMS screens on the handheld terminals, and how to get the software to print to the label printers from the handheld terminals. Not, what software should I use in my warehouse?
When that question comes up, we first ask what financial software (ERP) the customer is using. The answers range from SAP to Quickbooks. With that information, we can start making recommendations. We have a pretty good idea of what WMS software works best with what ERP software: Microsoft, Oracle, Sage, and even Quickbooks. We also know what ERP products have a pretty good warehouse module baked in already and that is the preferred route.
Occasionally, we find ourselves writing an application for the handheld terminals ourselves. After doing a build versus buy analysis with the customer, it made more financial sense to just build what they need from scratch. It does not happen very often, but sometimes the build it yourself option is the best choice.
But, more often than not, helping the customer align with a warehouse software partner, that is the right fit for them, is the best path. Because of this, EMP has recently partnered with Fishbowl for Quickbooks and RF Smart for NetSuite. We also have good warehouse software options for Microsoft Dynamics Business Central, and Finance and Operations.
Because we have other customers running these business software combinations, we have experience on what is the best hardware to pair with these software solutions, and what additional software you may need, such as label printing and device management. We can even sit in as a trusted advisor on the software integration meetings if that is desired.
As always, contact us with any questions! We even have a page dedicated just to our warehouse customers, CLICK HERE! Hope to hear from you soon to see how we can help with your warehouse automation project.