Why You Should Update Your Warehouse Management System

A modern warehouse operation is full of physical equipment. From racking systems to picking machines to belt conveyors, there’s a lot going on within those four walls. Less tangible but just as important are the brains of the operation: your warehouse management system, the software that tracks your inventory, assesses your usage patterns, and generally keeps your distribution center functioning at its best.
Of course, software changes rapidly—faster than a forklift does. What was once a top-of-the-line WMS can show its age faster than you expect. As new systems hit the market, you can improve your warehouse simply by switching out software. Here’s why you should update your warehouse management system and how you’ll benefit.
Accounting Integration
A fully up-to-date WMS synchronizes your inventory operations with your accounting operations. If you’ve been running these two important systems side by side but not together, you may have been allowing discrepancies to occur between them. Today’s WMS software aligns with contemporary bookkeeping software to help you know exactly what’s going in and out of your warehouse—both tangible stock and dollar amounts.
Follow Seasonal Trends
One of the ways in which cutting-edge warehouse management systems are more sophisticated than their predecessors is the ability to track seasonal trends and adjust accordingly. A modern WMS can work with existing data to model a forecast for highly seasonal inventory, such as holiday-specific or weather-specific stock.
You Can’t Teach an Old WMS New Tricks
We’re at the mercy of our software overlords these days. When Big Tech decides that it’s time for us to move on from a product, the choice is to get with the times or get left behind—and trying to function without a WMS is a serious warehouse management mistake. Microsoft discontinues support to older versions of Windows, and Google stops supporting previous iterations of its programs. The same goes for warehouse management systems and the platforms they run on. Eventually, there are no more updates to add and no tech support to receive. The simplest reason why you should update your warehouse management system is that technology may leave you no other option.