About Me

Understanding Smart City Technology

Urban areas around the globe are embracing the newest developments in modern technology by becoming smart cities. These cities integrate sensors and actuators and link them together to collect data. We were intrigued when we first learned about smart cities, so we began doing our own research to discover additional details and we wanted to share this information with others. When you read these articles you'll learn how smart city technology uses the data that's gathered to monitor energy usage in homes and buildings to analyze their energy efficiency. You'll also find out about smart transportation, which entails installing cameras in traffic lights to monitor the flow of traffic. We hope that when you read these and other articles on this site you'll gain a better understanding of smart city technology.

Search

Latest Posts

Understanding Smart City Technology

4 Tips For Picking A WMS

by Gina Reid

Selecting a warehouse management system for your location is a major decision that you'll have to live with for years. Consequently, you'll want to know the warehouse management software you'll be running will meet all of your needs. Follow these four tips to make the selection process a bit simpler.

Data, Insights, and Dashboards

The best warehouse management systems emphasize on providing real-time data and insights to users. Given the diverse range of devices at most warehouses, the software should use a dashboard that's compatible with desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones.

Likewise, the dashboard should allow you to query data from anywhere in your operation in a matter of seconds. If you want to know how close you are to needing to order new widgets, the dashboard should tell you how many are in stock and what your current consumption rate is. Top-quality warehouse management systems will even project how far you are from running out, and many include ordering software to allow quick restocking.

Interoperability

If your enterprise is like most, you have a lot of different systems already running. The warehouse management software needs to play nicely with your accounting, HR, tax, sales, and inventory systems. You want to have a system that makes accessing information in those applications as speedy and simple as possible. Similarly, you should be able to send information back to the WMS without creating problems.

Auditing

When there's a problem, you need to be able to identify where it occurred. That means a warehouse management system should be fully auditable. Every scan should go into the database and tie the item to a specific physical location. You should be able to hunt an item down to the exact spot on the shelf where it belongs.

Also, the audit should produce a detailed trail. That information should cover basic questions you'd have during an audit, including who handled each item, when the action happened, and where the item was last recorded.

Automation

For many organizations, the goal of using a WMS is to automate repetitive processes and redirect human efforts elsewhere. That means the automation has to fit in with how your processes work, or it has to use processes you can easily teach to your staff. Generally, this includes dealing with hardware that handles scans via barcodes, QR codes, or RF tags. The warehouse management software should also make producing scannable tags and labels easy so staff members can take advantage of the automation.

Share