WMS requirements checklist

Direct answer

Write the workflows down before comparing systems. A warehouse management system is judged against how your warehouse actually works, and a demo cannot be judged without that reference. This checklist covers eight areas: inbound, storage and locations, outbound, returns, identification, users and hardware, integrations, and reports. For each, write what happens today, what must be true of the new process, and what you are willing to change. Mark each requirement as must have, useful or not needed, so that a long list does not hide the essentials. We make no claims about what any vendor's product includes; the point of this list is to let you ask that question precisely. It pairs with WMS vs ERP for deciding whether you need a WMS at all, and with WMS implementation cost for budget. The WMS Readiness Assessment gives a quick view of where you stand.

Inbound

Describe how goods arrive and are accepted into stock.

• Who sends goods: suppliers, factories, your own shops, customers' returns
• Whether you receive against a purchase order or an advance shipping notice, or with no prior document
• What must be checked on arrival: quantities, damage, batch or expiry dates, serial numbers
• What happens to a mismatch or a damaged item, and who decides
• Whether goods can be held in quarantine before release to stock
• Whether receiving is scheduled by appointment or is open
• How quickly received stock must be available for orders

Storage and locations

Describe where stock lives and how it is placed.

• The physical structure: zones, racks, bays, shelves, floor areas, cold or restricted areas
• How locations are named, and whether a person can read the name from where they stand
• Whether a product may live in one location or several
• Rules for putaway: fixed places, nearest free space or by product type
• Whether you track batches, expiry, serial numbers or handling restrictions
• How stock moves between locations and who may authorise it
• How and when stock is counted: full counts, cycle counts, or both

Outbound

Describe how an order becomes a shipment.

• Where orders come from: a webshop, an ERP, email, a customer portal or manual entry
• How orders are released to the floor and how urgency is decided
• Picking method: one order at a time, batches, zones, waves
• What happens when stock is short: partial shipment, wait, substitute or cancel
• Packing steps: checks, packaging rules, inserts, documents
• Carrier choice, labels and dispatch documents, and where they are created
• Cut-off times and how late orders are handled

Returns

Returns are often left out and then dominate the exceptions. Write down:

• How a return is authorised and how it arrives
• What is checked on receipt and who decides the outcome
• Whether returned items can go back to sellable stock, need repair or go to disposal
• How returned stock is separated from good stock while it is assessed
• What information must be passed back to the customer or the shop

Identification

Scanning depends on what is labelled and how.

• Whether every product has a unique identifier, and whether supplier codes and your own codes differ
• Whether you need identifiers for pallets, cartons or single items
• Who creates labels and where they are printed
• What has to be labelled at the start: products, locations, containers
• Whether any barcode standard is required by customers or carriers
• How damaged or unreadable labels are handled

Users and hardware

List who will use the system and with what.

• Roles: receivers, pickers, packers, supervisors, office staff, external clients
• What each role may see and change, and who approves adjustments
• How many people work at the same time and in how many shifts
• Devices in use or planned: handheld scanners, phones, tablets, desktop stations, label printers
• Whether Wi-Fi coverage reaches every place scanning will happen
• Languages the floor staff need the screens to be in
• Who provides support during operating hours

Integrations

Write down what must exchange data with the warehouse system and in which direction.

• Systems that send orders, products or purchase orders in
• Systems that need stock levels, shipment confirmations or receipts back
• How current the data must be: continuous or at set times
• Which system is the source of truth for each type of data
• What happens if a connection fails, and who is told
• Whether the other system offers an interface for this. Do not assume; ask each supplier and record the answer

Reports

Start from the decisions people make, then work backwards to the report.

• Stock on hand by product and location, with the ability to trace a movement
• Receipts, dispatches and adjustments over a chosen period
• Orders waiting, late or short
• Count results and the differences they revealed
• Any report a client, auditor or carrier requires
• Who receives each report, how often and in what format

Using the checklist

When the eight areas are complete, mark each item must have, useful or not needed, and note which are pain points today. Use the result the same way with every candidate system or vendor: ask how each must-have is met, and ask to see it done with your own example. Anything a vendor answers vaguely goes on a follow-up list. LATYNEX is a remote English-language vendor, and we agree one scope and one price in writing before work starts. If your list points to a fit, see warehouse management system for how we deliver it; if it points elsewhere, we will say so.