In Bucharest, the cost of renting a square meter of warehouse space has risen sharply, to between 3 and 6 euros per month plus VAT, depending on location, type of building and facilities. Against this backdrop, many business owners still see the warehouse as a cost center, especially when space is underused or products sit on the shelves for too long. But who can do without a warehouse?
The answer lies elsewhere: focus on raising productivity and cutting costs, which is achievable and relatively easy with a warehouse management system (WMS). That is also the main reason many of our clients choose NEXT WMS.
Let's walk through how costs come down and what you gain by moving to NEXT WMS:
1. Space optimization
With a high cost per square meter, every bit of space counts. NEXT WMS organizes the warehouse into zones based on product turnover and sales. Space is used efficiently, both horizontally and vertically, goods are no longer left just anywhere, and the "gray" zones, where products are abandoned or nobody knows what is stored, disappear. Fast-moving products are placed close to the shipping area, which cuts order picking time and speeds up deliveries.
2. Higher team productivity
Automating operations lets your teams handle a larger workload without extra staff. Data is pulled automatically from the ERP, receiving is done on mobile terminals, picking is fast, labels are printed on the spot, and so on.
For example, at one of our clients, with a warehouse of about 5,000 square meters, the same team that used to ship 2,500 cases per shift now processes up to 3,500 cases, at no extra cost. NEXT WMS decides where each pallet is stored, which picking routes are the most efficient and how orders are prioritized.
3. Fast onboarding for new employees
The system is intuitive and easy to use, so a new or inexperienced employee can be up and running within a few hours. Everyone is facing a shortage of skilled staff; NEXT WMS simplifies training and reduces your dependence on long-serving employees. It also makes it easy to work with foreign staff.
4. Fewer errors and returns
Processing and picking errors generate significant costs; that's a fact. You can end up shipping expired or nearly expired products, products that don't meet the customer's requirements, look-alike products the customer won't accept, or deliveries to the wrong address, all of which are very expensive.
NEXT WMS requires operators to scan every case, validate orders and get approval for any change, which removes confusion. For example, our client ESTETIK PACKING SRL (read the __case study__) shipped more than 580,000 cases with an error rate of just 0.016%, roughly 92 problem cases out of a huge volume.
5. Full traceability
A WMS brings order to every warehouse operation, from receiving to storage and shipping. Each product is labeled and tracked throughout the supply chain, at item, box, case or pallet level. The company has full inventory control, and managers know exactly how (and above all where) things stand.
Investing in NEXT WMS: a fast return
It's not hard to run a quick calculation based on the points above to see how much money your warehouse is losing and how much you could gain. The savings on just one or two salaries could cover the cost of the WMS, and since it is 100% cloud, you don't need to invest in servers, only in mobile scanners and printers. Add space optimization and better stock turnover to the equation and the balance tips even further.
Our experience shows that a WMS implementation pays for itself quickly and adds value fast. Lower costs, higher productivity and the elimination of errors have left all our clients happy with the product. What's more, automating and optimizing operations doesn't just save money: it also means faster deliveries, happier customers and the ability to handle large volumes without investing in more staff or space.
If you have a warehouse you consider a cost center and you want to change that, that's a good reason for us to talk. We can always arrange a visit to one of our clients so you can see LIVE how a modern solution like NEXT WMS works.
