Warehousing and distribution centers (DCs) are under immense pressure to operate with precision, speed, and adaptability. Companies face increasing customer expectations, tighter SLAs, and more complex product flows than ever before. To meet these demands, organizations must implement cutting-edge operational strategies alongside robust systems like order management systems (OMS), warehouse management systems (WMS), and warehouse execution systems (WES).

Deploying technology enables transformation; however, it doesn’t define it. True operational excellence comes from ongoing refinement through practice, iteration, and learning by performing. In this article, we’ll explore two key areas:

1. 1. How to implement best-in-class strategies and systems to improve warehouse productivity
   2. How to ensure those changes continue to deliver optimal performance through monitoring, trial and error, and continuous fine tuning.

Inducting Best-in-Class Operational and Engineering Strategies in Warehousing

To elevate warehouse productivity, it’s critical to integrate OMS, WMS, and WES with solid operational and industrial engineering principles. These include productivity planning, labor optimization, inventory flow design, and dynamic order execution strategies.

What Does Best in Class Look Like?

Running a warehouse efficiently depends on a robust information framework. 

Throughout my career, implementing new processes in a new facility has always presented unique challenges. Some of the best questions to ask before simulations and testing include:

• How many inbound containers are we expecting each day?
• Do we have enough storage capacity to meet demand during our slowest seasons?
• How many orders are we expecting daily: for ecommerce, wholesale , and retail?
• How quickly will we be able to fulfill orders?
• What is our plan if we experience system issues, backlogs, or bottlenecks?
• How will we determine performance standards for our associates?
• Will we cross-train our staff to ensure versatility?

These are just a fraction of the questions that often keep me thinking during implementation (even in my sweet dreams). Addressing these questions along with the approach to answering them will likely be a collaborative effort with your project team throughout the process.

In my experience, understanding what products you’re receiving and when starts with direct collaboration with your sourcing team on forecasting and reviewing historical performance. This connection serves as a crucial foundation for achieving a best-in-class” mindset and driving efficiency throughout your project.

The following are some of the critical data inputs that enable a highly optimized environment:

• Daily demand forecasts: Realtime, SKU level demand visibility is essential to align labor planning, replenishment, and picking strategies.
• Incoming inventory visibility: Knowing exactly what’s arriving when enables proactive putaway planning and cross-docking.
• Order affinities and profiles: Grouping orders based on similarities (e.g., zones, shipping method, customer type) helps optimize batching and reduce travel.
• Sourcing and fulfillment rules: Clear rules on how inventory is allocated across sites reduce split shipments and improve cost efficiency.
• Labor standards and task balancing: Engineering based labor standards combined with smart tasking will optimize workforce efficiency.

System Integration Is Non-Negotiable

OMS feeds prioritized order data, WMS translates that into warehouse activities, and WES executes the tasks based on real-time resource availability. This connected ecosystem enables real-time decision-making and workload balancing.

Post Implementation Optimization: How Do We Know It’s Working and Keep It That Way?

Implementation is just the start. Sustained performance depends on creating a feedback rich, adaptive environment where process tuning is continuous and data driven.

Practical Advice from My Implementation Experiences 

Implement in slow, integral rolling phases:
Tread lightly at first to build confidence. Then gradually expand to larger batches across all functional areas (inbound, outbound/processing, and inventory control).

Play hands-off at times:
In certain waves or situations, take a step back to observe how operations naturally unfold. In my experience, you always discover something the system does that it’s not supposed to do. 

Observe and evaluate:
Have operations leaders watch how team members perform in their respective areas. Is the process easy or difficult to learn? Does the operational flow run smoothly? Are some areas overperforming or overstaffed?

Ensure the entire project team is on the floor during the first few months, both during simulations and post go-live to monitor and address any issues in real time.

Stress-test the system:
Encourage leaders to create their own rules and attempt to “break” the system. This helps identify vulnerabilities and see how the system reacts to human error.

Simulation and testing have always been a critical foundation for building confidence in both the system and operations within the four walls. In past implementations throughout my career, after completing user testing and executing business scenarios, the team would dedicate days or even weeks to prototypical live operations. This approach provides a true sense of how the system and team will perform post go-live.

This also helps instill confidence to operate effectively during high-stress periods similar to peak season. The key is allowing enough time for thorough simulation to ensure the operation is fully prepared for any challenges after go-live.

Practice, Trial and Error, and Operational Testing Are Key

No model, system, or design is perfect out of the gate. The operations team must embrace a culture of experimentation by trying different workflows, testing hypotheses, measuring the outcomes, and adapting based on what works.

Here’s how to build that culture and operational practice:

• Run controlled experiments: Test different batch sizes, picking methods (e.g., zone vs. cluster), or staffing models in specific zones before scaling.
• Observe and document: Encourage frontline leaders (leads, supervisors, managers) to monitor where delays happen and provide feedback. Real insights often come from the floor.
• Iterate frequently: Use short feedback loops. Daily reviews or weekly sprints help iterate on processes without waiting for long-term results.
• Focus on small wins: Optimization is a journey. Recognize that minor improvements are the building blocks to large gains.

How to Monitor and Fine Tune Performance

1. Modeling and monitoring demand
   • Use historical data and predictive analytics to forecast workload.
   • Track demand spikes or lulls and use them to adjust resourcing dynamically.
2. Sizing workflows and batches
   • Experiment with different wave sizes or continuous flow (if there is automatic waving) to find out what minimizes cycle time and labor waste.
   • Use WES to test sequencing logic and task prioritization strategies.
3. Identifying bottlenecks and exceptions
   • Use operational dashboards to visualize where orders are aging, where tasks are piling up, or what is causing SLAs to be missed.
   • Dig into root causes: Is inventory late? Is picking delayed due to congestion? Is there a system rule misalignment?
4. Refining labor models and schedules
   • Adjust staffing in real time based on actual workload.
   • Run simulations to determine whether weekend shifts, cross-training, or flex labor pools can better absorb variability.
5. Building continuous improvement loops
   • Create daily and weekly review rituals where KPIs and exceptions are discussed and ideas for improvement are brought forward.
   • Use Kaizen boards or digital equivalents to track small but meaningful improvements across the DC.

Conclusion: Operational Excellence is a Practice, Not a Project

Implementing OMS, WMS, and WES systems sets the foundation, but the real gains come from how well teams practice the execution of operations. How willing the team is to test, adapt, and evolve is key.

Trial and error isn’t a sign of failure, but rather it is the engine of innovation. Empowering your operations team to test optimization strategies, analyze the outcomes, and refine the approach ensures the distribution center thrives.

By combining the best-in-class systems with a hands on, data driven improvement culture, companies can build responsive, scalable, and efficient warehousing operations that stand the test of time.

Let’s Talk

What operational experiments have you and your team/organization tried recently? Are your teams empowered to suggest and test improvements? Can  Summit Advisory Team help with  the process? Reach out to our team to see how we can help in providing these goals.