Webinar: Unpacking Warehouse Management in IFS Cloud

Introduction

Warehouse management has become increasingly important as organisations face growing demands around inventory visibility, logistics coordination, warehouse efficiency and supply chain resilience.

During the session, Anthesis demonstrated several warehouse management features that many IFS customers may not yet be using, including newer functionality introduced in IFS Cloud. The presenters highlighted how organisations can simplify warehouse operations, reduce manual effort and gain better control over inventory movements without relying on third-party warehouse management systems.

A recurring theme throughout the webinar was that many customers already have access to powerful warehouse capabilities within IFS Cloud but may not be fully utilising them.

Why Revisit Warehouse Management in IFS Cloud?

Historically, many IFS customers operating fast-moving warehouses relied on external warehouse management solutions to supplement core inventory functionality.

IFS Cloud now provides significantly enhanced warehouse capabilities, including:

• End-to-end handling unit management
• Advanced warehouse task planning
• Remote warehouse management
• Shipment order processing
• Mobile warehouse operations
• OCR-assisted receiving processes
• Consolidated shipment planning
• Warehouse performance reporting

These enhancements allow organisations to manage increasingly complex warehouse operations from within the core ERP platform.

Key Areas Covered

The webinar focused on six key areas:

1. Handling Units and Warehouse Controls
2. AI-Powered Receiving and OCR Processing
3. Shipment Orders and Inventory Movements
4. Remote Warehouses and Third-Party Logistics
5. Warehouse Task Management
6. Consolidated Shipments and Loading Control

Handling Units and Warehouse Controls

One of the biggest improvements discussed was the expansion of handling unit functionality throughout the entire warehouse process.

Previously, handling units were primarily used during outbound shipping. IFS Cloud now allows handling units to be used from goods receipt through storage, manufacturing and shipment.

Key Features

Organisations can manage:

• Pallets
• Containers
• Drums
• Jerry cans
• Reusable transport equipment
• Site installation kits
• Packaging materials

Handling units can now be tracked throughout their entire lifecycle rather than being created only at dispatch.

Warehouse Capacity and Conditions

IFS Cloud also supports:

• Location capacity management
• Temperature-controlled storage requirements
• Humidity controls
• Storage condition management
• Intelligent put-away logic

This helps ensure inventory is placed into suitable warehouse locations while improving warehouse space utilisation.

Availability Controls

The presenters highlighted part availability controls as a powerful quality management feature.

Organisations can effectively place a “digital red tag” on inventory, preventing parts from being:

• Picked for shipment
• Allocated to production
• Included in planning calculations
• Accidentally issued or scrapped

This provides stronger control over quality-related inventory issues.

AI-Powered Receiving and OCR Processing

Warehouse receiving was highlighted as an area where automation can significantly reduce manual effort.

Incoming Dispatch Advice Automation

IFS Cloud now supports OCR-based processing of supplier delivery documentation.

The solution can:

• Scan supplier delivery notes
• Read shipment information
• Identify purchase order lines
• Create incoming dispatch advices
• Reduce manual receiving preparation

This functionality is particularly useful when receiving large multi-line shipments or containers with numerous purchase order lines.

Benefits

• Reduced manual data entry
• Improved receiving efficiency
• Greater shipment visibility
• Faster goods receipt processing
• Improved planning accuracy

Shipment Orders and Inventory Movements

One of the most significant IFS Cloud enhancements covered was the introduction of generic shipment orders.

Historically, organisations often relied on custom reports, transport tasks or zero-value customer orders to move inventory between warehouses, projects or remote locations.

Shipment orders now provide a standardised method for moving inventory throughout the business.

Supported Use Cases

Shipment orders can be used for:

• Warehouse-to-warehouse movements
• Project deliveries
• Engineer stock transfers
• Remote warehouse replenishment
• Supplier returns
• Site deliveries
• Internal logistics movements

Key Benefits

• Common process for all inventory movements
• Improved shipment visibility
• Better tracking of serial and batch numbers
• Reduced need for custom processes
• Integration with standard shipment functionality

The webinar demonstrated how organisations can avoid losing visibility of inventory once it leaves the main warehouse by using shipment orders and receipt confirmation processes.

Remote Warehouses and Third-Party Logistics

Modern supply chains increasingly rely on:

• Third-party logistics providers (3PLs)
• Service engineer van stock
• Regional depots
• Customer collection points
• Remote service locations

IFS Cloud now provides greater flexibility for managing inventory stored outside traditional warehouse facilities.

Remote Warehouse Functionality

The solution allows organisations to:

• Manage engineer van stock
• Replenish remote inventory automatically
• Maintain inventory visibility
• Track serialised products
• Fulfil customer orders directly from remote locations

Third-Party Logistics Integration

The webinar highlighted improvements that allow organisations to manage inventory held by external logistics providers without complex workarounds.

Benefits include:

• Simplified order processing
• Reduced administration
• Better inventory visibility
• Elimination of unnecessary internal transactions
• Improved traceability

Warehouse Task Management

Warehouse tasks were presented as one of the most valuable but underutilised features available within IFS Cloud.

Warehouse tasks provide a centralised method of managing all warehouse activities.

Activities Managed Through Warehouse Tasks

• Customer order picking
• Transport tasks
• Inventory movements
• Goods receipt put-away
• Shipment picking
• Project deliveries
• Remote warehouse replenishment

Key Features

Warehouse managers can:

• Prioritise tasks
• Assign tasks to users
• Group work by warehouse area
• Track task completion
• Monitor performance metrics
• Analyse warehouse productivity

The system captures completion times, start times and performance information automatically, enabling more accurate warehouse KPI reporting.

Mobile Warehouse Execution

Warehouse workers can complete tasks using handheld devices through IFS Warehouse Data Collection (WADACO).

Benefits include:

• Barcode scanning
• Guided picking and movements
• Mobile task execution
• Reduced paperwork
• Real-time transaction processing

Consolidated Shipments and Loading Management

Shipment consolidation was another major enhancement discussed during the session.

Consolidated Shipment Planning

IFS Cloud can automatically group multiple deliveries onto a single shipment based on predefined rules.

This allows organisations to:

• Build full truckloads
• Plan deliveries more effectively
• Improve vehicle utilisation
• Reduce transportation costs

Loading Control

New loading functionality provides greater visibility of trailer loading activities.

Warehouse teams can:

• Confirm pallets loaded onto vehicles
• Scan handling units during loading
• Track loading progress
• Record trailer information
• Confirm shipment completion

This creates an auditable record of exactly what was loaded onto each vehicle.

Benefits

• Increased shipping accuracy
• Improved traceability
• Better loading control
• Enhanced customer service
• Reduced shipping errors

Packaging Material and Pallet Management

A further enhancement covered was the ability to manage packaging materials as inventory items.

IFS Cloud can now track and consume:

• Pallets
• Shrink wrap
• Corner boards
• Protective packaging
• Lids and covers
• Other packing materials

These items can be automatically consumed when packing instructions are executed.

Benefits

• Improved stock accuracy
• Better planning of packaging materials
• Reduced pallet shortages
• Automated inventory consumption
• Greater visibility of packing costs

Key Takeaways

Warehouse Management Has Evolved Significantly

IFS Cloud now offers much more than basic inventory management, providing capabilities that support increasingly complex warehouse operations.

Shipment Orders Are a Major Enhancement

The ability to move inventory using a standard shipment process reduces complexity and improves inventory traceability across projects, warehouses and service operations.

Warehouse Tasks Improve Control and Visibility

Warehouse task management enables organisations to prioritise work, improve productivity and gain better visibility of warehouse performance.

Remote Warehouse Support Continues to Expand

IFS Cloud increasingly supports modern logistics models, including engineer stock, 3PL operations and remote inventory locations.

Automation Is Reducing Manual Administration

OCR processing, automated receiving, shipment management and task planning all help reduce administrative effort while improving operational efficiency.

Many Organisations Could Unlock Additional Value

A key message throughout the webinar was that many customers already have access to these warehouse management capabilities within IFS Cloud but may not yet be using them to their full potential. Reviewing current warehouse processes could uncover significant opportunities to improve efficiency without investing in additional software.