Introduction to warehouse management systems

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  BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS                               Before we dive into learning about WMS, it is important to understand what a warehouse is --- a place where goods are received from suppliers, stored securely and then dispatched to the final customers.. Warehouses are operated in almost every major industries including healthcare, electronics, clothing, cold storage, consumer goods and many more....     In today's fast paced supply chain environment, efficiency, accuracy and visibility are more critical than ever. Whether you're running e-commerce small business or managing large distribution center. A warehouse management system (WMS) Plays a vital role in streamlining your warehouse operations. What is Warehouse management systems ? WMS is a software tool designed to support and optimize warehouse functionality and distribution center management. It helps to...
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Top 25 Manhattan WMS interview question and answers for 2025

 Top 25 Manhattan WMS interview question and answers for 2025


New to Warehouse Management Systems? Start with my beginner-friendly guide:

Preparing for manhattan WMS interview?

Here are the List of questions you will expect in your manhattan WMS interview 

1. Explain what is manhattan WMS?

A) Manhattan WMS is the warehouse management application used by many global companies to manage their warehouse operations like receiving,putaway,picking,packing and shipping.

2. What are the major components in Warehouse management systems?

A) The major components in Wms are Receiving, Putaway, Inventory management, Waving, Picking, Packing, loading and shipping.

3. What is inbound process?

A) The inbound process refers to all the steps involved in receiving goods into a  Warehouse. It ensures that the inventory is correctly received and properly recorded, inspected and stored in correct storage location.

4. Explain the step by step process in inbound flow?

A) Inbound process mainly includes below steps:

  • Pre receiving:

PO(Purchase orders )and ASN(Advance shipment notice) Creation:
Host will send PO and ASN to WMS. If we got only PO then in manhattan we can create manual ASN from PO.

  • Receiving process:

Check in:

Receiving process starts with the Guard check in. This function allows the system to record the real arrival date and time of the ASN. If ASN has an appointment then system will use this appointment for check else system will create one appointment automatically. Once check in done then trailer will move to available dock door.

Receiving:

It is the process of unloading the goods from the trailer and receive it based on the ASN data.

Check out:

It is used to store real leaving date and time of the trailer after it has been unloaded. And also system will free up the dock door and yard location and make it available for other trailers.

Quality check:

In this step quality inspection operator will do some quality checks.

Putaway:

WMS suggests or assigns the storage location based on the rules on the putaway configuration.

5. What is blind asn and how to receive?

A) Blind ASN will come to picture when the suppliers sends the inventory without any ASN. System can receive inventory without any ASN but it can have more manual work.

6. Types of receiving?

A) we have item level and LPN or case level receiving.

7. What is the mobile or RF transaction names for receiving?

A) you can answer based on your project. In my case it is Receiving.

8.what is putaway?

A) Putaway is the process of taking the received inventory and directing it to active or reserve location based on the configured rules. 

9. Can you explain how many Types of  putaways we have in wms?

A) In wms we have two types of putaway they are:

  • System directed putaway:

WMS system will directs the inventory to storage location based on the pre-defined rules. These rules include item and location attributes, Putaway priority etc.,

  • User directed putaway:

When the user decides the storage location to putaway the received inventory.

10. Difference between system directed putaway and user directed putaway?

A) In system directed mode system will directs iLPNs to storage location where as in user directed mode user manually selects the location and do the putaway.

11. Explain the step by step process in outbound flow?

A) Outbound process in wms involves below steps

  1. Order creation
  2. Order selection by the wave
  3. Allocation 
  4. Picking
  5. Packing
  6. Manifestation 
  7. Consolidation 
  8. Loading 
  9. Shipment

12. what is Allocation? 

A) Allocation is the process of designating the specific inventory from within warehouse to fulfil customer orders.

13. What is wave management and what are the steps including in wave management?

A) Wave management is the process of grouping orders together for processing based on similar characteristics such as order types, ship via,items etc

Below are the steps involved in wave:

  1. Order selection
  2. Allocation
  3. Cubing
  4. Task creation
  5. Replenishment 

14. What is cubing and it's types.

A) Cubing or cartonization in wms refers to the process of determining the best optimal carton or Olpn for packing the order.

Types of cubing:

Cube-by- UOM and Cube to capacity 

15. What is replenishment and when it will trigger

A) Replenishment is the process of filling the pick face or active location from the bulk storage location to ensure enough stock is available.

In many warehouse, fast moving items are placed in active location which can be easily accessable. When the stock in these locations runs low then replenishment will trigger to refill these locations from reserve or bulk locations.

16. How to handle order shortage in wms?

A) An order shortage happens when the system didn't find the enough inventory to fulfil a sales order.

Here's how the system typically handles them:

  • The system may mark the shorted qty as backorderd, so it can fulfilled later when the stock is available.
  • If stock exists in reserve then system will trigger replenishment task during wave.
  • In some cases system will partially allocate available stock and shorts the remaining qty.

17. What is inventory need type?

A) Inventory need type(INT) determines how the inventory will be allocated and why the allocation is required.

Ex: INT2, INT50, INT51 

18. What is the role of allocation inventory detail table in manhattan?

A) This table is primarily used to store details related to inventory allocation for order fulfillment, this helps to find which items are allocated for picking from which batch and from which location.

18. What is cycle counting and how user will perform?

A) Cycle counting is the process of auditing the inventory in the warehouse in order to determine whether any discrepancies exist between WMS system and warehouse.

User can manually initiate cycle counting by scanning location in wm mobile or RF. And system also will trigger cycle count tasks based on some certain conditions in cycle count configuration such as short picks, item substitution, alternative location etc

20. What is LPN disposition?

A) Lpn disposition refers to action or decision taken regarding an lpn after it has been received, whether it will go to putaway or it will allocate for cross dock etc.

21. How to troubleshoot if you get any wave related issues

A) If you get any wave issues then goto wave runs> order failures(allocation failures,message logging and summary logs) there you will find the reason for wave failure.

22. What is task management?.

A) Task management involves assigning and tracking tasks within the warehouse to optimize workflow. It includes assigning task for putaway,picking, inventory management etc..

23. How WMS will send all the updates to host?

A) WMS sends all the updates like asn verification,order allocation, inventory adjustments,invoice through PIX.

24. What is cross docking?

A) Cross docking is warehouse process where inbound inventory is directly allocated to outbound orders without being stored in storage location. 

25. Can you explain the difference between sales order and transfer order?

A) Sales order is the customer order where as transfer order is the internal order which moves the inventory from one warehouse to another.


Feel free to ask your questions through mail.


Thanks 

Ganga prasuna 

Mailto: prasunaganga73@gmail.com





Comments

  1. Anonymous21 May 2025 at 06:25

    Thank for your sharing knowledge. It is useful and helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous21 May 2025 at 19:06

    thanks for your efforts.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous1 June 2025 at 21:32

    Thanks for share knowledge . i more technical question and answer for Manhattan WMOS process.

    ReplyDelete

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