'Warehousing Management System' & its benefits

Warehousing involves several functions. The basic warehousing function includes, receiving and sorting of the goods, dispatching to storage, placing in storage, retrieving from storage, accumulating orders, packing the orders, shipping the orders, and record-keeping of the goods.
Thus, main objective of the Warehouse Management System is to check the movement and storage of the goods from one place to another.

The implementation of a warehousing management system requires collection of data related to warehouse, goods or inventory along with the basic strategy for operating a warehouse. The implementation helps a company to give quick delivery to their vendors and reduce labor cost as most of the part is handled through the warehousing management software, and increases customer satisfaction.

Benefits of Warehousing Management System:

• Updates warehouse manager:
With the help of WMS, a warehouse manager gets updated with the status of the shipment, order completion, and re-scheduling of the shipment. As a result, customer satisfaction is increased.

• Retains customer relationship:
WMS has a separate module “Customers”, which greatly helps the Customer Care department in maintaining pleasant relations with the customers. The department can easily record the transactions done with the customers or meeting the customer complaints.

• Check on shipping material:
WMS checks the order before sending to the customers. Sometimes wrong package is shipped to the customer; WMS then prompts a warning message that order of XYZ customer is wrongly placed in the packet of ABC customer.

• Eliminates bottlenecks:
WMS automates each and every warehousing process. This reduces the operational bottlenecks that arise during the process, increases production level, and flow of
in-coming customers.

• Eliminates wastage of time:
WMS helps in storing and retrieving of inventory at faster pace, which eliminates the wastage of time spent in searching the inventory.



• Record of productivity:
WMS records the productivity of the working staff. The process of recording the productivity helps in remuneration of the staff.

• Reduces inventory cost:
Warehousing management maintains the flow of the inventory. This helps in increasing profits.

• Return on working capital:
Warehousing management increases the returns on working capital for an organization. Since, the whole process of WMS moves around the warehouse, the returns on investment becomes clear.

• Track of inventory:
Warehousing management gives the real picture of the stock of inventory. Inventory, over stocked or under stocked, is harmful for an organization. Under-stock leads to cancellation of the order and overstock binds the working capital that may, at times lead to debts.

• No technical skills hiring:
Generally, implementation of any automation system, such as WMS gives an idea that to operate a system, extra technical skill force is required. However, WMS is designed in such a manner that even a low level employee can operate it.

• Control losses:
At times, companies suffer losses due to carelessness of the staff, wrong consignment shipping, or inaccurate billing. WMS helps in controlling these losses.

• Easy activities tracking:
WMS makes the working of the warehouse transparent. All the activities are recorded in the system. Even warehouse or sale offices located at distant places can keep track of the other warehouses activities.

• Eliminates wrong data entry:
WMS does not allow everyone to manipulate, add, or delete the records. This maintains accuracy.

Many companies like software Development Company provide best solution for warehouse management. They help warehousing management to concentrate on core business and at the same time keep control on the warehouse activities. This helps in improving the company profitability.

ESPN's Erin Andrews Refiles Lawsuit Against Marriott and Peephole Stalker

Erin Andrews is seeking $6 million in damages from the West End Marriott in Nashville and an additional $4 million from Michael Barrett, the man convicted of stalking Andrews and making nude videos of her through the peepholes of her hotel rooms. Barrett was sentenced last year to two and a half years in federal prison, after the videos were posted online and he was eventually identified as the source.

In the lawsuit and in her testimony at Barrett's sentencing hearing in 2010, Andrews noted that she continues to be a victim of her stalker and that the nude images of her in her hotel room will probably remain searchable on the Internet forever. The lawsuit accuses the Marriott of negligence on several levels, the most disturbing of which involves the manner in which Barrett was able to determine where Andrews was staying and then reserve the room immediately next door to her.

Barrett was apparently able to simply ask reservation agents with the Marriott which room Andrews was staying in and they were quick to give him that information. Barrett would then reserve an adjacent room and set up his peeping operation. The lawsuit also accuses the Marriott of negligence because they failed to notice that the peephole of Andrews' room had been altered by Barrett. That seems like a bit of a stretch, but warranted given the fairly egregious error Marriott made in revealing Andrews' exact location to Barrett in the first place.

Andrews continues to be a celebrated sideline reporter for ESPN and she also made a successful turn on Dancing with the Stars in the wake of the original peephole stalking scandal.

James Cameron Sued by Man Claiming "Avatar" Was His Idea

James Cameron is best known for his larger-than-life films, including the super-popular science fiction movie "Avatar." Now, however, Cameron is drawing some headlines that he’d rather avoid. Apparently, an angry science-fiction fan is suing Cameron for allegedly taking his idea and making it into the Avatar film.

The man making the accusations once worked with Cameron’s production company and has noted that he originated the idea of an "environmentally-themed 3-D epic about a corporation’s colonization and plundering of a distant moon’s lush and wondrous natural setting." That’s a pretty specific claim, indeed.

The suit was filed in LA Country Superior Court, with Eric Ryder, the disgruntled former associate, claiming that his original movie idea was titled "KRZ 2068." He also claims to have pitched the idea to Cameron’s production company back in 1999, though he was turned down for his idea.

For his part, Cameron notes that he came up with the idea for "Avatar" long before that 1999 meeting, primarily because he had to wait for technology to catch up to the ideas he had for special effects. Says Cameron of the environmental theme, "I certainly feel a personal sense of responsibility because I made a movie on these issues. Why? Because they were personally important to me. It's not like the studio said, 'Jim we want you to make a movie about the environment.' No. They said, 'We really like the big epic science fiction story, but is there any way we can get this tree-hugging crap out of it?'"

Alec Baldwin Appears on SNL, Destroys American Airlines

The rift between Alec Baldwin and American Airlines is, by now, well-known. For those not familiar with the situation, Baldwin refused to turn off his smartphone while waiting to taking off during an American Airlines flight. He was eventually removed from the flight and took a later AA flight to his destination, but not before some ugly back and forth between him and the powers that be at the airline. Given that just about everyone who flies has had a bad experience at an airport or during a flight, it’s hard to fathom that anyone is really going to side with the airline on this one.

Of course, Baldwin didn’t waste the opportunity to get in yet more digs at the airline when he appeared on Saturday Night Live this past weekend. This proves, of course, that a celebrity with an audience can get across a message a lot better than a corporation with a PR team, a website, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, etc.

During Baldwin’s appearance on SNL, he appeared during the "Weekend Update" segment with Seth Meyers, where he played the role of "Captain Steve Rogers," an American Airlines pilot. During that sketch, Baldwin (as the AA pilot) apologized to Alec Baldwin for his problems with American Airlines, with an incredulous Meyers standing by and questioning him. When Seth intimated that cell phones interfere with the plane’s communications systems, Baldwin launched into a diatribe that just about everyone in the world must have been thinking at some point during a flight.

Here it is in full: "You don’t believe that do, you Seth? Would you really get on an air plane that flew 30,000 feet in the air if you thought one Kindle switch could take it down? Come on! It’s just a cruel joke perpetrated by the airline industry. And, we would have gotten way with it, but Alec Baldwin was just too smart for us. He really is something, Seth!" Hilarious stuff…of course, Baldwin’s words, said in semi-jest, probably ring true for most people. Good luck getting sympathy on this one AA….good luck, indeed.

Charlie Sheen Posts His Phone Number Publicly on Twitter

In the Twitter universe, Charlie Sheen is a fairly new entrant to tweeting. He was late to the party to an extent, though his use of the social media platform during his public feud with his ex-wife, his ex-co-workers and the public in general has been well-chronicled by the entertainment press. Well, it appears that Sheen is flying under the radar a bit more now than he was just a few months ago, but he’s in the news again lately for accidentally posting his phone number publicly on Twitter.

The simple tweet read "310-954-7277 Call me bro. C." The tweet was intended to be a private contact that was to be sent to Justin Bieber. Perhaps it was a simple mistake that resulted in Sheen not being overly familiar with Twitter, or perhaps it was a lack of judgment. Either way, Sheen’s tweet was followed by so many calls and text messages by fans whom were happy to have the chance to contact him that he’s probably going to have to get a new number.

At first, Sheen answered the calls with quick lines like "Ray’s Pizza" and "Winning." When things started getting out of control, however, a source says that Sheen said, "I guess I need a new phone." Despite his lack of familiarity with Twitter, Sheen picked up 100,000 followers on his first day on the platform, which he joined after being fired from "Two and a Half Men." On that day, he tweeted four times, including this gem – "Just got invited to do the Nancy Grace Show… I’d rather go on a long road trip with Chuck Lorre in a ’75 Pacer…" Lorre, of course, is the producer of the show Sheen was fired from. At any rate, it seems Sheen will probably learn a bit more about the inner workings of the Twitter platform after this mistake, though the whole situation makes one wonder – why is Charlie Sheen trying to get in touch with Justin Bieber?

Howard Stern is New Judge on America's Got Talent, Replaces Piers Morgan

The King of All Media is back on television, much to the delight of his rabid fan base and much to the dismay of his legions of haters. From an entertainment standpoint, NBC hit a big home run in getting Stern to take on a prime-time gig on one of its most successful shows. Viewers who know Stern will tune in, viewers who have heard of Stern will tune in - and viewers who dislike Stern are "sure" to tune in. It's a can't-miss victory in the short term for NBC and will probably generate an enormous amount of buzz for the show.

For Stern, it's a bit of a leap to go from the comfort of his Sirius / XM radio show to prime time television as a talent judge. But Stern is well-equipped for the seat and NBC wanted him so badly that they are now going to film the show in New York to accommodate Stern's radio commitments. Those who have listened to Stern on the radio understand his range - he's perhaps the strongest one-on-one interviewer in the media and he can be extremely insightful and intelligent when he wants to be. Of course, he's also happy to lower himself to lowest-common-denominator humor, which is offensive to many. It's likely that his NBC persona will only include the positive elements, but that remains to be seen.

It's also comforting for NBC that Stern already has an established and amicable relationship with Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel, both of whom are fairly regular guests on Stern's radio show. Stern was already a huge fan of America's Got Talent, often commenting about it on the air. He's promising to bring a new culture of legitimacy to the judge's panel.

Stern ranted on the air this morning, "This nonsense of Howie and Sharon putting through less than talented people has got to stop. Under my administration there will be no Frank Sinatra impersonators winning for the year. If people think I'm the crazy man, I am not. I am the voice of reason."

I guess we'll see about that soon enough.

Stage Lighting Basics for Bands

Having a good stage lighting during your performance, even if it is just a gig, is very essential. It enhances the show and keeps the attention of the audience where you want it. It is also useful in distracting the audience from things you want to conceal. To do this, you could hire your own lighting designer (which is really not feasible for a small gig) or manage the stage lighting on your own. If you are planning on arranging your own stage lighting, there are some stage lighting basics for bands you might want to know first.

Band Stage Lighting Basics

Power Supply: See how much power supply is available at the venue. You will need a chunk of it to power your sound system (PA). Make provision for additional power supply or avoid using heavy equipment for stage lighting, in case you think it might cause an overload.

Stage Area: Check out the size of the stage on which you will be performing.

• Divide the stage into a number of 'areas', depending on the total stage area.
• Choose the areas or parts in an area which you want to highlight.
• Use a thick black curtain as the backdrop as far as possible. This will not reflect any light and absorb the extra light from unwanted sources.

Basic Stage Lights: Start with minimum or basic lights you will require for your performance.

• The number of light fixtures for a stage depends on the size and number of areas you divide your stage into.
• Light each stage area using two fresnel or PAR (Parabolic Aluminized Reflector) light fixtures. Most musicians prefer to use PAR cans as they are less expensive.
• Fresnels come in 500 to 1500 watts with varying diameters of 3", 6", 8" and 10". PAR cans are available in different shapes and sizes but the best option for small bands would be PAR 54 or PAR 60, depending on the power available. You could choose between PAR cans with clear lens (give narrowed light beam) or patterned lens (gives wider light beam).
• Set the lights in front of the stage at an angle of 45 degrees with the center of the stage. The two lamps should be at an angle of 90 degrees with each other.

Rigging Equipment: Riggers are used to increase stage lighting possibilities, especially if there are not enough places to hang the lighting fixtures.

• You could make use of portable stands, stage lighting spigots and tripod base stands (t-bars) to rig two or more fresnels or PAR cans in one place.
• Lighting fixtures on these stands should be kept at angles which will illuminate or dazzle. Wrongly placed stage fixtures make the performers look shadowy or ghostly.
• Stage Truss, Push Up Stands, Wind Up Stands and Winch Up Stands are other possible components of a rigging kit.
• You will need to use stage hook clamps, scaffold clamps and wing bolt to clamp the stage riggers and attach lighting fixtures for the stage.

Light Effects: There are varieties of equipment used for effects, but you will get plain white lighting by using only PARs or Fresnels. Choose effects and colors according to the mood you want to create. Some options of equipment for stage lighting effects are given below.

• Dimmer Systems: They give a very good overall effect on stage lighting by dimming or eliminating a lamp or just fading a particular color.
• Gels or Filter Colors: They are square, tin plates with colored paper in between. Gels are used with PAR cans or fresnels by sliding them in front of the lens. A combination of dark and light colors on adjacent light fixture gives a very good colorful effect. The colors that you use on the fixtures set for stage areas, should not clash but blend.
• LED Stage Lighting: These have become quite a rave recently (despite their high cost), due to the fact that they are low in power consumption, clear and bright.
• Rope Lights and Clamp Lights: A strategically placed clamp light or a rope light spread near the drums, is great at emphasizing a particular spot or person.
• Stage Foggers or Hazers: Fog machines give a 'cloudy' effect while hazers, true to their name, create an even haze all over the place.
• Gobos: Lighting gobos (a metal or plastic piece with patterned holes), along with a rigging equipment, can be used to create a spotlight.

Other things that you can use for extra effects are strobes, lasers, moonflowers, siren beacons and disco lights, depending on your taste and budget. If you want to use a mirror ball for disco lights, be sure to focus a wash light on it from a proper angle.

Stage Lighting Control: Once you have decided on the lighting design, you will need to think about the control of stage lighting. You have three options:

• Leave them ON the same way, for the entire performance.
• Assign a trusted and knowledgeable person to, manually operate the stage lighting.
• Use a DMX, MIDI or a Footswitching System, which will allow you to change the stage lighting, as per your choice or according to other inputs from the stage.

Before deciding on your personalized lightning design, sit down with the other band members and think over the mood and atmosphere you want to create. Stage lighting for bands also depends on the kind of music and songs that will be played. Choose the lighting fixtures, stage riggers and light effects, especially colors, to create the desired effect. In case you decide to buy any stage lighting or rigging equipment for the first time, it is advisable to first hire them, to see their actual performance.