# Smart Warehouse Management System: Architecture, Real-Time Implementation and Prototype Design
## 5 Case Study  
In order to implement the proposed architecture, we present a case study based on a textile factory. The textile industry is presumably one of the biggest industries in the world, worth USD 1.5 trillion in 2020 [43]. In addition to the existing companies, many new ones are emerging, making this industry a potential market for growth and revenue. With the increase in the size of the market, the supply chain is becoming more and more complex, and there is a dire need for smart warehouses in this domain. Some of the bigger names in this domain are making a transition towards smart WMSs, but many companies are still working with the traditional pen and paper approach to keep track of their services. For the target case study, first of all, the data for the textile factory were collected using questionnaires, interviews, and tours of the premises of the factory, as shown in Table 1.  
The textile factory under consideration has four warehouses, as shown in Figure 5, and the proposed architecture model is presented for the Finished Fabric Warehouse (FFW).  
In the FFW, finished and sewn articles are stocked in the form of cartons for which the rolls of cloth are received from the rolling department. The warehouse consists of racks for storage purposes with three rows in each column, with a transportation system consisting of four-wheelers operated manually. Presently, there is no central database to maintain the record and track the orders. The Sales Order (S/O) is generated from the Sales Department, containing the sales order number and order information, which is printed and passed on to the Production Department. The Production Department generates Demand Orders (D/Os) against the specific S/Os and prepares the order, and the prepared order's items are packed into cartons. Each carton is weighed, and the information related to the articles inside is printed and pasted on the cartons. Sometimes, barcodes stickers are added during the rolling process on the uncut cloth, but there is no efficient use of them as the data are not maintained in the database. The cartons under a specific S/O are moved to the inventory  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c} \hline \hline
**S. No.** & **Questions** \\ \hline
1 & What is the location of the inventory? \\
2 & What are the incoming and outgoing goods? \\
3 & How are the forecasting demands managed? \\
4 & How efficiently is the space being used? \\
5 & What happens if the system breaks down? \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 1: Data collection during the case study.  
Figure 4: Operational view.  
and then sent off to the check-out points. At the check-out, again, the carton's information is tallied with the S/O manually, and the cartons are sent out for delivery. A paper is sent back to the Sales Department that indicates that the order has been dispatched, and upon receiving it, the Sales Department closes that particular S/O and marks it complete. All the records are maintained manually. The process of receiving the paper from the check-out point back to the sales department takes 24 h, and there is no tracking of the orders during the whole process. The current workflow in the factory is shown in Figure 6.