Labor Management System
A labor management system (LMS) is software that measures warehouse worker productivity against engineered or historical standards, forecasts labor needs, and supports staffing, incentives, and coaching.
Why it matters for ecommerce brands
Labor is often the largest fulfillment cost, so measuring productivity against standards and staffing to forecast keeps your cost per order predictable, especially at peak. An LMS tracks tasks, time per task, and performance by worker or team, and forecasts how many people each shift needs. For example, if the forecast shows 12,000 units to pick at 120 units per hour, the shift needs 100 picker hours, and overstaffing by 15 hours at $25 an hour wastes $375 that day. Set fair standards, since unrealistic targets raise turnover.
Origin
Labor management systems apply engineered standards that descend from Frederick Taylor's time studies and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth's motion studies of the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Common questions
- What does a labor management system track?
- It typically tracks tasks completed, time per task, and performance against a standard for each worker or team. It also helps forecast how many people each shift needs.
- What is an engineered labor standard?
- It is a target time for a task built from measured elements such as walking distance, reaches, and scans, rather than from past averages. Because it adjusts for differences like travel distance, comparisons between workers are fairer.
- Is an LMS the same as a WMS?
- No. A WMS directs and records warehouse tasks, while an LMS measures how long those tasks take and how productive people are. Some WMS platforms include basic labor reporting, but a full LMS adds standards and planning.