to its operations—such as acquiring competitors, opening
new distribution centers, or consolidating operations.
In the distribution end of the operation, indicators that
your software might require some attention include lengthy
order turnaround times, excessive touch points within a
distribution center, and spiraling costs. Other warning signs
are excessive travel times within a facility, difficulty locating
products, and a disproportionate amount of paper-based
processing. (See sidebar for a list of signs that your warehouse management system (WMS) might need a tune-up.)
When it comes to transportation operations, red flags
include operational delays, a high percentage of empty backhauls, rising costs, and less-than-optimal vehicle cubing. These
types of problems typically arise when a company changes its
business strategy without making appropriate adjustments to
its TMS—for instance, a supplier whose focus has shifted to
online sales but continues to use software designed for LTL,
rather than parcel, shippers. For that reason, the experts advise
users to re-evaluate their software whenever the company
introduces a process change that affects transportation.
software, and they are not done nearly often enough,” he says.
As for the optimal service interval, Dunn recommends
annual software assessments. If a company waits too long to
make necessary changes or has major needs that aren’t
being addressed, the situation may eventually reach a point
where a tune-up is not enough, he explains. The company
might have no choice but to invest in an upgrade or install
a new system altogether.
Where to go for help
Let’s say you’ve examined your software and found it wanting. Where can you turn for help? A good place to start is
with the company that either supplied or implemented the
software in the first place. These types of specialists have the
experience to conduct an evaluation of the client’s software
usage and recommend improvements.
Some software vendors include evaluation and update
services as part of their ongoing maintenance
contracts. One such supplier is itelligence Inc.,
which provides implementation and support
services to users of SAP solutions. “We take an
active part with our SAP maintenance customers to keep them up to date and informed of
what is new with the software. We do it proactively,” says Stefan Hoffmann, the company’s
industry solution manager.
Another option is to bring in an outside specialist. Typically, these companies come in and
review the client’s operations and then develop
a list of 10 to 20 recommendations for boosting
the system’s effectiveness. The client can then
start with the easiest fixes and move on to the
others as time and budgets permit.
“It helps to have some level of evaluation from
the outside,” notes Sedlak’s Mueller. “It brings
another perspective, outside thoughts, and ideas.”
Regardless of who provides the support, Dunn
of Fortna cautions software users not to let too
much time elapse between checkups. “Tune-ups
are critical for getting optimization out of the
Software only goes so far
As effective as software modifications can be, sometimes they’re
simply not enough to provide the desired result. In these cases,
adjustments to the material handling systems or other processes may be needed to gain additional functionality.
“Software may get us 80 percent of where we want to be,
but it might take changing the processes to get the rest,” says
Mueller. “But it always starts with evaluating where you
want those processes to be and then making the software
work for that.”
Of course, this assumes the software has the capacity to
accommodate changes in the first place. That’s where the
initial software selection comes in. To ensure their long-
term needs are met, the experts advise users to pick systems
that are flexible and will allow them to add functionality as
their business grows.
“More and more, deciding on a software system can be a
10- to 15-year decision. It helps to choose software that can
provide new functionality as it is introduced to the market,”
says Hoffmann. ;
your WMS may need a tune-up if …
… your business has changed and the new flow of goods calls for
new processing methods.
… you’re not familiar with many of the WMS’s features.
… you suspect additional modules or bolt-on applications would
provide further optimization opportunities, but you’re not sure.
… you feel your order fulfillment operations require too much travel time or too many product touches.
… your operators rely heavily on spreadsheets or perform several
system look-ups prior to completing a transaction.
… you’re still picking orders in sequence even though you believe
batching orders by type or characteristics would maximize
throughput.
… your warehouse layout/flow hasn’t changed in the last 10 years
even though your business has undergone major changes—like a
shift to e-commerce or the addition of a wholesale channel.
… your workers resort to a lot of manual processes or work-arounds for operations that should be systemically driven.
COURTESY OF SEDLAK MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS
