40 DC VELOCITY JANUARY 2014 www.dcvelocity.com
technologyreview
IMPLEMENTING CHANGES TO SOFTWARE CAN BE LIKE OPENING THE PROVERBIAL CAN
of worms. For one thing, the interconnected nature of business systems today means that revisions or
upgrades in one area will almost certainly lead to changes elsewhere. For another, what appears on
the surface to be a simple matter—adding new fields to a report, for instance—may end up requiring costly and time-consuming reprogramming.
That was a concern at the Groveport, Ohio, distribution center operated by the third-party logistics company (3PL) Genco on behalf of Xerox. In order to improve the accuracy of government-man-dated export filings, the facility would have to change the way it collected and entered data for those
reports. But that raised the prospect of expensive revisions to the warehouse management system
(WMS) that contained some of the required information.
Fortunately, a collaborative effort involving the shipper, the 3PL, and a software developer led to a
simpler solution: an easy-to-use “app” for the WMS that allows anyone to create accurate filings—no
special programming or export management expertise required.
ON TIME BUT ERROR-PRONE
The Groveport DC exports Xerox-brand printers, cartridges, and other printer supplies worldwide,
much of it destined for Asia and South America as well as Canada and Europe. The facility ships
approximately 4,000 order lines per month in full and partial containers, according to Xerox’s Ron
Tegner, manager, indirect channel strategic partnerships and supply chain support. In the past, those
shipments often were delayed because the export information submitted to U.S. Customs and Border
Software
change
without
the pain
When Xerox and its 3PL needed to improve the accuracy of export data
filings, they thought it would mean costly changes to a warehouse management
system. Instead, they found a much simpler way.
BY TOBY GOOLEY, SENIOR EDITOR
WMS
