WMS: Start with these 7 questions
When it comes to selecting the right warehouse management system (WMS), the questions you answer at the start of the process may determine your success at the end.
By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large -- Modern Materials Handling, 2/5/2008
- Can you get WMS functionality from your ERP system?
- What does corporate say?
- What are you doing now?
- How complex is your operation?
- What is the risk mentality of your organization?
- What is your environment after you get up and running?
- How fast do you have to make a decision and get up and running?
Even with all the consolidation in the warehouse management system (WMS) industry, there are still dozens of vendors offering solutions that can manage the majority of warehouses in the field. With so many systems to choose from, how do you narrow the field?
According to Bill Tyng, senior supply chain consultant for Forte, the steps you take at the very beginning of the process will go a long way toward determining your success at the end of the ordeal.
“Right off the bat, I tell clients to be careful about jumping to a conclusion about what kind of system they need,” says Tyng. “Instead, I go through a series of questions with them. The answers will be different based on the type of organization and company I’m dealing with.”
Here are the seven most important questions to ask about your organization:
Can you get WMS functionality from your ERP system? “Many ERP systems today include a WMS,” says Tyng. “They won’t all work in every warehouse, but I start the process by asking customers to prove to me that the in-house ERP won’t meet their needs.”
What does corporate say? Regardless of what the DC wants, budget or IT constraints may determine the number or size of vendors you talk to.
What are you doing now? “You need to understand what level of expertise you have in your organization and what level of expertise you want to achieve,” says Tyng. “A Tier 1 vendor, for instance, will have better training tools and training methodology than a smaller vendor.” That support could be important if you want to take your organization to a more sophisticated level of technology than you’re using now.
How complex is your operation? Do you have a lot of automated equipment or none? Do you run one shift or multiple shifts? Do you have overlapping processes, like receiving in the morning followed by order picking and shipping in the afternoon? How much volume are you processing through your facility, and how much do you expect to process? “The more complex your operation, the more sophisticated the solution you’re going to require,” says Tyng.
What is the risk mentality of your organization? There’s an old saying in technology: No one ever got fired for going with IBM. “If your organization is ultra conservative, you want a system that’s tried and true,” says Tyng. “Another organization, on the other hand, may be willing to take a little more risk and look at a Tier II supplier.”
What is your environment after you get up and running? Will you have an internal staff to support the system, or will you need a lot of support from the WMS vendor? “Whether you have in-house people who are technically competent can go a long way toward guiding your decision,” says Tyng.
How fast do you have to make a decision and get up and running? “The faster the decision, the higher tier you need,” says Tyng.
Answer those questions, and you’ll have a good idea of what type of WMS vendor you should be talking to. And don’t be intimidated by the sheer number of vendors in the market. “I suggest clients talk to the top tier vendors in the segments that seem a right fit for their business,” says Tyng. “Do that, and you’ll be fine.”
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