Warehouse Inventory Management Systems

Many new phrases have become part of our everyday lingo as a result of the recession. One of my favorites is "Shovel Ready" It’s not nearly as cryptic or technical as "TARP" aka, Toxic Asset Relief Program, but it’s catchy! It’s a term that was used by President Obama in a Dec 7^th airing of Meet the Press when he talked about the kinds of projects that the stimulus bill would help most. It wasn’t long after that when we began to hear every local politician use the term on the nightly news! Congress made the term quasi official when it incorporated the spirit of the phrase in legislation that provided stimulus money to construction projects that could be started within 90 days of receiving the funds. Meaning only those projects that had already completed the necessary preparatory tasks  before the project could actually begin.  Being an system implementation project manager, I’ve developed affection for the term! 

Not all projects require a ‘shovel’ in the toolbox of things needed to get the job done, but all projects do indeed require a period of preparation before executing them.  So, I ask… is your WMS - Warehouse Management System implementation project "shovel ready"? Perhaps you’ve just purchased a new WMS system to replace a technologically outdated one or to replace a paper based system.  Either way, there are many things you can/should do to prepare for this life changing event!  One of the more fruitful yet least desirable tasks in preparing a warehouse for a new system is general housekeeping! 

• Got inventory that is aged or obsolete still gathering dust on your shelves? Write it off, toss it, donate it, recycle it, return it to the vendor, but by all means get rid of it! Got the same item located in seven different locations around the warehouse? Consolidate it to as few locations as practical.  
• How about inventory sitting at the ends of the aisles, or on the  office supply racks, or sitting on the floor of someone’s office? (really, I’ve seen this). Move it to where it should be - even if that means out the back door! 
• How about old torn and faded shelf/bin labels that are now unused residue of a re-slotting project? Get the goof-off out and remove them, as it’s likely you’ll be doing some bin re-labeling as part of your WMS Management System implementation.  
• Got any racking, shelving, material handling equipment like wobbly carts in need of repair? Do yourself a favor and include repairs as part of your ‘shovel ready’ preparations - it’ll be a visible demonstration of management’s commitment to change.
• Then there’s the data scrubbing task.  Everybody has ‘junk’ in their item files – discontinued or obsolete items, duplicate items, and even non-existent items! Have your IT folks clean the data ‘house’ before you convert. 

I could go on, but you get the idea. A ‘shovel ready’ WMS implementation will go a long way in smoothing the often bumpy road to a successful transition.

I spent some time last week with a HighJump Software customer who is considering further expansion of HighJump WMS solutions in their distribution centers. The customer is undertaking a massive ERP program that will allow the ERP system to be the IT backbone of their worldwide operations. They are also evaluating WMS solutions from this ERP provider.

In a meeting with senior IT leaders of this organization, I explained that I was highly confident the outcome of their pending due diligence regarding total cost of ownership (TCO). I contend that a best of breed solution will result in lower long term costs for this IT organization. Here are a few things that make me confident in my position:

Best in Class Functionality

While ERP-based WMS solutions have advanced significantly, they are limited to the “classical” warehouse operations including receiving, put-away, inventory control, picking and loading. Supply chain best practices such a labor management, slotting management, advanced wave planning, and last mile delivery are not traditionally supported with ERP WMS solutions. This means that when supply chain operations teams demand these capabilities, IT organizations are forced to address them with expensive customizations or bolt-on solutions with multiple integration touch points.

Upgrades

A WMS solution typically has a 10 year lifespan. In this lifespan a WMS could be upgraded five times. ERP upgrades are generally more expensive to upgrade because of the interdependencies between modules and re-application of source code customizations. Additionally, corporate IT governance and change management processes often make it difficult to upgrade a single module. Therefore the business users may be forced to wait for new features because of dependencies on modules that have nothing to do with distribution and logistics. View this video to learn more about HighJump’s approach to simplified upgrades.

Adaptability Tools

If your organization views distribution as a source of competitive advantage, then ERP-based WMS could be problematic. By definition, a competitive advantage must be unique to the organization. Business processes available in commercial off-the-shelf software packages (like ERP) therefore cannot contain business processes that are sources of competitive advantage.

To really ensure you have the flexibility to maintain and create further sources of advantage in your distribution operations, your supply chain logistics software must have the ability to create processes that are unique to your business.

HighJump has a unique approach that allows customers to define unique workflows that does does not involve any source code modifications. I am not aware of any ERP based WMS solutions with a similar architecture.

Without this architecture it can be very expensive for IT organization to deliver these workflow changes.

I recently received a direct mail marketing piece from a HighJump Software competitor. The mailer included a press release announcing that this company had “enhanced direct store delivery integration” and a one page datasheet which described a direct store delivery value chain as manufacturing + regional warehouse + mobile resources + retail shelf.

HighJump Software is the North American market leader for direct store delivery software solutions. If our primary competitor in the warehouse management systems market had encroached on our market position I needed to know. Perhaps they had acquired a route accounting solutions provider or acquired a provider of mobility solutions for mobile selling and delivery at the retail location. I consulted a trusted industry analyst who confirmed my suspicions… this was marketing hype and this company’s approach to direct store delivery still had significant “holes.”

Anyone familiar with the value chain of direct store delivery companies knows there are some specific complexities that must be addressed in order to have “comprehensive coverage across the extended supply chain.” Here are some things companies should consider when search for direct store delivery software solutions:

Certified Route Accounting Systems

Route Account Systems are unique software systems to manage the complexities of route-based sales and delivery. They typically manage the entire order-to-cash cycle and are geared toward the world where sales, inventory, and business metrics are all tied to a “route.” Although traditional ERP systems can be used for route accounting systems, they typically require customization to deal with complex pricing/promotion, cash settlement, truck inventory, and supplier e-commerce integration. To further understand the complexities in the beverage value chain read It is Hard for Anheuser-Busch to be Procter and Gamble.

Mobile Sales and Delivery Applications

Success or failure in a direct store delivery business is determined at the store shelf. Direct store delivery companies have large workforces of mobile sales and delivery professionals who need to be equipped with mobility technology for them to effectively accomplish their objectives. HighJump Software provides a comprehensive suite of mobility products which support industry best practices for order capture, goal-based selling, delivery tracking and cash settlement. For more details on these solutions read about our latest mobility suite product release HighJump Software Enhances Mobility Solutions With New Release of Mobile Route Sales and Delivery Software Suite.

Load Optimization

Optimized loading of side bay beverage trucks can be complex. While there are numerous packages for creating optimized load plans of traditional van trailers or flatbed trailers, optimizing for side bay beverage trucks is another animal. Additionally, this business problem becomes even more complex when you have a “peddle” environment (driver selling off truck without pre-sold orders) and driver preferences must be taken into account at the load and pallet level.

I think the moral of the story is “don’t believe the hype.” Direct store delivery software solutions are specialized for the unique needs of this industry. Direct store delivery software solutions deal with complexities of supplier integration, cash settlement and truck inventory. A WMS, TMS and retail workforce solution will not meet the needs of most food and beverage distributors in their direct store delivery operations.

Since launching our blog earlier this year, it’s been exciting to watch the number of visitors to the blog soar since its inception. As we close out 2009, it’s fitting to take a look back and see which posts were the most popular in terms of page views.

1. What Makes a Good Metric?

2. When Choosing Metrics, Start at the Top

3. Be Careful What You Ask For With ERP Based WMS Warehouse Management Systems

4. What Really is in a WMS to ERP interface?

5. When Metrics Turn Evil

6. My Friends Are Getting Old, Your WMS May Be Getting Old Too!

7. Is RFID Dead? Should it be?

8. Don’t Underestimate the Value of an Integrated Manufacturing and Warehouse Solution

9. Is SKU Reduction Good for Consumer Goods Supply Chains?

10. Another Logistics Service Provider Chooses HighJump

We’ve enjoyed providing insights on supply chain best practices and hearing your thoughts and opinions too. Here’s to more great conversation in 2010! 

HighJump’s new VP of Sales, Jim Bork, was in my office the other day and asked me, “Why don’t more people implement our Yard Management solution?” After hearing a customer case study at Innovation 2009, HighJump’s annual user conference, where the customer claimed benefits from yard management in excess of $1 million, Jim wondered why all of our customers wouldn’t leverage this technology. As I started thinking about this question, I realized that maybe companies are looking at the wrong business case for yard management.

What is Yard Management?

Yard management is a kind of supply chain logistics software solution that tracks trailers and containers in a yard outside of a manufacturing facility, warehouse or distribution center. Using workflows, the software can support the following activities:

·         Driver check-in or check-out including collecting all relevant data from the driver and tying the arrival to a specific dock appointment

·         Optimized storage of trailers or container within the yard. Trailers with “hot” product can be moved directly to dock door locations. Other trailers can be dropped in the yard for unloading in the future.

·         Visibility to trailer aging is provided so companies do not incur demurrage charges for holding a trailer in the yard for excessive time periods. (Trailers and containers are typically owned by a 3^rd party and holding them for too long can trigger a charge called demurrage).

·         Optimized work instruction is provided to yard drivers for moving trailers to and from dock door locations.

Work Optimization – The Old Thinking

Yard management provides benefits on multiple levels, however, most supply chain management professionals first think of the work optimization as the primary benefit. Work can be optimized creating labor savings and more efficient flow of inventory. However, if you “run the numbers” on a typical yard, labor savings alone will not drive a strong ROI on a labor management system.

The Safe Thinking

Safety and security has become a primary concern for many businesses in light of focus on national security in many countries.  A yard management solution will also provide benefits in the area of safety and security. Yard management systems help facilitate a single point of entry and exit from the yard. Additionally, a yard management system will systematically collect information about specific loads that could be used to comply with internal or homeland security requirements. While safety and security are important it is difficult to build a hard business case around these factors.

Inventory Optimization – The New Thinking

Companies with the most successful yard management initiatives find ways to optimize inventory across the yard, manufacturing facility, and distribution center. As companies in the US and Western Europe are transitioning from manufacturing-centric to distribution-centric, inventory in the yard has become a serious issue. Import-centric supply chains leverage low cost of materials and product, but suffer from long lead times and product obsolescence. Often this results in large amount of inventory being held in containers in the yard.

The best way to build a business case for a yard management system is treat your yard like an inventory buffer. An inventory buffer in the yard will allow many companies to carry additional inventory without facility expansion in their distribution center.
An additional inventory buffer provides significant benefits in terms of supply demand matching and perfect order performance.

HighJump has one yard management customer who drops orders to the warehouse for fulfillment even when the expected inventory only exists in the yard. This means they must coordinate a trailer move of inventory to the dock door, cross dock the needed product, and marry it with the other product required for the customer’s order. Clearly, this logistics capability is something to build a business case around!

So before taking your yard management system business case to the corner office, ensure you have considered all aspects of intelligent inventory positioning and supply chain management best practices that can be gained from a yard management system.

Since wine and spirits distributor Empire Merchants implemented HighJump Warehouse Advantage, HighJump's WMS warehouse management system, in its distribution center, the company has seen improvements across its operations. The HighJump solution has enabled Empire to implement just-in-time (JIT) replenishment, ousting its previous paper-based replenishment process and virtually eliminating wait times in its pick lines.

“We couldn’t have picked a better software package and implementation partner than HighJump Warehouse Advantage and CIBER.” says Tony Magliocco, COO, Empire Merchants. “The software is working as the project team designed it. As a result, our fill rates have increased and our distribution costs have decreased dramatically.”

Read the full story here.

Built with supply chain management best practices in mind, HighJump's supply chain logistics software helps companies optimize complicated distribution operations.
 

This year’s conference features nine customer case study presentations, giving customers an opportunity to share the cool things they’re doing with their HighJump solutions.  John B. Sanfilippo and Sons (JBSS), the makers of Fisher Nuts, presented this afternoon on how they use the HighJump WMS warehouse management system to manage its manufacturing operations and allergen and contamination prevention.

Keeping the nuts from comingling is serious business, and the HighJump WMS enables JBSS to enforce a strict allergen control program, including put away logic by nut type.  For example, the system doesn’t allow a worker to put away any nut that isn’t an almond on top of an almond.  These specific rules prevent contamination of allergens.

The system also enables work order processing and picking in the company’s manufacturing operations.  The system tracks the nuts all the way from the supplier through the manufacturing and distribution process.

Thomas Kirkham, Director of Systems Implementations, John B. Sanfilippo & Sons, Inc, highlighted the following benefits from implementing HighJump Warehouse Advantage.

·         Reduced physical inventories from quarterly to annually

·         Inventory accuracy over 99% - up from 80%

·         Service levels up from 90% to 99.5%

·         Picking efficiency increased 50% and rising

·         Inventory levels at record lows

·         Audit scores have increased

·         Food safety has become a selling point

 Watch this video to see the HighJump WMS in action at JBSS.

As the war rages between best-of-breed ISVs such as ourselves and the ERP companies, a key battle is always how the two systems communicate?  I have heard many corporate CIOs dictate to their team that they will deploy the ERP’s WMS because it is “pre-integrated.”  While this is more or less true depending on the ERP company, it is also true for companies such as ourselves that also have pre-built integration to many of the leading ERP solutions. In addition you don’t run the risk of ending up in ‘vendor hell’ (a topic for another day).

The question that one of our readers asked (we do listen and appreciate the feedback) was:  how do you typically interface to various ERP systems?  I don’t have the space to dive deep into the technical minutia, but let’s cover the basics.  While there is other optional information the ERP generally must pass down to a WMS solutions:  item master information, inbound ASNs, sale orders, kits, etc.  The WMS in turn passes up:  receipt information, shipped orders, inventory adjustments and inventory snapshots. 

This information can be passed any number of ways.  In the past flat-file interfaces and table based interfaces were common.  While these are still the right choices depending on the system requirements we are seeing more and more XML interfaces and companies leveraging our SOA architecture for web-services communications.  There is no wrong answer if you can move the information back-and-forth but for our pre-built integration we build according to the ERP preferred transport protocol.  Rather than relying on a 3^rd party EAI solution, we build the interfaces directly to ensure optimal performance for high through-put facilities.

The next time your CIO pushes a unilateral strategy take the time to explore if there are any real differences in the integrations and speak to Ray Wang at Forrester Research about getting trapped in ‘vendor hell’.

There are hundreds of metrics that you could use to manage your supply chain, but what are the right ones for your company?  When deciding what metrics to use, it is important that you take a step back and look at your corporate strategy and corresponding corporate metrics.  To select metrics for your WMS solutions or supplier enablement in a vacuum would be a common mistake.  While it is quite likely the metrics you select will be valid, it is also likely they won’t help the company advance its corporate strategy.

The need for company specific metrics is apparent after looking at two different retailers.   As we all know Wal-Mart has invested heavily to develop a world class supply chain.  They attempt to optimize every facet of the supply chain in attempt to bring the lowest price to the consumer.  They have been pioneers in supply chain innovation as evidenced by their previous RFID project and now their product sustainability initiative.  The majority of Wal-Mart’s supply chain metrics should measure cost reduction/cost containment.  Successful results in these metrics reinforce Wal-Mart’s corporate goal of providing the lowest competitive pricing to their customers. 

In sharp contrast to this is Zara, a European fashion retailer.  Zara strives to have their fingers on the pulse of what trends/fashion are selling well in a given locale and then design, manufacture, and deliver to the stores in time to take advantage of the current market trends.  For Zara’s supply chain, speed and time-to-market are paramount.  In many instances they might be willing to go with a higher cost option if it means they can capitalize on a current market trend.  The supply chain best practices that Zara uses are likely to be very different than Wal-Mart’s and the corresponding metrics should be different as well.

When deploying new metrics, significant time and investment are potentially needed to capture the data, develop effective dashboards, and communicate metric goals to the team.  Hopefully the above illustrates the importance of taking time to analyze your corporate strategy and validating that your supply chain metrics and incentives positively reinforce the company goals.

At HighJump Software we are working on a new performance dashboard for our WMS Warehouse Management System.  This is a very exciting project which will allow customers to view key metrics throughout their distribution center operations.  While ensuring the dashboards are esthetically pleasing is a key element of the process, the more important part is determining what are the right metrics to include in each dashboard.  In addition to relying on industry associations such as the Supply Chain Council and the Warehousing Education and Research Council, we evaluate potential metrics according to the “SMART” criteria:

S – Specific

Is the metric detailed enough to be meaningful?  A metric like ‘Outbound Order Progress’ sounds interesting, but probably lacks the specificity to be useful.  Metrics like order pick accuracy or number of cases shipped are more specific and tangible.

M – Measurable

There are a lot of interesting metrics, especially in supply chain, but many companies do not have the data to actually measure the metric.  Total landed cost is one that comes to mind as challenging for many companies.  Before selecting a set of metrics, make sure you validate your supply chain management software solutions have the data needed to calculate the metric. 

A – Actionable

If the user looks at a metric and finds it interesting but is unable to take action to improve the metric, then it will not be very useful.  When a metric falls below a goal or a certain tolerance, the user of the metric should be able to determine the root cause and take corrective action to improve the metric.

R- Relevant

The metric has to be relevant to the user.  It would not be relevant to display outbound order metrics to the inbound receiving manager.  This is why it is important to have multiple dashboards so that only relevant metrics are presented to the user.  While there will be some overlapping metrics between the DC manager dashboard and the customer dashboard, it is important that only metrics that are relevant are displayed to the targeted user. 

T – Time Based

The metric perfect order fulfillment sounds like a good metric, but if I just said the value was 98% that would prompt a series of questions:  for what time period, is it trending up or down, how it compares to last year at this time, etc.  Metrics need to have a specific timeframe associated with them and depending on the metric that timeframe could be hours, days, weeks, months, etc. 

Hopefully this is helpful when you evaluate what metrics to use in your supply chain operations.  More to come as our dashboard product nears completion.

A company that is a manufacturer and distributor of baked goods recently put out an RFP for WMS Warehouse Management System.  During the process HighJump Software and a few other best of breed WMS providers were considered.  What became apparent during the sales process was the company needed more than just a WMS system.  Expiration date and batch tracking are critical with bakery products and having their manufacturing process inter-linked with the distribution processes was vital to prevent inventory waste.

Many other systems would optimize the processes and inventory within the warehouse but this could result in an overall sub-optimal result by not taking into account raw material inventory and finished goods at the manufacturing sites.  They needed a solution that could optimize their manufacturing processes while providing inventory visibility from raw materials to finished goods.  HighJump Software is one of the few software providers that can provide a Manufacturing Execution System Software and WMS Management built on the same platform.  This allows companies to have inventory visibility throughout their supply chain.

In the end, I am happy to say the company saw the value of an integrated solution and selected HighJump Software.

Image via Flickr user loop_oh

• Improve throughput
• Reduce new employee training time
• Improve safety with hands-free and eyes-free picking
• Leverage configurable, voice-enabled picking options

Voice for Direct Store Delivery Software
You can use voice recognition software in conjunction with HighJump Load Management to manage picking of pallets. Here’s how it works:

• HighJump Load Management optimizes the load for the vehicle and creates the pick instructions. It passes the pick instructions to the handheld device which converts it to voice commands.
• The picker interacts with the software to record any changes to the picks.
• The completed transactions flow back to HighJump Load Management for completion.

As an avid Minnesota Timberwolves fan I was very excited when we exercised the demon of Kevin McHale from the organization.  While I know he had his heart in the right place, the organization could not move forward as long as he had some connection with the team.  This change is complemented by the Timberwolves adding Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn in last night’s draft.  These new players should provide a solid core along with Big Al and Kevin Love to hopefully challenge the Western super powers in the years to come.

The past several years there has been little to cheer about, but that did not mean we should completely start over.  We had some good pieces to the puzzle and needed to complement them rather than completely start from scratch. 

This is an approach more companies should consider with their supply chain logistics software.  Too often companies go with a big-bang approach that completely rips out existing WMS Solutions and discards several processes that were of strategic importance.  This causes them to spend more money to duplicate what they already had to take advantage of new capabilities in the latest release.  A well architected software product should allow for step-wise changes that allow you to keep the key pieces of functionality you have configured but augment them with the latest R&D efforts from your supply chain vendor.  HighJump Software merge tools allows customer to take new workflows from the latest release and deploy to a customer environment with little or no impact on the other existing workflows.  In addition to a quick time to value, the risk of these step-wise changes is substantially easier to manage.

If you don’t know which processes are your Al Jefferson or Kevin Love, I suggest you take the time to understand what is really strategic and leads to differentiation within your current application stack. Then look to add other processes in a step-wise fashion to build a championship supply chain.

I was talking with a friend the other day and the topic of Facebook came up. This friend had joined Facebook but become disengaged quickly saying he just didn’t “get it.” Rather than embracing the technology, engaging with friends and trying to figure out why millions of people are flocking to social networking, he threw his hands in the error in disgust. It reminded me of my grandmother trying to program the VCR “back in the day.” My friend is inflexible, unable to change, and unable to support the new process of communication. 

Many warehouse management systems suffer from these same challenges – inflexible, unable to change and unable to support new communication processes.

Many enterprises implemented WMS Warehouse Management Systems in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s to support their growing operations. While the initial value and return on investment of these systems has been achieved, the current state of these systems is a concern for many IT and supply chain executives.

Changing the system to meet new operational needs.

Your distribution and supply chain operations are probably significantly different than when you initially deployed your WMS warehouse management system. Product mix changes, increases in volumes, changes in material handling equipment and new distribution strategies can have significant impact on warehouse operations. Many warehouse management systems provide you with just two options to address these business changes: pay the software vendor to the customize the software for your new process, or develop a workaround outside of the system. Neither approach is optimal. Obtaining approval for software change orders is increasingly challenging as IT organizations are forced to look at every opportunity for cost reduction. Enabling processes with system workarounds results in quality issues which impact customer satisfaction.   Many companies operating aging WMS technologies suffer from these challenges.

Relatively high total cost of ownership.

It is widely known that WMS warehouse management systems are one of the most customized software applications in the enterprise. This is especially true of warehouse management systems implemented five to ten years ago. Not only are many companies dependent on the vendor to make ongoing system changes, the cost of system upgrades is extraordinarily high. Relative to other enterprise applications, aging WMS platforms have high upgrade costs because source code modifications must be reapplied to future versions. This is often a risky process which includes significant consulting hours from the software vendor. Additionally, WMS warehouse management systems purchased five to 10 years ago was significantly more expensive than WMS warehouse management systems purchased today. Because annual maintenance and support fees are typically based on a percentage of the license fees, many enterprises with aging WMS technologies are paying significantly higher fees than enterprises who recently implemented modern technology platforms. It just doesn’t make sense, why should you pay more for an older platform that doesn’t fit your business?

Uncertainty about your vendor’s strategy for the product line.

Many WMS Warehouse Management Systems implemented five to ten years ago were provided by vendors who are no longer market leaders in WMS. Many of these vendors have been acquired by financially focused firms who collect software maintenance and support fees without re-investing in product development and customer service. In many cases, it is unclear how long the vendor will provide software updates and technical support on these product lines. Each time there is an ownership change with these software vendors, the viability of the product line you use is called into question. Can you trust your distribution operations to a software vendor with questionable long term viability?

Do you have these symptoms of an aging WMS?

It is possible to move from aging WMS platforms to modern technology platforms with a simplified upgrade path. In many cases the annual cost of the new software is equal to the current costs of the aging platform. 

I will not replace my friend because he is aging, but you might want to consider replacing your aging WMS!

 
Image via Flickr user kid_entropy

Recently I have had some events that again have me wondering why companies continually trust their complex, high volume distribution operations to ERP-based WMS Warehouse Management Systems. Allow me to describe these events…

1. I spoke with a large HighJump Software customer who told me the CIO had been pushing for a global deployment of an ERP system across all functions including distribution operations, but had been stalled by business owners who were concerned about the distraction and cost relative to the value.
2. I spoke with a prospective HighJump customer who has spent millions of dollars and multiple years attempting to implement an ERP based inventory WMS system. They have finally conceded that their distribution operations are too complex for an ERP solution and are turning to a best of breed solution.
3. I attended a panel discussion of users of an ERP based WMS Warehouse Management System. Presumably, these were the “flagship” customers because the panel was chosen by the ERP vendor. Customers openly complained about the performance of the system which they attributed to an inventory model that was not suited for distribution operations and a transactional model that was financially-focused rather than distribution-focused.

I would urge anyone considering the implementation of an ERP based WMS Warehouse Management System to consider these factors before finalizing their strategy to move forward with an ERP based WMS Warehouse Management System provider.

The Integration Myth

It is commonly perceived that integration between a WMS Warehouse Management System and other business systems will be easier if both systems are packaged as a suite. The truth is that most ERP WMS solutions have an API-based interface between the WMS Warehouse Management System and the rest of the business applications. In many cases best of breed WMS Warehouse Management Systems have packaged integrations that utilize the same API-based interface as the ERP WMS. While many of the ERP interfaces are “hard coded,” a best of breed WMS Warehouse Management System often provides integration tools (like HighJump Software’s Advantage Link module) which allow data mappings to change based on specific business requirements. It is important to understand the details of the interface approach before assuming that cost will be less and functionality will be greater with a “suite” solution.

The Transaction Models Are Different

During my time as a consultant, I implemented ERP systems and best of breed supply chain systems. There is a fundamental difference in how these systems are architected. Supply chain systems start with a practitioner’s view of the business problem. Screens and workflows are suited toward the needs of people who are supply chain professionals. ERP systems have an accountant’s view of the business problem. Nearly all transactions that occur in an ERP solution tie to a general ledger transaction. Often this accounting-centric view results in business processes that are not optimized for the supply chain.  

For more information on Best of Breed vs. ERP WMS, please read HighJump Software's Special Report on the topic.

CobornsDelivers is an online grocery delivery company that services the Minneapolis - St. Paul metropolitan area.  Back by a strong commitment to customer service, the company utilizes the latest technology to ensure easy ordering, fresh products and on-time, accurate delivery.

Its previous WMS warehouse management system had stability issues and downtime was becoming a significant concern. The outdated WMS was hindering the company’s ability to manage growth because it could not accommodate changes and upgrades cost-effectively.  To solve these challenges, the company implemented HighJump Warehouse Advantage based on the system’s depth of functionality, ease of changing processes, and reliability in handling inventory track and trace functions such as expiration date tracking and rotation.

Learn more about how CobornsDelivers and how it implemented supply chain management best practices by reading the success story: Innovative Online Grocer CobornsDelivers Achieves Success With Customer-Centric Distribution. 
 

HighJump Software just had another customer go live with HighJump Warehouse Advantage and the Embedded Voice module. This customer is a third party logistics provider who plans to use the improved productivity and accuracy of their voice-enabled WMS Warehouse Management System to help them gain additional clients. Yesterday we released a video success story on Fox Racing who also utilizes embedded voice technology in their operations. See the Fox Racing video. The benefits of voice technology in the warehouse seem well understood by most distribution professionals I speak with. Most are quick to point out improved productivity (takes less time to accomplish tasks), safety (workers are hands and eyes free), and accuracy (complex check digit validations). Yet I often hear several misconceptions about voice technology that prevent adoption. Below is a listing of five common misconceptions I frequently hear about voice technology.

1.       I require proprietary hardware solutions for voice.

At one time this was true. However, voice technology providers like HighJump Software’s partner Vocollect, have worked with the leading rugged mobile computer manufactures to provide a solution that runs on a traditional device used in the warehouse. It is now possible to utilize the same device to accomplish both voice processes and traditional RF scanning processes.

2.       It does not work in the language spoken by warehouse staff.

With HighJump Software’s voice solution, warehouse workers can speak to the device in any language they choose. The recognition technology will respond to spoken commands in any language. Additionally, HighJump Software’s WMS Warehouse Management System is fully internationalized so warehouse employees can be prompted in any of the languages supported in the system.

3.       I don’t need a WMS if I have a voice picking system.

Voice enablement is a standard feature in a best of breed WMS Warehouse Management system. The voice technology allows multiple processes such as picking, cycle counting, and put-away to be automated with voice-based interaction with users. A voice system does not optimize all functions within a warehouse and assign warehouse work in the most optimal way. In addition, a best of breed WMS expands beyond the four walls of the distribution center to integrate with suppliers (supplier enablement/supplier integration) and customers. These extended features are not found in voice enablement technology.

4.       Voice picking systems simply voice-enable RF prompts.

Most distribution professionals focus too much on the voice technology and not enough on the process differences between traditional RF prompting and voice prompting. Interacting with a text based interface can be completely different than interacting with a voice system. Workflows often need to be optimized for a voice environment. This often means reducing the number of commands spoken and shortening operator response. There is also a different approach to validation because bar code scanning is often minimized in voice environments. 

5.       My distribution center is too small for voice.

Voice technology is not just for the “big boys” any more. Simplified WMS integrations make voice implementation straight forward for the end customer. The emergence of multi-modal hardware solutions also mean that distribution centers with smaller teams can have team members easily move between voice enabled processes and non-voice processes. Voice technology represents a strong ROI for any distribution professional who wishes to improve productivity, accuracy and the safety of warehouse employees.