The core values of a good WMS

As warehouse management systems become more sophisticated there is a tendency to assume that all end users are aware of and understand the benefits of introducing a fully-functioning solution into their operations. The technology moves on apace and each new generation of software offers more features and potential benefits to entice the customer.

But there is now some evidence to suggest that the market is coming to maturity. The number of large warehouses may continue to grow but the pool of potential customers may not follow quite as closely because of the consolidation within the supply chain services industry and the tendency of the major players to standardise (or at least try) on just one or two systems. Of course there is always a market for replacement or upgrade systems but these are by definition being sold to current users. The driver for these is often to replace older technology with systems that support the current and near-future anticipated business and process requirement. This is why so much marketing effort goes into convincing these customers to adopt one system or another.

One of the many challenges facing vendors is to convince businesses that have never used a WMS, or which continue to struggle with an aging system, of the benefits of introducing a modern solution. Some of these sites are surprisingly large and it is not always the smaller or growing business that has yet to be persuaded. There are many reasons for this but let us assume for a moment that one of the main ones is that customers are wary of committing to a technology of which they have little understanding or experience. Most vendors will be able to demonstrate benefits in terms of improved picking accuracy, increased productivity, space optimisation and so on. One could discuss the performance of one system over another but customers understand - and tell us- that the real cost and value to their business is based on how it supports their current and expected requirements.

Many WMS vendors offer solutions that present an all-or-nothing choice and incorporate a number of functions or features that the customer does not need now and possibly never will. A simpler and more practical approach would be to base a WMS around a relatively small set of essential functions focused around efficient warehouse movements. This core product would be deployed as the basis of any solution with additional features and functions implemented to support the processes that the customer requires. This can be achieved by adding specialist modules, integrating third party software and hardware, or by developing unique functions to support innovation and business processes identified by the customer.

The beauty of this is that the resulting solution, while based on proven, tried and tested technology, is matched as closely as possible to the customer's requirement. Implementation is relatively simple because there is no need to integrate and test functions that will not be needed. Overall lifetime costs can be controlled because there is no need to deploy or support superfluous features. The core product can upgraded whenever a new version is available without the need to re-engineer the complete, integrated application. These are all important, perhaps especially to new customers because they want to avoid disruption to their operations and any unforeseen extra costs. However, if the customer's requirement evolves over time, for example when introducing new services or deploying a complementary application, functionality can be added or removed as needed. An additional benefit of this is that the feature being added will almost certainly utilise the latest technology, providing the end user with access to the most up to date functions rather than relying on activating previously dormant facilities supplied with the original full function solution. At Chess we call this approach CorePlus because - as it says on the tin - our solutions are essentially based around a core package plus whatever functions the customer needs.

Although our Empirica software has been modularised since its launch almost a decade ago we have taken the opportunity with each successive version to refine the underlying technology. The application has always been capable of rapid and simple integration with our own modules and the unique features we develop for specific customers, as you would expect, but is also often deployed alongside third party business and supply chain systems. However, in keeping with the CorePlus concept, we have moved some functions into the core software while a few others have been transferred to the specialist modules to reflect changes in what is expected from the central component. Some of the changes have been to simplify the integration capability of the range. Incidentally, this also makes it even easier to introduce our best-in-class WMS capabilities into an ERP environment so that customers can enjoy the benefits of both.

We believe that CorePlus allows us to innovate for the customer and offer the flexibility and future proofing that is beyond the capabilities of the large scale WMS and ERP style solutions. It also allows us to introduce new functions to support emerging supply chain processes without tampering with the core application. We can also enhance existing functionality outside the core product without re-engineering the entire application or, conversely, upgrade central components without changing the entire system. Most recently, for example, we have introduced a Packing Desk module designed to support order consolidation in busy warehouses. Last year we launched an updated RF module to support an ever wider range of hand-held, truck mounted, voice enabled and mobile devices. We are currently working on facilities to support delivery tracking, extending the reach of the WMS even further beyond the loading bay.

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