Risks of a Poor WMS Selection Process
By Charles Fallon
November 22, 2017| 2 min read
A Warehouse Management System (WMS) selection requires a comprehensive process that must both meet the company’s current needs and enable business growth. LIDD’s team has guided clients through the selection journey so they can avoid these kinds of situations:
1. The WMS is an inadequate solution
Without a rigorous search, thorough vetting and well-managed implementation, you could be left with systems that doesn’t adequately address your functional needs. The result is an operating penalty that impacts your supply chain on a daily basis.
2. The vendor is an inadequate partner
Vendors make poor partners for a host of reasons – financial instability, owner exit strategies, R&D / marketing focus, poor customer service. One or more of these situations can result in a poor relationship that adversely affects the outcome of your new WMS.
3. The partnership is good, the WMS is adequate, but the costs are astronomical
Capital is precious and any growing company has a myriad of initiatives competing for that capital. Investing too much in a WMS not only raises your total supply chain costs higher than necessary, it also robs other initiatives – new stores or sales territories, new product lines – of that precious resource.
Also, keep in mind that implementation fees usually account for 50% of the total cost of a new WMS. That means if you do not budget for it properly, and you allow for scope creep and endless reconfigurations, your costs will grow exponentially.
Reach out to the LIDD team to learn more about warehouse slotting and optimizing your warehouse operations.