Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and Transportation Management Systems (TMS) are fixtures in supply chain technology. Alpine Supply Chain Solutions and JBF Consulting recently held a webinar on the topic, and here are the key takeaways. The webinar replay is at the end of this article.
Many organizations have relied on these solutions for decades. Still, as the retail landscape continues to evolve and e-commerce demands continue to grow, newer evolutions of WMS and TMS are needed.
The upfront work done as part of the blueprint is critical to gathering detailed requirements, ensuring the most closely matching technology or technologies are selected. Failure to do so could result in any or all of the following:
- Multiple customizations to meet a client's unique requirement
- Extended implementation timeline
- Budget overruns
- Worst case / new software selection and re-implementation
Selecting the wrong provider can quickly become a multi-million dollar mistake.
Avoid the Multi-Million-Dollar Mistake
The number of Logistics technology providers has exploded in the last few years, and trying to find the right provider that meets your requirements is no easy task. Selecting the wrong provider can quickly become a multi-million-dollar mistake.
While feature /function is at the top of most clients' minds when selecting an application, other key items need to be considered.
- Technology architecture - If the architecture is dated this may cause the R&D budget to be spent on moving to a new technology platform instead of building out new features and capabilities. It is important to understand the pros and cons of Cloud-based solutions. Most TMS providers only offer cloud deployments, and it is important to understand how this may impact your organization - more frequent upgrades, limited access to data, ease of scaling, etc.
- Monolithic architecture vs. a microservices architecture - The industry is moving to microservices due to the inherent flexibility and scalability. Microservices enable software providers to deploy in a modular fashion. This allows shippers to purchase the capabilities they need, not a monolithic application that will only utilize 25% of the features.
- Financial stability and acquisition risks - Given the recent tightening of VC and PE monies many of the young tech companies that are not turning a profit are at risk of going under or possibly being acquired. Being acquired is sometimes a death sentence for a product.
Define Your Desired End State
It is important to begin with the end in mind. As part of the pre-work to vendor selection, every company should define its short-term strategy (3-5 years). Strategic decisions can greatly impact technology provider selection.
For example, if a company only does business in the US but plans to grow by acquisition, which may include international locations, the vendor selected would need to support international shipping vs. just US domestic capabilities. At a minimum, before performing vendor selection these items should be considered a prerequisite:
- Growth strategy (acquisition or organic growth)
- A defined desired end state (DES) (how do I see the business operating in the future)
- Conceptual design (high-level design on systems to support the DES)
As part of the pre-work to vendor selection, every company should define its short-term strategy (3-5 years). Strategic decisions can greatly impact technology provider selection.
Seamless Integration
There are overlaps between WMS and TMS functionality when it comes to appointment, dock scheduling, and some yard management features. Determining which system should house this functionality may depend on several factors such as:
- Operational processes
- Owner of appointment scheduling
- Process for labor management planning
- Interactions with external resources (carriers, shippers)
No matter which system ends up housing the functionality, integration between the WMS and TMS is required.
No matter which system ends up housing the functionality, integration between the WMS and TMS is required.
Summary
Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and Transportation Management Systems (TMS) are critical to keeping your supply chain running smoothy. There’s a lot to consider when you are selecting a new solution! In short, the work performed before selecting a logistic software provider is as important, if not more important than the actual selection itself. If you’re looking for a partner to help you to identify and implement the right TMS or WMS, we invite you to learn more about JBF Consulting and Alpine Supply Chain Solutions.
Here are helpful tools that dive deeper into some of the methodologies we covered:
View a replay of the full session here featuring
Michael Wohlwend, Brad Forester, and Greg Utter.
About JBF Consulting
Since 2003, we’ve been helping shippers of all sizes and across many industries select, implement and squeeze as much value as possible out of their logistics systems. We speak your language — not consultant-speak – and we get to know you. Our leadership team has over 100 years of logistics and TMS implementation experience. Because we operate in a niche — we’re not all things to all people — our team members have a very specialized skill set: logistics operations experience + transportation technology + communication and problem-solving skills + a bunch of other cool stuff.
Fine Print:
The information discussed in this session represents the views of the individual/s and does not constitute legal advice. You should consult with your organization’s leadership and legal counsel.
