Shippers consistently ask us the same question: Should we implement our TMS or WMS first? After working with dozens of shippers through these decisions, we've identified five factors that determine the right sequence for your operations.
In a recent webinar hosted by Alpine Supply Chain Solutions, JBF Consulting’s CEO, Brad Forester, sat down with one of Alpine’s Senior Managing Directors, Greg Utter, to explore the nuances of TMS and WMS implementations .
Keep reading for the Key Takeaways or watch the Webinar below.
5 Key Takeaways
1. Start With A Strong Business Case And Clear Criteria
Define your goals upfront. Whether it's maximizing ROI ("follow the money") or addressing critical operational pain points ("painkillers"). This business case guides which system (TMS or WMS) to prioritize and shapes all future decisions.
Poor sequencing or insufficient planning can lead to costly inefficiencies, delayed performance gains, and misaligned workflows between systems. The clearer your criteria, the more confident your implementation decisions become.
2. Integration Complexity Is Critical So Plan Early
Integrations between TMS and WMS are not just simple data connections; they impact operations, ROI, and future scalability. Understanding your data flows and integration needs early prevents costly surprises later.
Key integration points include order flow between systems and how data moves through your existing technology stack. This planning phase determines whether your systems will work together seamlessly or create operational friction.
3. Choose The Right System For Your Needs
Don’t simply pick the most powerful or popular system. Focus on feature fit and operational alignment to avoid paying for functionality you won’t use or being forced to adapt processes unnecessarily.
The goal is building a scalable, integrated digital supply chain ecosystem, not implementing the most impressive feature set. Match system capabilities to your actual operational requirements.
"The goal is building a scalable, integrated digital supply chain ecosystem, not implementing the most impressive feature set."
4. MVP Approach Is Fine, But Plan And Fund Phase Two Upfront
A minimum viable product (MVP) rollout can work if carefully managed. Budget for future phases early to ensure enhancements and advanced capabilities aren’t permanently postponed.
This approach requires investment confidence and strategic thinking about how your initial implementation sets the foundation for long-term system evolution and expanded functionality.
5. Cross-Functional Collaboration Is Essential
Bring warehouse, transportation, IT, and business teams together from the start. Joint planning enables smoother design, better integration decisions, and ultimately maximizes the return on your investment.
Supply chain leaders, IT decision-makers, and logistics professionals all bring critical perspectives to system sequencing decisions. This collaboration helps avoid costly missteps in system implementation planning.
The Bottom Line
There's no right answer to whether TMS or WMS should be implemented first. In an ideal world, they'd be implemented simultaneously, but that is unrealistic for many companies. The decision depends on your organization's specific business case, ROI potential, pain points, and operational constraints. It is far from a one-size-fits-all solution.
Don't leave this decision to chance. The strategic considerations that go into sequencing your TMS and WMS implementations require careful planning, clear criteria, and realistic assessment of your integration readiness.
Ready to determine whether TMS or WMS should come first for your operation? Contact us today to discuss your specific requirements and develop an implementation approach that maximizes efficiency and ROI.
About the Author
Mike Mulqueen is the Executive Principal of Strategy & Innovation at JBF Consulting. Mike is a leading expert in logistics solutions with over 30 years managing, designing and implementing freight transport technology. His functional expertise is in Multi-modal Transportation Management, Supply Chain Visibility, and Transportation Modeling. Mike earned his master’s degree in engineering and logistics from MIT and BS in business and marketing from University of Maryland.
FAQs
Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. The decision depends on your organization’s business case, ROI potential, operational pain points, and constraints. Ideally, both systems would be implemented simultaneously to maximize efficiency, but practical limitations often make this unrealistic.
- Follow the Money: Implement the system that delivers the most immediate and measurable ROI. If the savings from a TMS or WMS can fund future phases, it may be the logical starting point.
- Pain Point Elimination: When ROI is less clear, focus on resolving operational inefficiencies. Whether it's labor bottlenecks in the warehouse or a lack of freight visibility, the system that solves your most painful issues should take precedence.
- Organizational Constraints: Evaluate internal readiness (availability of key personnel, timing around peak seasons, and IT bandwidth). Sometimes constraints, not strategy, drive sequencing.
While "wrong" is relative, the main risk is overbuying or underbuying (choosing a system with too many unnecessary features, leading to wasted investment, or too few, forcing costly process changes later). Poor sequencing can also create integration challenges, inefficiencies, and missed ROI.
Integration ensures seamless data and operational flow between transportation and warehouse functions. Misaligned or poorly planned integrations can lead to operational bottlenecks, manual workarounds, and lost savings. Clear integration planning is essential to ensure systems work together as intended.
The MVP (minimum viable product) approach involves implementing only essential functions first, with plans to add advanced features later. When utilizing this approach, it is critical to budget and plan for phase two from the beginning to avoid postponing important functionalities indefinitely and to secure needed funds while momentum is strong.
