9 May 2022 Choosing the ideal WMS for your company is a delicate task, but it becomes important when the right decision is made and the system’s results start to appear. In this selection process, it is necessary to evaluate the reputation and expertise of the provider, as well as all the technical and functional requirements offered by the software, to ensure it meets your needs. However, the evaluation should not stop there. It is also necessary to consider three fundamental issues: design, implementation, and support. You’ll understand why in the following paragraphs. Design: the decisive phase for successful execution We often say that implementing the WMS is like changing tires while the car is in motion. Operations cannot be interrupted for the system to be installed. Therefore, it is essential that your provider has a good Project Management methodology, planning each phase with excellent criteria and anticipating both the necessary resources and deadlines. Furthermore, it is important to have good change management and ensure that each phase is completed only if everything is going well. Before the project is prepared, you and some members of your team need to meet with the provider to discuss all the specifics of your operation. This is the time to delve into the details of your logistics processes, your current infrastructure, organizational culture, business rules, as well as the results you want to achieve with the WMS. It is also important to have a budget forecast and ensure, together with the provider, that expenses do not exceed what was planned. Additionally, the IT team must specify the hardware and software requirements that must be provided for the project. You might be wondering: why is all this detail important? The answer is that if the project is not well-conceived, the system implementation could fail. Then the consequences accumulate: budget overruns, missed deadlines, integration failures, among others. That’s why the project must be reliable, have solid and realistic foundations, and provide exactly what your company needs. WMS Implementation: harmony between teams is essential With everything well planned, it’s time to start the implementation. In this phase, it is essential that your team and the provider’s team work in complete harmony, with facilitated communication and clarity in each person’s responsibilities. During the implementation phase, a series of procedures must be carried out, such as: Building and validating system communication interfaces; Installing the necessary infrastructures; Configuring the WMS; Preparing the warehouse to receive the system; Conducting unit tests; Training leaders and multipliers. Once all these steps are completed, integrated tests must be conducted to approve the WMS and processes. At this point, simulations are performed, testing different scenarios to make all the final adjustments. Once the system has been accepted in operation, the Go Live begins. The execution of the aforementioned procedures is crucial for your company to achieve the best results with the WMS. That’s why it’s so important to analyze the provider’s experience in software implementation and discuss how this process will take place. If you have qualified support, the chances of success are enormous. Support: the difference in achieving good results We come to the topic that is often overlooked when choosing the WMS system and makes a big difference in the results achieved. How does the provider promise to meet your post-implementation requests? Is it an agile service? What and how many communication channels are available? These questions must be asked before concluding the contract. Often, problems that seem complex to your team can be easily resolved by the provider. Perhaps, if your team attempts to solve it on their own, it might take hours, while a quick response from the provider helps resolve it in minutes. Therefore, speed in service means saving time and money for your company. Additionally, it is important to evaluate if the company offers periodic system updates and if it is willing to make future adjustments and customizations, as it is expected that the technology will be used for a long period. In other words: the system must be scalable and grow alongside your company. And this requires the provider to always be ready to meet your requests. By relying on qualified support, your business will certainly achieve the best results with the use of the WMS, increasing productivity, eliminating errors and rework, reducing costs, and most importantly: offering a high level of service to your customers. Success with WMS After reading the three topics, you have realized how important it is to have good project management, efficient implementation, and qualified support. We can summarize what we presented in: A well-structured project ensures that deadlines and budgets are strictly adhered to and that everything runs smoothly. An effective implementation avoids setbacks and ensures that the system is used to its fullest potential. Agile and quality support gives you the assurance that no complications will harm your operation and that the WMS will always be ready to meet all your expectations, both today and in the future. Design, implementation, and support: the differences to achieve the best results with WMS Deagor WMS per ecommerce può aiutarti!