White Paper
Powering Enterprises
HOW TO DO A SUCCESSFUL WMS IMPLEMENTATION-OVER- COME COMMON PITFALLS
JADE GLOBAL SCM PRACTICE
Pitfalls in the Implementation
Strategies to Overcome the Pitfalls in the Implementation Additional Considerations
Conclusion References
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Executive Summary
Companies have started to realize that in order to improve logistics operations, whether it’s done inhouse or through Logistics Service Providers (LSP), they need a
Warehouse Management System(WMS). They have to keep in mind that 30% of the WMS Implementations fail, 56% of the projects get delayed if not done correctly and only 42% of the projects are completed within budget[1]. Being aware of pitfalls, pain points, and best practices are vital for a successful completion of WMS project.
Like any other major ERP implementation system, WMS system also brings big cultural and operational changes but in this particular case it is for the warehouse employees, the managers and the finance department. Change management and governance play a significant part in ensuring smooth roll-out with minimum disruption to the shipments and increaseda doption leading to a quicker ROI.
The purpose of this paper is to help companies identify and remediate some of the common pitfalls and develop a solution which is scalable and causes least disruption to their business.
Some of the common pitfalls experienced over the years of WMS Implementation project include the following:
• Improper configuration of the mobile hand held terminal
• Improper setup of Wireless Infrastructure
• Failure to give training to all the Warehouse employees who will be using the Mobile Hand Held Device.
• Lack of support during and after going live for mobile handheld related issues
• Contingent plans for delayed shipping of critical orders
1. Total Logistics Inc. Warehouse Management Systems by the Numbers [white paper].Retrieved from http://www.varsitylogistics.com/pdf/news/wms_by_the_numbers.pdf
Implementation Overview
This section provides a brief overview about the key steps involved in a WMS Implementation. Like most of the ERP implementation projects, WMS implementation project follows a similar process including Discovery Phase, Requirement Gathering, Conference Room Pilot (CRP), User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and Go live. In this paper, we will focus on subtle WMS related aspects in implementations.
The fundamental information that everyone associated with Warehouse Management System (WMS) project needs to know is that, the solution requires a mobile device to efficiently perform the Warehousing and Shipping Transactions. The mobile device needs a wireless infrastructure to work with WMS solution. Label Printing is one of the key features of using WMS and it also requires some capital investment such as label printing software, and label printers. Considerable technical effort is also required to configure the label printers to work with WMS.
During the discovery phase of the project, the customer should communicate the business process requirements and desired processes at granular level to WMS profession- als. For example, if you want the support of multiple seal dates (the date the lot was sealed) for each lot, then this requirement should be communicated to the WMS implementation team to avoid incorrect solution design. There could be multiple user interface related requirements which can be gathered during the demos of the standard out of the box processes. These requirements can be easily accommodated in mobile device through personalization.
Every effort should be made to capture current and future of customers’ business processes and it should undergo the approval process from the key stakeholders in order to ensure that no requirement is missed or misinterpreted. Any mistakes here will only be carried forward to the later phases including the design, development and actual implementation. Incorrect requirement or design hurts everyone badly right after going live by causing shipment delays.
Pitfalls in the
Implementation
Improper selection of the mobile device will lead to loss of productivity in the warehouse operations. For example, if a customer uses a mobile device with alpha keypad then the device will not have separate keys for numbers and functions. With no number and function keys warehouse operators will be forced to use shift keys forcing multiple entries for each operation.
Figure 1 illustrates the different device keys designs.
The following are some of the pitfalls in a typical WMS Implementation and can also lead to failed implementation:
Selecting the right Mobile Hand Held Terminal (mobile device): Separate Keys for Function and Numbers
Most of the mobile devices need Java Virtual Machine (JVM) software to have a nice looking GUI of the ERP application. If the JVM software is not selected correctly, then it will cause the device to get disconnected or frozen in the middle of a transaction.
Figure 2 shows Oracle EBS MSCA UI.
Configuring and troubleshooting the mobile device to work with Oracle EBS:
When wireless network is not setup correctly, it might lead to a latency in the transmission of data from the server to the mobile device. This can cause the mobile device to get disconnected or frozen occasionally.
Latency issues in the wireless network:
Selecting the right Label Printing Software to work with your business process:
Each customer will have specific label formats. If the label printing solution is not scalable, then addressing the labels printing needs for the new and existing customers will be difficult. The following picture shows the label format requirement for two different customers, which illustrates how the formats can differ.
Lack of scalability of label printing options:
Improper selection of label printing software will lead to more effort in configuring, delay label printing, give rise to issues related to software and software maintenance.
Lack of troubleshooting information for label printing operations
WMS is a mission critical application. So, if there is any issue in printing labels, then it can lead to delayed or missed shipments. With no information available for troubleshooting the label printing operation, shipments will come to a halt.
Performance issues due to poor configuration of Picking Rules, Putaway Rules and Label Printing Rules:
Depending on the business requirement, Picking Rules, Putaway Rules and Label Printing Rules may require custom code and logic. The custom code needs to be tuned and tested for performance to avoid issues. Performance issues can cause considerable loss of productivity. As shown below, if there is a performance issue in the picking rules, the system will take 10 minutes to bring the next screen.
Selecting the right methodology for Shipping Operations to improve warehouse productivity:
Incorrect shipments and drop in productivity can be witnessed if the shipping process involves accessing more pages, more data entry, and less data validation.
The pitfalls which were discussed in the previous section not only delays or halts the WMS implementation, but they also affect the whole warehousing and shipping process negatively after going live. This section explains how to overcome these pitfalls in a typical WMS Implementation. Figure 6 below shows the overall implementation methodology and critical best practices which should be inserted in the process for a successful WMS
Implementation.
Following are some of the key factors to consider:
Before selecting the appropriate mobile device, label printing methodology, label printers and label printing software, setup meetings with the Director of Operations, Super Users, End Users and IT Managers to understand the device requirements and usage. For example, if the requirement is to scan the packages, which are closer 1
Set aside a week for configuring the mobile device and label printers. One of the key steps in configuring the mobile device is to map the function keys to work with WMS. For example, <Ctrl-L> is one of the most used functions while performing warehousing transactions. So find a key, which is easily accessible in the device and map that key to <Ctrl-L>.
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Schedule a training program before CRP2 separately for Super Users, Trouble shooters and Warehouse users. The training program for the Supers Users should focus on testing the business flows using the mobile device so that they can suggest process improvement and document the user procedures. The training program for trouble shooters should focus on how to trouble shoot the system and should be able categorize issues under software bug, admin, network or a training issue so that appropriate long term remediation strategies can be developed. For warehouse users, the training should focus only on the operations, which they will be performing using the mobile device.
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Check for any performance and productivity issues during CRP2. The bottom line for using WMS is to improve the warehouse productivity. Determine the time it takes for the mobile device to do one end to end flow and then evaluate how many transactions can be performed per month or per week. This is one of the ways through which productivity can be measured. There are number of other ways to further improve productivity such as barcoding the commonly scanned fields or using different shipping methods for shipping operations.
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To enable an organization to be WMS capable, all the sub inventories should have at least one locator. Convert sub inventories to locator controlled before ‘go live’.
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Always prepare and be ready to execute a fully tested fall back plan if the mobile device becomes unavailable 6
Before going live, perform thorough readiness assessment. Be prepared to delay ‘go-live’ if for any reason it is believed that you are not ready to start using the software.
Some of the readiness check points are:
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• System readiness
• Interface readiness
• Reporting
• Training
• Data Conversion
1. Involve Finance Team as early in the implementation process to show them the financial impact of the WMS process.
2. Schedule ‘go-live’ during slower time of the year and during initial week of the month. Usually any
3. Expect productivity to suffer during the initial stages after ‘go-live’. This is very common, because there are so many factors, which contribute to this. Some of them are:
• Cultural change in the way the system is used
• Getting used to GUI based device for Warehouse Operations
• Scanning of barcodes as a means of Data entry
• Software bugs or hardware issues
Here are some additional considerations for successfully implementing WMS in your organization:
4. Do not try to rush the Implementation process due to missed deadline. Check the impacts on other business process. Have enough ‘go-live’ support. During ‘go-live’, please expect the following issues to occur:
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Operator Training Issues: Most of the issues might not be from the software itself, but can be caused by operator errors. The users should be aware of who the trouble shooters are and ask them for support. Implementation team needs to manage the users tendency to bypass the system. They should seek help and adhere to support plan response and resolution expectations.•
Software Bugs: Software bugs are expected even in a mature software system which can be caught with considerable testing efforts. You can follow these steps to address software bugs – thorough issue management process involving tracking, triaging, prioritizing, assigning, resolving and documenting and in some cases preparing FAQs (frequently asked questions) for future references for troubleshooters and support teams.Understanding the common pitfalls in the WMS implementation is critical to develop strategies and plans to avoid or overcome them. When successfully implemented, WMS can bring tremendous value in the form of improved operational efficiency, improved bottom line and great analytics so that companies can respond to ever changing business environment. Some of the key benefits include automation and optimization of material handling, improved customer service, reduced exceptions, increased scalability of warehouse operations and increased inventory accuracy and labor productivity. WMS will become the stepping stone in creating opportunities for various improvements in inventory management, warehouse operations and logistics operations.
About Jade Global
San Jose | Philadelphia | Toronto | Vienna | Pune | Hyderabad
Jade Global provides enterprise business application implementations, integrations, software product engineering, cloud services, technology advisory, testing, and managed services across diverse industries. We are head quartered in San Jose, California with U.S. offices in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Jade Global is an Oracle Platinum Cloud Select partner, Salesforce Silver Partner, ServiceNow Silver partner, Boomi Elite Partner, Snowflake Select and Microsoft Gold partner. We have additional strategic partnerships with NetSuite and AWS. Jade Global has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies in North America by Inc. 5000 and was featured on the Fastest Growing Private Companies list in the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
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