Why is WMS considered a dirty word by so many Inventory pros? One reason is that the Warehouse Management System industry spent all of its time on the technical end of the business, and virtually no time on the people end of the business.

We know that if there’s something people don’t understand, or they find it unapproachable, it’s going to be a public relations disaster.

That being said, there are three dirty little secrets that can help you better understand how a WMS works, whether you already have one in place or if you’re contemplating buying one.

1. The terror of technology: The day after you put your new WMS in place, it’ll be outdated. That means you’ll have to make expensive changes and upgrades, re-train people, and lose time that should go to getting the job done.

This can be tackled two ways: First, ask the vendor to show you how modifications are made to the system — and tell you the time and labor it’ll take. Then, ask the vendor for customer referrals. You can ask these customers how difficult or how easy it’s been to implement changes and upgrades. You should get a pretty straight answer.

2. We’ll have to change what we do to suit the software. Many companies are worried they’ll be held hostage to what the vendor decides is important, in terms of flexibility.

How much flexibility can you afford? That way of thinking keeps you in front of vendors. Ask vendors exactly how much is entailed with most changes. Are we talking about pulling something out of the system completely and building from the ground up again? Or, are most changes a matter of modifying existing software?

3. WMS vendors overwhelmed us with information, functions, etc. — and it was very expensive. How can we afford something when we don’t even know what we’re getting? And how long will it take for this system to pay for itself?

The more specific you are in your request to WMS vendors, the more specific their responses will be. Pick a few key requirements that vendors must meet, before you’ll go any further. Then, build on it — until you get a proposal that meets your needs. In terms of ROI, you’re usually not looking at a finite time period, i.e. 6 months. A WMS changes the way you do business, and the changes will begin immediately and be long term.

Tags: inventory, software, vendor, WMS