20 questions you should ask before investing in your WMS

Transcription

1 0 questions you should ask before investing in your WMS

2 With Astro WMS, all the pieces fall into place. Today and tomorrow.

3 Warehouse improvements you can count on. Every salesperson tells you that if you buy their Warehouse Management System (WMS), choose their software or use their consultants you ll get a great return on investment. But where do you find those savings in your warehouse? How do you calculate the total cost of the investment and when do you start to profit from it? This booklet will answer those questions. Who knows? You might want to start your project sooner rather than later!

4 1 1 1 Why should I read 1 this booklet? 1 There s never a bad time to make your business more efficient. But if your company has not committed to make a difference, 1 you 1 could stop reading right here. If you are up for a change, a ROI study is your way to 1 start making 1 a well-conceived investment Why should I start 1 with an 1 ROI analysis? 1 A proper ROI analysis gives 1you an 1understanding of your current warehouse processes, and where and how to 1 improve 1 them. It 0will demonstrate where your savings will come from and how quickly you get your money 1 back 1 on your WMS. 1 How do I make 1 a smart 1 ROI 0 calculation? It might sound simple; quantify the benefits of your investment and put that against the total costs of that investment 1 over time. In reality this could be a challenge. It s advisable to turn to an expert who will pinpoint the impact a WMS will make on each area of your warehouse. That way you save time and get a correct picture of the assigned costs and benefits.

5 1 1 1 What are the 1steps? 1 Use a structured template to compile and analyse all relevant data. Back this up with a warehouse study 1to learn 1how your processes interconnect. Use your findings to identify areas of potential. Address and verify the potential in a workshop involving all concerned 1 parties, 1 such 0as warehouse process owners and warehouse managers. The outcome is your 1 finalized 1 ROI calculation. 1 Which people 1from 1my company should be involved? 1 1 The main people involved in implementing a new WMS are the Warehouse Manager, IT Manager, 1 warehouse 1 process 0 experts and the Financial Controller. 1 1 How long 1 does an ROI analysis take? If you use external experts it should take you around a week. Working on your own it depends on 1 the complexity of your warehouse operations, allocated resources, availability of data and your experience and tools. It could take one week or a few months.

6 1 1 Can I perform 1 1an ROI study in-house or should I call in experts? It s a good idea to balance the knowledge from your in-house personnel who know your internal processes with 1 an expert 1 view of the alternatives and logistics best practices. While your own staff know all about how your current systems work, an external person should be able to show you how 1 to improve 1 1 processes 0 1 throughout the warehouse, based on experience and best-practice. 1 What 1 should I look for in a consultant? 1 1 Make sure 1that any 1consultants you employ have the relevant expertise and experience. They need to 1 love logistics 1 rather 0 than consulting. Ask them which picking methods will save most money for your specific 1 warehouse. 1 If they can t answer, then try someone else. 1 What do most companies reflect on when conducting an ROI analysis? You d be surprised how much you can find out about your operations by being open minded and asking 1 questions. Often, companies detect possible improvements even before implementing a WMS.

7 1 What 1 benefits 1 does a WMS give me? A WMS simplifies and streamlines work processes. It provides full traceability and high accuracy, 1 significantly 1 reducing your operational costs. Examples include better control of received goods, automatic replenishment, optimised pallet movement, support for returns, maximum use of all equipment, eliminating picking faults and better fulfilment of transport How 1 does 1 a WMS influence benefits and costs long term? Analyse 1 how 1 adaption to future needs effect the calculation. Total cost of ownership is highly effected 1 by 0things like expansion to larger or more sites, implementation of automation or changes 1 in 1distribution channels or product mix. 1 1 Can 1 I start 0 small? In our experience a WMS brings efficiencies and cost savings to all warehouses. If you want 1 1 to start small, choose a modular system that brings you the advantages of being able to expand into different functions when you need to Is there an express way to implement a WMS? Yes. Selecting a vendor that can implement best practice within a set time guarantees an express implementation project. You should be able to become highly competitive without unnecessary customizations.

8 Is it complicated to integrate a WMS? 1 No. A modern WMS has a standardized interface to most of the leading ERPs by using a message broker to 1integrate WMS to any ERP, web order system or other. That way you simplify integration and get a solution that is easy to adapt to coming changes. It saves you money in both the short term and long term. 1 0 What 1 about hardware? Make sure to pay enough attention to what hardware serves you best, product ranges and needed managed 0 1 services in your ROI analysis. To select the wrong hardware from the wrong vendor may cause considerable damage to the WMS project finance both now and for years to come. Our advice would 1 be to buy both software and hardware from a one-stop shop How can I ensure that my investment performs /? 0 1 The best way to ruin any investment in your warehouse is to have downtime. Though it might seem appealing 1 to save money on single devices, to risk compatibility between software and hardware fast becomes expensive. Don t forget to include aspects such as service and support, including replacement agreements 0 to increase uptime and decrease cost of ownership. 1 How do you cope with variations in workload? If you often need to quickly increase staff to deal with busy periods, we would advocate voice picking. It might be more expensive than handhelds, but you quickly offset the cost as new or temporary employees can be up and running within 0 minutes. Many vendors also offer hardware for rent.

9 Which costs of investment should an ROI study include? Any complete ROI study should demonstrate all costs a WMS investment would involve, including license, project, hardware, integration, support and upgrade costs. Your internal costs would include project time, training, time lost for system changeover, etc. When can I expect payback from a WMS? In our experience we see payback within -1 months when a warehouse transforms from paper-picking to a WMS. 1 0 Are there any side effects of an ROI analysis? Yes, you might want to start your project sooner rather than later!

10 Find out about the positive effects a WMS can have on your warehouse. Let us perform an ROI calculation together with you. Sweden Phone [email protected] United Kingdom Phone + (0) [email protected] Denmark Phone [email protected] Norway Phone + 01 [email protected] Netherlands Phone +1 1 [email protected] Poland Phone [email protected]

11 In our Supply Chain Execution portfolio you find the right tools for supply chain precision and predictability. Our customers have chosen competitive solutions within; Production Facilitating mobile production IT and realizing quality information to support production processes, keep cost down and traceability up. warehousing Single or multi-sites, manual or automated, our WMS brings you great value regardless. The solutions has proven themselves to be the right tool for to 00 concurrent users and is successfully used by top players all over the world. transport Together with our partners Consafe Logistics integrate transport administration where needed in your supply chain. Providing functionality for transportation planning and follow up, cost control/kpis, Track & Trace, carrier dispatching, Proof-of-Delivery and much more. delivery Improve customer satisfaction with mobile solutions supporting daily delivery activities off-truck sales, order processing, invoicing and replenishment. User interface fit for any hardware device and easy scalable. store Enhance your staff engagement and customer service using mobile solutions, in store warehouse providing automated goods receiving, inventory management, online access to product data, order handing, pricing and labeling.

12 SUPPLY CHAIN EXECUTION PRODUCTION WAREHOUSING TRANSPORT DELIVERY STORE MANUFACTURING EXECUTION SYSTEMS WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS WAREHOUSE CONTROL SYSTEMS WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS TRANSPORT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS YARD MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS HARDWARE MOBILE DELIVERY APPLICATIONS MOBILE STORE APPLICATIONS HANDHELDS SCANNERS PRINTERS VOICE WLAN VM SERVICES SUPPORT MANAGED SERVICES CONSULTING 1

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