From SCDigest's On-Target E-Magazine
April 20 , 2011
Logistics News: When implementing a new Warehouse Management System (WMS), Filling Two Roles on the Project Team are Key
Company's Operational Lead, Vendor's Technical Lead Make All the Difference in Success; Project Managers at Vendors often Focused Now on Financial, not Operational Success
SCDigest Editorial Staff
Who are the two most important members of a Warehouse Management System (WMS) project team?
While most companies today are focused on getting a broad-based, cross-functional team (distribution, IT, customer service, transportation, etc.) they sometimes don't put enough attention on two key roles: the company's own "operational lead" and the WMS vendor's "technical lead."
SCDigest Says: |
 |
| The customer's operational lead defines exactly how the system and process needs to work for success in the DC, while the vendor's technical project lead is responsible for making sure those requirements are successfully delivered.. |
|
What Do You Say?
|
|
|
|
"The single most important person in a WMS implementation is what I call the operational lead or the operational owner," says Mark Fralick, president of ROI Solutions and long-time expert on supply chain execution systems. "This is the person usually fairly high up in the organization, maybe not at the VP level, though I have worked with VPs in this role in mid-sized organizations, but it is someone who really has some skin in the game" in terms of logistics and distribution success.
These comments were made during one of our most recent new video features, "Fralick on WMS," and which can be viewed here: Supply Chain Video: The Two Most Important Members of a Warehouse Management System (WMS) Project Team.
The key, Fralick says, is that this person is truly empowered to make decision regarding DC operations and how the WMS needs to work in conjunction with that. In many cases, however, such a role and clear responsibility doesn't really exist in a WMS implementation, Fralick says. In those cases, there may be an "executive sponsor" who has ultimate responsibility for the project's success but isn't really involved in the day to day effort, and the WMS project manager in the company who usually is focused on meeting the project's schedule and budget. There may not really be a single decision maker in terms of all the choices that have to be made in a WMS implementation.
"This role and person is the one that needs to say in the end, 'Yes, this is the system I can live with' and 'This is the system that is going to propel us competitively for the next 10 years,'" Fralick added. "They are the ones that need to make the calls and ensure operations will work the way they need to."
One critical decision this operational lead needs to make, Fralick says, is when it is time for the "go live." Fralick says he likes to use an approach based on "evidence," - does a company have real evidence that across operations, the system itself, IT interfaces, training, etc., it is time to begin running the WMS in the DC.
Vendor's Technical Lead Also Critical
The second most important person on the WMS implementation team, Fralick says, is the technical project lead of the WMS vendor.
(Distribution/Materials Handling Story Continues Below)
|
As the customer's operational lead defines exactly how the system and process needs to work for success in the DC, the vendor's technical project lead is responsible for making sure those requirements are successfully delivered.
