The WMS selection process: Walk the warehouse

Every WMS project gets stuck somewhere. Answer four quick questions and we'll drop a pin where you are in the process, then we'll show you what's worth reading at your stage in the WMS selection process.

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The WMS selection process, stage by stage

Selecting a new warehouse management system is rarely a straight line. Most projects move through the same handful of stages, and most of them get stuck in at least one of those stages, and typically for a reason that nobody mentioned during the first meeting. Here’s the whole WMS selection process as we see it from the warehouse floor, with examples of the questions that people ask at each point and the articles that answer those questions. Already running Dispatcher WMS? Skip to the last section for upgrades.

Stage 1: Before you’re in the market On the map: Goods In

Before anybody is officially looking, there’s usually a long stretch of coping. Maybe the ERP’s warehouse module is doing its best, it could be that the old WMS has been patched more times than anyone can count, or perhaps it’s that peak is only survived through goodwill and overtime. This is the part of the WMS selection process where the real questions to ask are whether to start at all, and what it’s costing you to wait.

“Our ERP has a warehouse module.”

“What we've got works.”

“There's no real rush.”

“We'll automate our way out of it.”

“We'll find room somehow.”

Open Goods In on the map ↑

Stage 2: Building the internal case On the map: Racking

Once somebody decides that something has to change, the next job is getting everybody else to agree. Operations is the part of the business that feels the pain most, Finance is in charge of the money and IT are the ones carrying the risk. Because of this, a WMS project can sometimes sit in the gap between them for a very long time indeed. This stage is about who owns the project, how you build the kind of business case your CFO will sign, and which people you can actually spare to run the project.

“Nobody really owns this.”

“We can't prove the ROI yet (and the budget's gone anyway).”

“We can't spare the people.”

“IT has other plans this year.”

Open Racking on the map ↑

Stage 3: The shortlist On the map: Pick Face

If you’re here, then you’re choosing. RFPs, demos, reference calls and you have a shortlist that is very likely to change shape at least once. The bigger questions come up here too: where each product is heading, whether a tier-one name is right for a business your size, and whether to buy through a partner or go direct to the vendor.

“Is Dispatcher WMS going anywhere?”

“Our RFP will sort it out.”

“Have you got customers in our vertical?”

“We're not big enough for Blue Yonder.”

  • We're too small for Blue Yonder Coming soon

“The SaaS ones are cheaper.”

“Why not go straight to Blue Yonder?”

  • Partner or vendor direct Coming soon

“Do we need outside help?”

  • Do you need a WMS consultant? Coming soon

Open Pick Face on the map ↑

Stage 4: Costs, risks and dates On the map: Despatch

By the time you’re talking numbers, the questions start to get very practical. What will it really cost over the first few years, how long will it take, can it be done before peak, will it talk to everything else we’ve got, and what happens if a go-live goes badly. This is also the point where somebody has to disclose what state the master data is in.

“What will it really cost?”

“Can it be done before peak?”

“What if go-live goes wrong?”

“Will it talk to everything else?”

“We’ve got more than one site.”

  • Multi-site WMS rollout: what happens after site one Coming soon

“Will people actually use it?”

“Our data's a bit of a mess.”

“Is it secure?”

Open Despatch on the map ↑

Underneath all of it: we’ve been burned before On the map: Back Office

Quite often there’s a WMS project that went wrong before, here or at somebody’s last job. It rarely comes up in the first meeting, but it absolutely shapes every decision that follows, so it’s well worth talking about early on in the process.

“We've been burned before.”

Open Back Office on the map ↑

Already running Dispatcher WMS? On the map: Maintenance Bay

If you’re already on Blue Yonder Dispatcher WMS, the question is usually how and when to upgrade, and what’s worth adding on while you’re at it. This is where you can find out more about upgrades, along with any add-ons that can further extend your functionality.

“Do we really need to upgrade?”

“Who should do our upgrade?”

“What could we add?”

“What do the add-ons actually do for us?”

“While you’re at it…”

  • What else to sort out during your Dispatcher WMS upgrade Coming soon
  • Month-end without the spreadsheet Coming soon
  • A home of their own: USP and your customisations Coming soon
  • Beyond the dock door: USP Mobile Coming soon
  • Just ask: AskUSP Coming soon
  • Fewer steps: Pulse AI picking optimisation Coming soon
  • Active infrastructure monitoring and support Coming soon

Open Maintenance Bay on the map ↑

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