In a recent post on Warehouse Management Systems Guide (http://www.warehousemanagementsystemsguide.com/), Luciano Cunha, Global Industry Director at To-Increase outlined important steps to justification, deployment and implementation of a modern warehouse management system (WMS).
The investments are heavily scrutinized, so arming yourself with the correct planning, figures and resources is important in acquiring a budget and a green light on the decision once your evaluation has been completed.
He feels that a successful process is determined by the following three steps: -
1) Rationalize the purchase. Create a report that shows how warehouse errors and inefficient picking processes are leading to revenue loss. Show that while it will take a large investment to deploy a new solution, that the return on investment will be high.
2) Match product to workflow. Evaluate solutions that mirror your current workflow, not ones that completely change how you have ever run your warehouse. Ensure that the solutions you are investigating match the type of picking you need (e.g., zone picking, wave picking, etc) to ensure successful implementation.
3) Allocate resources for proper training. Oftentimes, warehouse managers fail to consider the costs and importance of proper training for a new solution roll-out. Managers can justify this by showing the time spent correcting mistakes or on manual entry, and how a new solution will improve these processes. This is an important final step of the justification.
For more on this topic and additional resources on warehouse management systems, check out: Three Steps to Justifying a WMS Budget