I can still remember eagerly rubbing a few coins together in my fingers while watching the kid in front of me painstakingly choose one lolly after another to get placed in his mixed bag. I would stand there, scratching my legs and arms from the grass that had itched me all afternoon because I rolled in it while playing some army or secret agent game during lunch. I would be wishing I was at home already because it was now really hot and I couldn’t wait to jump in the pool and expend even more energy, everything seemed to slow down, all because this kid was taking their time choosing their stuff.
“I’ll have one of those banana’s, two of those cobbers and umm, one of the redskins, and . . . . .”
It went on and on and although I was annoyed that he or she was taking so long, I really didn’t mind because some of their choices helped me make up my mind as well. For instance, I hated those banana lollies, so they were out, but I really like the cobbers and redskins. So, by just seeing what others were spending their money on, it helped me spend mine more wisely. Lessons we learned as kids, but we didn’t even know that it was happening.
Let’s now go to ice creams, wow, those things are on another level of choice, so many flavours and toppings and crunchy bits, covered in chocolate and caramel, some even have a big ball of bubble gum or oozy sweet stuff waiting to be discovered inside, but what does everyone know the best, and what is usually the most cost effective?
You got it, plain old vanilla.
You even have it in the lolly section with the milk bottles, and who doesn’t like them?
Why am I writing all of this childhood stuff in a logistics blog you are now thinking after enjoying the trip down memory lane?
When it comes to implementing a WMS, vanilla is good.
Just like vanilla ice cream where you can drizzle all sorts or toppings on it, grate some chocolate on it, etc, what did you start with and trust to go with all those toppings?
You got it again – vanilla, its tried and tested and can be the basis of whatever you want to create
Sure, you want all those extras in a WMS and you really should make sure that they are available to add on as you need them.
Make sure you research what a WMS can do and can’t do, its no good buying a WMS and expecting it to do what a bunch of other pieces of software do is it?
Sure, a WMS can contain a lot of functionality, it’s your job to find out what you need as a bare minimum and what flavours you would add to get to your ultimate goal. You will need the advice of someone who has implemented or is well familiar with WMS operations to help you
Starting with vanilla and with just critical requirements is the key to a great implementation. Of course, you want that yard management module or that awesome load planning tool that you know your system has, but how much of an impact is that going to have on day one. If you don’t do it today, then remember it’s one more thing that everybody has to learn on day one as well as getting used to doing their old job with a new system. There is a lot to do in just bringing on a new system, don’t make it harder than it should be.
Day one shouldn’t be a taste-fest of every flavour just because you can, it should be geared to be the most minimal impact to your operation whilst maintaining all previous output and maybe taking advantage of some low hanging fruit to sweeten up the vanilla theme a touch.
I have seen many implementations go live with every treat that they insisted on having in their WMS lolly bag, only to fall behind by taking on too much at once, causing nothing but headaches.
Don’t worry, every operation evolves in time with a new WMS, it all doesn’t happen overnight, some quick wins will be had if you have chosen wisely, but the fact that you still have a whole heap of goodies in the cupboard waiting to be enjoyed when the time is right, should give you that warm fuzzy feeling that you did the right thing.
Key people and teams need to become familiar with their new world of operations first to truly understand where they can go.
Key summary:
Take the time to observe others. See what they have done, what went right for them, and what failed for them.
Have a look at all the WMS functionality on offer. Keep in mind that not all of it may be suitable for your operation, don’t buy it if you don’t need it.
Be happy with leaving some of the good functionality you have at your disposal for later. Just because you have it available to you, doesn’t mean you are ready to use it yet.
Enjoy watching your operation grow and evolve at the pace suited to your operation and team.
If you chose well, your WMS supplier will be right alongside you and your team at every step of the way.
If you need assistance in understanding what a WMS is and what it can do, or just need help understanding what your operation needs now and for future growth, we at Fuzzy have decades of WMS selection, implementation, and design experience at your disposal. Talk to us now if you are looking for any WMS advice for any aspect of your operation.