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Tompkins Associates

2.  Design for Operational Improvement
o Design process or gap analysis where the business
and operation requirements are matched up against
the software package
o What processes can be improved?
o Tendency to hand the process design to the software
vendor but the software vendor relies on the end-user
company to define its needs. Vendor is competent in
their software, not how the end-user warehouse
functions.

3.  Manage Risks
o Planning, knowledge, preparedness, and
communications
o Impossible to eliminate all risks (human failings &
unknown factors)
o Complexity- complex processes involve more
variables, which means more potential failure points.

4.  Manage Communications and Expectations
o Implementations can evoke uncertainty and anxiety.
o Implementation must have top to bottom support throughout the entire
organization.
o Organization must have open channels of communication, which should
start at the software selection process and should continue through go-
live
o Regular status meetings with key players involved in the project as well
as warehouse personnel.

5.  Develop a Solid Project Plan
o End-user company should not rely solely on the vendor to
develop and administer the project plan
o End-user company must take ultimate ownership of the planning
process and final ownership of the master project plan.
o End-user company needs to take control of facilities
preparation, equipment acquisition, acceptance testing and end-
user training.

6.  Prepare to Deal with Adversity
o The success of an implementation depends on how well it responds to
adversity (e.g., hardware failure, missed delivery dates, employees quit)
o Must have a project plan with well-defined milestones and task to serve
as the primary warning system that the project is in trouble.
o Must have contingency plans that document the actions needed to
respond to major problems and failure points.
o Accept that uncertainty and problems are constant companions during
most implementations

7.  Pay Attention to Facilities Preparation
o Installation of new material handling equipment, reconfiguring
racks, labeling locations, re-warehousing product, etc.
o These should not be considered secondary to software
implementation

8.  Build a Knowledge Base and Take Ownership
o End-user company must meet the half way by learning enough about
the package to ask intelligent questions during the implementation
o End-user company must prepare to take ownership of the system after
the vendor leaves
o The ownership process should start after the contract is signed. Training
courses and documentation should be developed and maintained by the
end-user company.
o Test & Training environments are essential to provide employees the
opportunity to work with the software without impacting production.

9.  Institutionalize Training
o Most WMS vendors employ a “train the trainer” approach. Vendor
trains key client personnel or “super users” on how to use the
system to support their operation.
o End-user company & “trainers” must train all warehouse personnel.
o Effective training involves classroom instruction. Courses should be
designed around specific job functions and utilize realistic, hands-on
exercises.

10.  Understand the Value of Testing
o An end-user company that implements a base package without
modifications must test to validate their setup and configuration
o Testing helps validate that modifications, interfaces, configuration
and base functions produce acceptable results and perform
according to specifications
o Create UAT (User Acceptance Testing) and integration test scripts. A
script lists each step required to perform normal and exception
activities.

11.  Understand the Value of Testing
o Integration scripts evaluate the touch points between related
system routines
o Stress test the system with production level processing loads.
Volume testing can accomplished through automated testing
tools or manually employing a significant number of testers to
provide a near production transaction level.

12.  Plan for Exceptions
o Exception handling must be an integral part of the
implementation.
o Exception processing must be designed and tested from a
systems and operational standpoint and incorporated into the
training program.
o Exception handling should be documented and targeted toward
key users and supervisors who can instruct floor personnel how
to resolve the situation.

13.  Document Procedures
o The limitations of training and vendor documentation should be
rectified through the development of standard operation
procedure (SOP) manuals.
o SOPs describe the operational and systems steps involved in
each job function. They should be tailored to the way a facility
operates using terminology and examples that will be familiar to
the organization.

14.  Take Control of Go-Live
o Problems and issues that surface at go-live must be dealt with
promptly and effectively
o Sufficient support personnel must be available during go-live
week (or longer) to deal with any potential issues
o Testing shakes out must bugs and system issues but that’s no
guarantee that problems won’t surface at go-live