Of course, a warehouse management system is a long-term investment. But in today’s DCs, which are pressured to meet ever-higher performance standards, technology becomes outdated far more quickly than it used to. What, then, do you do with your ailing WMS? How do you know when it’s time to replace it rather than add yet another upgrade module? Distribution Digest newsletter suggests looking for these red flags:
* Failure to meet peak demands. This is the time you need the WMS the most. If it fails at this critical juncture, it has no value.
* Need to use operational workarounds. If you find yourself creating workarounds for new business requirements that the system cannot support, you should consider getting rid of it. The more processes you have going on that the WMS cannot control, the more difficult it will be to track them and maintain the accuracy of your data.
* Declines in customer service. Decreasing service standards can sometimes be the result of a lagging WMS. For instance, if the system doesn’t record inventory accurately, order processing and shipping times can be affected.
* Slowdown in response times. Sitting around watching the system “hang”? If your WMS takes an inordinately long time to respond, it could be because the program can no longer handle the demands on it. This can lead to considerable declines in productivity, efficiency, and order processing time.
For more information, visit http://www.distributiongroup.com.