This section provides a brief overview about the key steps involved in a WMS Implementation. Like most of the ERP implementation projects, WMS implementation project follows a similar process including Discovery Phase, Requirement Gathering, Conference Room Pilot (CRP), User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and Go live.

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IMPLEMENTATION-OVERCOME
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Table of contents
Executive Summary 3
4Implementation Overview
5Pitfalls in the Implementation
6Strategies to Overcome the Pitfalls in the
8Implementation
10Additional Considerations
11Conclusion
12References

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Executive Summary
Companies have started to realize that in order to
improve logistics operations, whether it’s done
inhouse or through Logistics Service Providers (LSP),
they need a Warehouse Management System
(WMS). They have to keep in mind that 30% of the
WMS Implementations fail, 56% of the projects get
delayed if not done correctly and only 42% of the
projects are completed within budget[1]. Being
aware of pitfalls, pain points, and best practices are
vital for a successful completion of WMS project
Like any other major ERP implementation system,
WMS system also brings big cultural and operational
changes but in this particular case it is for the
warehouse employees, the managers and the finance
department. Change management and governance
play a significant part in ensuring smooth roll-out with
minimum disruption to the shipments and increased
adoption leading to a quicker ROI
The purpose of this paper is to help companies identify
and remediate some of the common pitfalls and
develop a solution which is scalable and causes least
disruption to their business.
1. Total Logistics Inc. Warehouse Management Systems by the Numbers [white paper].Retrieved from
http://www.varsitylogistics.com/pdf/news/wms_by_the_numbers.pdf
Some of the common pitfalls experienced
over the years of WMS Implementation
project include the following:
Improper configuration of the mobile
hand held terminal.
Improper setup of Wireless
Infrastructure.
Failure to give training to all the
Warehouse employees who will be
using the Mobile Hand Held Device.
Lack of support during and after going
live for mobile handheld related issues.
Contingent plans for delayed shipping
of critical orders.

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Implementation Overview
This section provides a brief overview about the key steps involved in a WMS Implementation. Like most of
the ERP implementation projects, WMS implementation project follows a similar process including
Discovery Phase, Requirement Gathering, Conference Room Pilot (CRP), User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
and Go live. In this paper, we will focus on subtle WMS related aspects in implementations.
The fundamental information that everyone associated with Warehouse Management System (WMS)
project needs to know is that, the solution requires a mobile device to efficiently perform the Warehousing
and Shipping Transactions. The mobile device needs a wireless infrastructure to work with WMS solution.
Label Printing is one of the key features of using WMS and it also requires some capital investment such as
label printing software, and label printers. Considerable technical effort is also required to configure the
label printers to work with WMS.
During the discovery phase of the project, the customer should communicate the business process
requirements and desired processes at granular level to WMS professionals. For example, if you want the
support of multiple seal dates (the date the lot was sealed) for each lot, then this requirement should be
communicated to the WMS implementation team to avoid incorrect solution design. There could be
multiple user interface related requirements which can be gathered during the demos of the standard out
of the box processes. These requirements can be easily accommodated in mobile device through
personalization.
Every effort should be made to capture current and future of customers’ business processes and it should
undergo the approval process from the key stakeholders in order to ensure that no requirement is missed
or misinterpreted. Any mistakes here will only be carried forward to the later phases including the design,
development and actual implementation. Incorrect requirement or design hurts everyone badly right after
going live by causing shipment delays.

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Pitfalls in the Implementation
The following are some of the pitfalls in a typical
WMS Implementation and can also lead to failed
implementation:
Improper selection of the mobile device will
lead to loss of productivity in the warehouse
operations. For example, if a customer uses a
mobile device with alpha keypad then the
device will not have separate keys for numbers
and functions. With no number and function
keys warehouse operators will be forced to use
shift keys forcing multiple entries for each
operation. Figure 1 illustrates the different
device keys designs.
Selecting the right Mobile Hand Held Terminal
(mobile device):
Most of the mobile devices need Java Virtual
Machine (JVM) software to have a nice looking GUI
of the ERP application. If the JVM software is not
selected correctly, then it will cause the device to get
disconnected or frozen in the middle of a transaction.
Figure 2 shows Oracle EBS MSCA UI.
Configuring and troubleshooting the mobile device
to work with Oracle EBS:
Alpha Keypad Alphanumeric Keypad
Separate Keys for Function and Numbers
Figure1
Figure2

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When wireless network is not setup correctly, it might lead to a latency in the transmission of data from the
server to the mobile device. This can cause the mobile device to get disconnected or frozen occasionally.
Latency issues in the wireless network:
Improper selection of label printing software will lead to more effort in configuring, delay label printing, give
rise to issues related to software and software maintenance.
Selecting the right Label Printing Software to work with your business process:
WMS is a mission critical application. So, if there is any issue in printing labels, then it can lead to delayed or
missed shipments. With no information available for troubleshooting the label printing operation,
shipments will come to a halt.
Lack of troubleshooting information for label printing operations
Each customer will have specific label
formats. If the label printing solution
is not scalable, then addressing the
labels printing needs for the new and
existing customers will be difficult.
The following picture shows the label
format requirement for two different
customers, which illustrates how the
formats can differ.
Lack of scalability of label
printing options:
Figure 3
Figure 4

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Depending on the business requirement, Picking Rules, Putaway Rules and Label Printing Rules may
require custom code and logic. The custom code needs to be tuned and tested for performance to avoid
issues. Performance issues can cause considerable loss of productivity. As shown below, if there is a
performance issue in the picking rules, the system will take 10 minutes to bring the next screen.
Performance issues due to poor configuration of Picking Rules, Putaway Rules and Label
Printing Rules:
Incorrect shipments and drop in productivity can be witnessed if the shipping process involves accessing
more pages, more data entry, and less data validation.
Selecting the right methodology for Shipping Operations to improve warehouse productivity:
Figure 5
10 Mins

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The pitfalls which were discussed in the previous section not only delays or halts the WMS implementation,
but they also affect the whole warehousing and shipping process negatively after going live. This section
explains how to overcome these pitfalls in a typical WMS Implementation. Figure 6 below shows the overall
implementation methodology and critical best practices which should be inserted in the process for a
successful WMS Implementation
Strategies to Overcome the Pitfalls in the Implementation
Following are some of the key factors to consider:
Figure 6
Before selecting the appropriate mobile device, label
printing methodology, label printers and label printing
software, setup meetings with the Director of
Operations, Super Users, End Users and IT Managers to
understand the device requirements and usage. For
example, if the requirement is to scan the packages,
which are closer to human contact, then select the
mobile device, which has near scan feature.
1.

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Set aside a week for configuring the mobile device and label
printers. One of the key steps in configuring the mobile
device is to map the function keys to work with WMS. For
example, <Ctrl-L> is one of the most used functions while
performing warehousing transactions. So find a key, which is
easily accessible in the device and map that key to <Ctrl-L>.
2
Schedule a training program before CRP2 separately for
Super Users, Trouble shooters and Warehouse users. The
training program for the Supers Users should focus on
testing the business flows using the mobile device so that
they can suggest process improvement and document the
user procedures. The training program for trouble shooters
should focus on how to trouble shoot the system and should
be able categorize issues under software bug, admin,
network or a training issue so that appropriate long term
remediation strategies can be developed. For warehouse
users, the training should focus only on the operations,
which they will be performing using the mobile device.
3.
Check for any performance and productivity issues during CRP2. The bottom line for using WMS is to
improve the warehouse productivity. Determine the time it takes for the mobile device to do one end
to end flow and then evaluate how many transactions can be performed per month or per week. This is
one of the ways through which productivity can be measured. There are number of other ways to
further improve productivity such as barcoding the commonly scanned fields or using different
shipping methods for shipping operations.
4.
To enable an organization to be WMS capable, all the sub inventories should have at least one locator.
Convert sub inventories to locator controlled before ‘go live’.
5.
Always prepare and be ready to execute a fully tested fall back plan if the mobile device becomes
unavailable
6.
Before going live, perform thorough readiness assessment. Be prepared to delay ‘go-live’ if for any
reason it is believed that you are not ready to start using the software.
Some of the readiness check points are:
System readiness
Interface readiness
Reporting
Training
Data Conversion
7.

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Here are some additional considerations for successfully implementing WMS in your organization:
Involve Finance Team as early in the implementation process to show them the financial impact of
the WMS process.
1.
Schedule ‘go-live’ during slower time of the year and during initial week of the month. Usually any
WMS related issue becomes a show stopper if they are not addressed as soon as possible. If you go live
with those kinds of issues, production might suffer severely and immediately.
2.
Expect productivity to suffer during the initial stages after ‘go-live’. This is very common, because
there are so many factors, which contribute to this. Some of them are:
Cultural change in the way the system is used
Getting used to GUI based device for Warehouse Operations
Scanning of barcodes as a means of Data entry
Software bugs or hardware issues
3.
Do not try to rush the Implementation process due to missed deadline. Check the impacts on
other business process. Have enough ‘go-live’ support. During ‘go-live’, please expect the following
issues to occur:
Operator Training Issues: Most of the issues might not be from the software itself, but can be
caused by operator errors. The users should be aware of who the trouble shooters are and ask
them for support. Implementation team needs to manage the users tendency to bypass the system.
They should seek help and adhere to support plan response and resolution expectations.
4.
Software Bugs: Software bugs are expected even in a mature software system which can be caught
with considerable testing efforts. You can follow these steps to address software bugs – thorough
issue management process involving tracking, triaging, prioritizing, assigning, resolving and
documenting and in some cases preparing FAQs (frequently asked questions) for future references
for troubleshooters and support teams.
Additional Considerations

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Understanding the common pitfalls in the WMS implementation is critical to develop strategies and plans to
avoid or overcome them. When successfully implemented, WMS can bring tremendous value in the form of
improved operational efficiency, improved bottom line and great analytics so that companies can respond to
ever changing business environment. Some of the key benefits include automation and optimization of
material handling, improved customer service, reduced exceptions, increased scalability of warehouse
operations and increased inventory accuracy and labor productivity. WMS will become the stepping stone
in creating opportunities for various improvements in inventory management, warehouse operations and
logistics operations.
Conclusion

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