Surly software?
Logistics applications developers have worked hard to make software more user-friendly, but some distribution managers don't think they've succeeded.
By -- Logistics Management, 11/1/2000
Does your distribution group operate at the mercy of your software? One Fortune 500 company installed a pricey warehouse management system at a state-of-the-art distribution facility only to see the operation grind to halt when the managers who knew the program left the company. "Order accuracy and order cycle time fell off," says a consultant familiar with the project, who requested anonymity. "Those issues were only resolved when we put a team back in place and did some training."
The software applications used in distribution today have proved critical to efficient supply chain management; yet operation of these packages is hardly intuitive despite the best efforts of program developers. "The sophistication of the packages has increased as the vendors have put more bells and whistles in the programs' functionality," says John Seidl, a partner at Deloitte Consulting, which is headquartered in Wilton, Conn.
Some managers, in fact, have begun to complain that transportation and warehousing packages can only be run by so-called "power users," professionals well-versed in the intricacies of the application. Others wonder whether logistics software can ever be made friendly enough for non-technical personnel. "The software used to be surly," cracks Richard Sherman, a senior vice president of visioneering for warehouse management system (WMS) vendor EXE Technologies in Dallas. "Now it's amicable, and we're working on friendly."
Goodbye, Green Screens
Just a few years back, most software applications developed for warehousing or transportation were "character based." To interact with the program, a user had to type in commands via a keyboard. (In industry jargon, these programs were known as "green screens" because typed-in commands were displayed on a monochromatic green computer monitor.)
To get to a program routine for a specific task, users often had to bypass a series of preliminary screens. But that's all changed today. "They've come a long way from the old green screens, with the multiple field entries," says Chris Newton, an analyst with AMR Research in Boston. "You had to go through several screens just to release a pick ticket."
The software's complexity in part reflected its origins. Many of the off-the-shelf transportation management systems (TMS) and WMS packages on the market had their roots in custom code written for a specific project or client. The program developers writing custom applications placed more emphasis on function than on ease of use, notes Dwight Klappich, a program director with the Meta Group, based in Stamford, Conn.
As software vendors updated their WMS and TMS packages, they began introducing the graphical user interfaces (GUIs) found in the consumer computer market. (Apple Computer first introduced the GUI concept for computer interaction with its Lisa model in 1982, and Microsoft later followed with its Windows operating system.) GUI allows a user to activate a program or routine by manipulating a mouse, with pictures acting as a visual guide. "The GUI front-end has made the applications more intuitive and easy to use," says Newton of AMR.
Other logistics software vendors are starting to adapt their programs for use with Internet browsers, such as Netscape or Windows Explorer, on the assumption that users today are more familiar with the operation of those software tools. "The beauty of a browser application is you can have an industrial strength back-end, but the user interface is standardized and can be accessed from around the world without a custom installation," says Graham Lubie, an executive vice president at Celarix.com, which provides a Web-based TMS offering. "When you run in 50 locations around the world, it assumes that people use the Internet and are familiar with browsers."
Meanwhile, other software developers are raising the bar where logistics applications are concerned, building in analysis components that extract data on distribution performance and then display that information graphically. Features like these that point up shipping trends or alert managers to problems in a warehouse provide what's called an "executive cockpit view" of the logistics operation. "A lot of these tools are now offering reporting packages," says Newton. "They have nice bar charts and pie charts, and you can drill down behind the graphic representations. It's becoming easier for managers to get a quick snapshot of their operations, not only at their own facility but across a network as well."
Not Friendly Enough
Although the software vendors are working hard to make logistics applications easier to use, their efforts haven't met with universal acceptance. For starters, some distribution managers still prefer the old "green-screen" approach to the latest GUI offerings. "If you talk to people in the field, they lament the switch from character-based programs to GUI," reports Steve Mulaik, a consultant with the Progress Group in Atlanta. "If you're a management person, you probably find it a lot easier to use the character-based [system]."
In fact, some users charge that the so-called executive cockpit is designed more for distribution managers who work out of the corporate office than for the manager who actually runs the warehouse operation. "The executive cockpit is great for people in an office environment," says Anthony Kosloski, an 18-year veteran of the distribution profession who's a project manager involved in a WMS installation for the retailer The GAP. "In the warehouse, you like the option of character-based [systems]. As far as supervisors, they just need the basic information." Furthermore, Kosloski says, the older character-based software systems are easier to maintain and can operate on less-expensive terminals, as opposed to the personal computers needed for running the more sophisticated GUI software.
But others contend that it's not the interface-GUI or browser-that's causing the learning difficulties. As the programs themselves cover more functions and include more features, they simply demand more knowledge from the user. "As [software writers] add bells and whistles, you have a WMS application with 300 screens," says Seidl.
Another complicating factor is reconfiguration. Whenever a company changes its warehousing or transportation practices, the WMS or TMS package that mirrors those operations has to be reconfigured-a process that has proven nettlesome. "The setup is complex on most systems," says Angelo Perino, a partner at the New York City-based consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, who's responsible for its warehouse and transportation practice. "If you change the layout of racks [in a warehouse], modifying the setup [in a WMS] is tricky."
Given the complexities of these applications, Seidl notes that running today's advanced logistics programs oftentimes requires the services of industrial engineers. "You need college graduate-type people doing several of the functions in the WMS/TMS world," he says. "The people running these systems generally have engineering backgrounds."
Power Users Needed
But even college graduates require training in order to use a particular software application. And many industry experts believe that the training offered in the distribution field tends to be inadequate.
The blame for that rests with the vendors and corporate purchasers, says one analyst. "There should be more training on the part of the buyers," says Steve Banker, an analyst with ARC Research in Dedham, Mass. "And there should be more services developing power users on the part of the [software] suppliers. The problem is partly the systems themselves and partly the way the systems are marketed."
Banker, for one, believes that companies won't use the full capabilities of these new software packages until software developers provide more education to industry. "The companies that will get the most out of these logistics solutions will develop "power users" who will understand the parameters of these systems," he says. "And they can tinker with the systems as circumstances change."
But expanded training isn't the entire solution, some say. Software developers will have to redouble their efforts to streamline logistics applications. "A number of firms are coming up with next-generation WMS packages, looking at new technology and how they can deliver the expected functionality with simplified flow methodologies," says Klappich of the Meta Group. "The more casual users you have, the more you'll need streamlined technologies with a zero learning curve."
Klappich thinks that the adoption of Web-based browsers-in particular, their approach to navigation-could reduce user difficulty. He cites the techniques used by Internet portals like Yahoo to allow a user to winnow down the entire set of available features to a customized few as a model software developers could follow. "They could provide a portal front-end that allows you to customize navigation," he says, "so you have only five tasks available out of the many allowed by the package."
Inherent Difficulty
Although more extensive training and improved navigation might make the software more user-friendly, some believe that logistics applications will always contain an inherent degree of difficulty that will necessitate its operation by highly educated managers. As applications attempt to simulate the complexities of a distribution operation, the packages themselves will become more sophisticated and defeat any attempt at simplification. "I do not believe that we will ever be able to simplify the complex tradeoffs that characterize logistics management," says Sherman. "We simply hope to uncomplicate the processes that manage that complexity."
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