Get more BANG for your IT buck [Page 3]
-- Logistics Management, 4/1/2006
Page 3 of 7 -- We are also seeing integrated suites come into play. WMS systems have been expanding to integrate warehousing and distribution into related process areas while building additional modules for closed-loop control and tracking through monitoring and dedicated logistics analytics.
What key IT trend will usher in the biggest change in how shippers purchase, implement, and utilize WMS in the next five years?
Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) for easier configuration will make the biggest impact. In WMS there has been a dilemma: Distribution processes lack standardization, yet companies want packaged applications. As a result, WMS software vendors have led the way in SOA, which enables companies to more easily customize applications when vendor-delivered solutions do not meet the requirements.
What factors should logistics and supply chain managers keep in mind when shopping for WMS?
When evaluating the requirements of a WMS for your demand-driven transformation, consider the advantages made possible by the advances in sense-and-respond technologies, the evolution of WMS to integrated supply chain execution suites, and the availability of the new SOA architecture. Develop a roadmap that matches demand-driven WMS capabilities with demand-driven strategies.
Plan for WMS systems to have an 8-10 year life cycle and select systems based on proven experience within similar processes. Use “process patterns” to help identify vendors whose solutions will most likely match your requirements, minimize customization, and provide the least risk in solving your supply chain requirements. When there is a choice, favor systems built on a SOA framework especially when a high degree of customization and/or a high degree of flexibility and change is anticipated.
Also, with so many acquisitions in the post Internet-boom era, be wary of multi-application portfolios and lofty integration stories. While companies make many promises when product acquisitions occur, rationalization into one harmonized product does not happen overnight.
RFID: What Happened to the Buzz?
Logistics Management: RFID was the single hottest topic in logistics and supply chain publications in 2004 and 2005 as shippers scrambled to comply with mandates issued by Wal-Mart, DOD, and other early adopters. Why has the buzz died down?
Mike Witty: There were two key business factors behind the buzz dying down. First, manufacturers failed to find the business case in these mandate-driven initiatives. This caused the consumer goods manufacturers and the logistics providers that serve the industry to adopt a lowest-cost investment strategy and begin dragging their feet with regard to RFID program expansion efforts.
Second, enthusiasm among retailers waned as technology obstacles became more expensive to resolve than originally anticipated. The result of this was that a number of retailers decided to put their own mandate program plans on hold and wait for the early adopters to solve more of the issues.
Regardless, we all know that RFID is here for the long term. What continues to drive the RFID trend and do you see another spike of interest in the future?
While mandate compliance is still considered a key driver of RFID adoption, the industry has lost its unhealthy obsession with compliance projects. More companies are shifting their focus toward business scenarios that involve applying RFID technology to enable the tracking and monitoring of higher valued products in closed loop systems.
Have there been any RFID developments over the past two years that will help shippers to more easily implement a solution to meet their visibility needs?
EPCglobal’s ratification of the specification for the UHF Generation 2 air interface protocol (Gen 2) was a very significant milestone. A number of users were very frustrated with the performance of the Gen 1 technology. The Gen 2 standard promises a number of much more sophisticated features than Gen 1, including interoperability, faster read rates, higher reliability dense-reader operation, and improved read-write capabilities. Continued...
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