The 3 Ps of a WMS

In addition to my 3Rs of a WMS implementation, I also believe there is a set of 3Ps. Those are Picking, Paperwork, and Performance.

Picking – You must have efficient pick methods. The software must work in your physical flow. Picking should be easy to do and easy to audit.

Paperwork – Do not underestimate the value of good paperwork. If you print it, it must be perfect. Pay attention to the data you are asked to print on your documents. Does your new system actually have a source for the data? Can the data be derived based on your processes? I often find that information we are asked to put on a report or label does not exist in the WMS.

Performance – if the system is slow or crashes nothing will matter. No executive will tolerate his/her business performance being linked to the performance of the hardware or software. Stress testing, tuning, monitoring, and good performance experts are needed in high volume warehouses. Even low volume warehouses will have processes that occasionally will stress the system. Also pay attention to data build up. Many systems run great when they have little data, but put too many rows in a table and now a process that should take 0.6 seconds takes 7 minutes.