Success in order management system selection is driven by assembling a strong project team of all the departments that will use the system.  Order management system selection is not just IT’s project.  Large scale systems like order management software change everything about the way your company will do business.  The users want good order management systems, but one group or another either pushes responsibility off on the other or they don’t have input and buy into the process. Also, be sure to have executive sponsorship that supports the project from start to finish.  Be sure you have a project manager capable of coordinating and supporting project.  Don’t rely on the order management system vendor’s project manager to manage the entire project.  For large order management software projects this is a full time job, if you don’t have the resources seek assistance from experienced external resources to assist you.

Are you currently involved in an order management system project? Do you feel overwhelmed and need to talk to a consultant about getting some help? Contact us at any time in the project to release the pressure of the order management system project as well as your daily tasks.

Curt Barry is President and Founder of F. Curtis Barry & Company, a 26 year old consulting firm focusing on system categories such as order management systems, warehouse management systems, and inventory management systems. He can be reached at cbarry@fcbco.com or 804-740-8743.

#1  Having the Wrong Expectations

Many order management software projects get off to the wrong start.  In my four decades of order management system project experience, here are five things management always wants to know upfront in the project before the selection project proceeds:

• To understand type/tier of order management system that best suits your needs
• Perform preliminary gap analysis of your business compared to commercial systems available
• Develop preliminary total cost of ownership for entire project
• Understand the schedule to complete process
• To know what resources – both internal and external – are required to implement and support project

How many times have you told your boss, “ABC will cost this amount” or “We can complete the project on this timeline” – only to find out after you do the in depth research or do the project, reality is dramatically different.  The point here is that management doesn’t want to go through months of detail study to find out that they can’t see their way to a huge investment.  They want the answers to these questions first and then give you approval to do the detail work.  This is a catch 22.  Unless you have current prior experience with the order management system being investigated, how will you answer these questions?

It may be an option to engage a consultant to gain insight.  You have to answer these questions in a manner that doesn’t create unreasonable expectations for the project. If you are facing the above order management system expectations from your executives, contact us to discuss your system project.

Curt Barry is President and Founder of F. Curtis Barry & Company, a 26 year old consulting firm focusing on system categories such as order management systems, warehouse management systems, and inventory management systems. He can be reached at cbarry@fcbco.com or 804-740-8743.

In the last quarter of 2009 ProSource signed Flaghouse, Inc. to deliver their Multi-Channel Commerce (MCC) Solution. Flaghouse is using the MCC to manage their e-commerce operations to provide a better experience for buying, quoting and customer service activities.  ProSource MCC is set to be the backbone of Flaghouse’s operations, providing the functionality, flexibility and scalability for Flaghouse to achieve their corporate goals. As Flaghouse’s order management system, the MCC solution will also allow Flaghouse to execute marketing campaigns based on a 360-degree view of customer data and comprehensive P&L reports by campaign segment as well as sophisticated telephone sales with up/cross selling and promotional logic built in.

Late last summer ProSource also signed Lucky Vitamin to their MCC product to enable Lucky Vitamin to continue its expansive growth while continuing to provide the same level of excellent customer service across all brands and channels.

ProSource’s upcoming release is scheduled for July 1^st and in addition to the order management system features outlined above, it provides:

• Central order entry and fulfillment with seamless sharing of data, business rules, products and more
• Full warehouse management system features to manage inventory logistics and supply chain management
• A powerful Web store with comprehensive functionality and 100% integration to the back-end
• Multi brand, multi-channel integration with real time data sharing
• A complete financial and supply chain management software
• Robust data analysis and reporting

As ProSource continues with its development of their order management system the MCC and relationships with complementary third-party software vendors; a flexible well-rounded order management system emerges for many different size companies with varying complexities.

Are you getting started or currently traveling down the path of search and selection of a new enterprise resource planning system, order management system, or warehouse management system? As you may already know; there are numerous options and available systems to review and talk with. The most important decision to make is to not go at it alone. Use our systems knowledge and experience of over 26 years to assist you in whatever capacity you need to reach your goal of a new order management system or warehouse management system. You can either email Jeff Barry or call him at 804-740-8743 in order to discuss your particular system project.

Jeff elaborated on how despite the economic challenges of last year that Junction had its most profitable year since its inception this past year with several notable new deals and implementation go-lives.  Jeff also stated that Microsoft Dynamics AX got a lot of recognition in 2009, and was recognized as the leader in the middle-market ERP space by The Gartner Group in its May 2009 Magic Quadrant report.  See chart below:

Junction Solutions had some forward moving companies sign on to their Microsoft Dynamics JunctionMCR solution last year such as:

• Arthur Middleton Capital Holdings, six unique divisions with both B2C and B2B requirements
• Rejuvenation, America’s largest manufacturer and leading direct marketer of authentic reproduction lighting and house parts with B2C, B2B and Retail
• Americas Gardening Resources (Gardener’s Supply) with B2C, B2B and Retail
• The Teaching Company with B2C and B2B

And earlier this year signed Taylor Corporation/Everglades Direct a large B2B conglomerate that provides business and personal communications products, technologies and services.

In addition to the above signings in 2009 several other multichannel retail companies completed their implementation and went live:

• Burpee Direct
• Peet’s Coffee
• Musicians Friend with the remaining brands and locations which also included integration to High Jump WMS
• Holt’s Cigar
• Football Fanatics

Some of the key enhancements in 2009 to the JunctionMCR product that propelled the success of their clients included:

• PA-DSS Certification
• Velocity Report for Slotting
• Expanded directed putaway and replenishment
• Wireless warehouse support for adjustments, cycle counts, picking, cart picking, putaway, and replenishment
• Days on hand reporting
• Additional Installment / Deferred Billing options
• Continuity enhancements – consolidation, MRP demand profile, schedule synchronization
• Embedded customer statistics
• Mass price updates
• Initial web store integration with JunctionEOD

The following planned new functionality for JunctionMCR is scheduled to be released in the second quarter of this year:

• Expanded web store integration with JunctionEOD
• Microsoft Dynamics/AX for Retail POS support
• Direct store delivery mobile application as well as headquarters support
• Promotions rules and conditions for advanced pricing logic
• Additional Pick list sortation options
• Barcode generation integration with Seagull Scientifics’ BarTender product
• Pick list locations – Case pick / Alternates
• Promotional inserts during picking
• New Inbound and Outbound logistics features
• Shipping import/export documentation
• Open to buy budget additions
• Landed cost
• Support for Merchandise planning and store replenishment
• Enhanced personalization options
• RFM scoring enhancements
• Microsoft payment service integration
• Gift and stored value card
• Retail workflow
• Business intelligence enhancements

These are exciting times for Junction Solutions as their functionality and user community continues to expand.  Companies are always looking to add functionality and push their vendors to keep them ahead of their competition.  With a number of this past year’s enhancements and the ones planned for this year Junction Solutions is doing just that.

For those companies who have been waiting to replace their existing applications with new expanded functionality there are many choices for you to leap frog your competition; don’t let them get the jump on you!

Paul Sobota is vice president of F. Curtis Barry & Company, a consulting firm established in 1983 focusing on warehouse, systems and inventory management. To learn more, visit www.fcbco.com.

However, for an important decision on a system that will manage your business and income, I am amazed at how many small to mid-size companies base their system selection on a word of mouth recommendations, a 2 to 3 hour Webex demo and a commitment from a vendor that the functionality will be delivered in a 2 to 3 month time period.  If you are one of the few fortunate ones where this has worked for you then my hat is off to you but for the majority, this easy path is a mistake.

I worked with a company a year ago on a separate project and at that time they had begun looking for a new systems solution.  I offered assistance to help them with their requirements and search but they opted to pursue the systems search on their own.  In a chance meeting I ran into them recently and asked how the system implementation had gone.  To my surprise it hadn’t.  The vendor they selected based on a couple of Webex demos and few short meetings couldn’t meet their functionality demands.  After 9 months of effort the project was abandoned.  The company’s owner came up to me and said “you know, everything you warned us about how we were approaching the project and the risk involved turned out to be true.  I wish we had taken the time to listen to you and used your expertise.  The money that we would have spent with you would have been well worth it”.  Unfortunately the company lost a full year’s worth of time and of course the expense that goes with it.

Lessons Learned.  Taking the easy path on systems has never worked for me in the past.  It inevitably causes heartache and pain down the road.  Selecting e-commerce, order management, warehouse management and enterprise resource planning systems takes time and due diligence.  It all starts with an analysis of your current business, developing requirements and knowledge of the software vendors.  When it is time to search and select a system and you’ve come to that fork in the road, take a hard look at which path to take.  How about your company, have you taken the easy path only to have the project fail?

Tocky Lawrence is a Vice President with F. Curtis Barry & Company, a multichannel operations and fulfillment consulting firm with expertise in multichannel systems, warehouse, call center, inventory, and benchmarking.

The How To Videos are exactly that, how do I as a user of Order Manager, use the order management software. The videos, of which there are 22 of them posted on the website, cover a wide range of topics like:

End Of Year Procedures

Setting Up Table Based Shipping Rates

Barcode Scanners with the Order Manager

List Maintenance

Importing Products

And The Purchase Order System

A few of the videos in the How To section are from past webinars. Each video focuses on a specific topic. What I liked is the easy access to the videos on Stone Edge’s website without the need to “sign in” or register. One can simply access the How To Videos from Help & Support, Videos. Not only do users of Order Manager benefit from the How To Videos, it’s also a great way for potential clients to view a few of the capabilities within the order management software. I found the How To Videos informative and an excellent resource for the Stone Edge user community.

What are your thoughts? Have you viewed How To Videos from Stone Edge or other software vendors? Share your experiences.

Tocky Lawrence is a Vice President with F. Curtis Barry & Company, a multichannel operations and fulfillment consulting firm with expertise in multichannel systems, warehouse, call center, inventory, and benchmarking; learn more online at: http://www.fcbco.com.

Jos A. Bank, were an early adopter of cross-channel order processing.  Store associates at Jos A. Bank have access to the inventory positions in their other retail locations via MICROS-Retail’s Tradewind Point of Sale and to their direct commerce operation utilizing MICROS-Retail’s CWDirect Order Management System, all from their point of sale terminal.  As an example, a store associates can place an order against direct commerce inventory and that order will seamlessly flow through the fulfillment process as if it came directly from the customer.

Title Nine Sports is using MICROS-Retail’s Cross-channel Inventory Broker (Locate).  Title Nine Sports can identify inventory in alternative channels and have those items reserved against demand.  Those orders will be shipped to the customers’ home, office or gift recipient or set aside at their appropriate retail location for store pick-up.

MICROS-Retail Locate’s Order Broker module has system controlled business rules that determine where a product can be picked and shipped from.   Prior to Order Broker a user had to manage all the decisions.  Order Broker has decision rules for checking to see if there is a purchase order that will come in within days at the distribution center, the location that has the most inventory, stores which are not available for picking (e.g. new store), and determine where to ship the product from. Once this is done the appropriate order picking and shipping documents are produced to fulfill the customer’s request.

So let me ask you this – are you taking full advantage of your total inventory position to satisfy your customers and achieve a higher order and item fill rates?

Paul Sobota is a Vice President with F. Curtis Barry & Company, a multichannel operations and fulfillment consulting firm with expertise in multichannel systems, warehouse, call center, inventory, and benchmarking; Learn more online at: http://www.fcbco.com.

Operations that still try to manually record data and enter information manually risk the inevitable error in the input issue. It is too easy to write down the wrong information or to make errors in data entry and to rely on a manual process to gain inventory and activity accuracy. In addition to accuracy concerns, those warehouses who do not employ bar code technology miss out on potential productivity gains.

It is not necessary to totally revamp your processes and replace all manual operations with bar code scanning technology. I would suggest you identify those areas where the maximum benefit can be obtained and focus on these areas initially. You can always expand the application of this technology later as the justification presents itself.

It is possible to include real-time bar code scanning updates to warehouse transactions or to queue up transactions and utilize a batch upload process. You can select either method based on the function being studied and the need or benefit of utilizing real time updates.

Bar codes can be used throughout the operation. They are utilized in the following areas in many warehouses.

Receiving – bar codes at the unit, carton, and pallet level are used to record product movement throughout the receiving process. In addition, document bar codes can reduce manual and clerical time required to receive product.

Put Away – scanning bar codes on products from receiving and the location where that product is placed in the warehouse provides accurate inventory location tracking, which is a fundamental necessity of a well run operation.

Replenishment – by scanning product out of a reserve location and into a pick slot, accurate and potentially real time information is available for the picking process.

Picking – the use of scanning while picking confirms that the right product is being picked. In addition, those operations using a form of cart/bin picking utilize bar codes to confirm that product is placed with the right order.

Packing – the use of scanning to pack verify orders increases the order accuracy level to avoid shipping mistakes.

Shipping –some level of scanning is used in most operations to sort and manifest packed orders.

Returns – bar coded return documents and product bar codes can be used to accurately and quickly process returns and issue appropriate customer credits.

Cycle Counting – by using bar codes on cartons or pallets and warehouse locations, the cycle counting process becomes very efficient.

Productivity Tracking – by using bar codes to track activities and associating these activities to individuals through a sign on process or through scanning employee bar codes, it is possible to track and record what each individual has accomplished.

I am sure there are many other uses of bar code scanning in the warehouse. But these may trigger some thoughts about your warehouse as to where this technology could be applied.

Let F. Curtis Barry & Company assist you in finding the right bar code system and develop the strategy on how to effectively use bar coding in your warehouse and operations.

Bob Betke is vice president of F. Curtis Barry & Company, a multichannel operations and fulfillment consulting firm with expertise in warehouse and distribution, warehouse management systems, order management systems, call center, inventory management, and benchmarking; Learn more online at: http://www.fcbco.com

1. When considering replacing your software application, ask yourself the following questions during the due diligence process:

• What applications will be considered, and what functions are required?
• What are the major milestones and time frames necessary to complete the project?
• What’s the total cost of ownership necessary to complete the project?

2. When asking a vendor to submit a formal proposal, include all the vital information necessary to receive a detailed proposal. For example, in the case of an order management system, vital information includes, among other things:

• Peak and average figures for the number of concurrent users;
• Order volumes by month, with the peak week;
• Average lines and units per order; and the
• Number of customer records.

This information isn’t only necessary in identifying the licensing, but also the proper sizing for application and database servers.

3. Analyze the vendor proposal painstakingly. For items such as training and implementation services, understand the number of days being proposed and what roles or tasks will be performed by the vendor. Be careful of terminology like “the normal training days are X” or “the standard project management days are X.” Make sure the “typical” or “standard” days are sufficient for your project.

4. Understand the vendors’ license maintenance and support plans and when payment is due. Many vendors charge these fees once the application is delivered. Some maintenance plans can be as high as 20 percent of the MSRP or originally proposed license fees.

5. From an application licensing perspective, review the pricing model and any optional modules that may be necessary to support the functionality within your business. If the vendor is supplying the hardware for the application and database servers, be certain the hardware is sufficient and budgeted for, including the necessary hardware upgrades if optional modules are added later or if the licensing forces the hardware into major upgrades.

6. For program modifications or integrations to other software applications, provide functional specifications for the vendor to submit a formal proposal. While the vendor responses may only be estimates, the more detailed the specifications, the better a vendor can estimate the expenses. Don’t wait until after the project is approved to get these expenses.

7. So far these expenses have focused on vendors’ costs and haven’t addressed planning for internal expenses. Be careful, because internal expenses are usually less budgeted for and can lead to project overruns very quickly.

Travel expenses are one example of internal expenses to potentially budget for. It’s often necessary to travel to and from vendors’ facilities, as well as travel expenses for the vendor to be on-site. These expenses can be as high as 15 percent to 18 percent of the total services for the project. Be aware, some vendors charge a travel fee if the travel is over a certain number of hours or they charge cost plus 2 percent to 3 percent.

Other internal expenses to consider budgeting for include:

• an increase in payroll or overtime to complete the project;
• the hiring of temporary labor or outside resources, such as consultants or programmers; and
• upgrades to other network hardware or the rewiring of the internal network.

Formalize a full budget before proceeding, being sure to build in sufficient dollars for items such as services, programming and training that may not have been sufficiently budgeted for by the vendor. By clearly defining your budget, you can avoid being one of the 49 percent who exceed their IT budgets.

By avoiding these common mistakes companies will be able to reduce the risks involved with selecting and implementing any business application whether it’s an order management system or ERP application, ecommerce platform, retail point of sale application or warehouse management systems.

1. Having the wrong expectations

Determine the options available and develop a strategic direction.  Understand the type/tier of software that will best suit your company, understand at a high-level the capabilities and limitations.  Make sure that you also develop preliminary budgets, don’t just assume what the cost might be.

2. Not Having the Right Project Team in Place

Success is driven by assembling a strong project team.  Be sure to have executive sponsorship that supports the project from start to finish, and have team members from each of the functional areas.  Be sure the project manager is capable of supporting the project, if not use an external resource to assist you.  Don’t rely on IT to perform the project for you – it must be supported by all areas of the business utilizing the application.

3.  Companies Fail to Develop Adequate Business Requirements

Avoid generic or basic requirement documents online or received from consultants.  Interview each functional area that has a stake in the new application.   Don’t re-create the existing system in the requirements, but address the functionality needed; not necessarily how it should be accomplished.  Document interfaces to other applications necessary, including the data points and frequency data is passed.

4 & 5. Limiting the Search to 1 or 2 Vendors & Not conducting a Competitive Bid Process

These two really go together and are one of the more common problems we tend to see.  Keep your options open, don’t settle on a solution prematurely.  You need to have 2-3 vendors in order to negotiate the best functionality and services for the investment.  No one vendor is perfect for all companies and no one vendor will fit a given company 100%.  Perform the proper due diligence and make the best possible software selection.

The vendor landscape is always changing and new functionality is constantly being developed.  Making sense of all the changes and directions vendors are going in can be daunting.  Since 1984, we have assisted our clients with navigating through this process and successfully selecting and implementing software solutions that best fit their company.  Let us know how we can assist you with your software project.

Brian Barry is a Senior Consultant with F. Curtis Barry & Company, a multichannel operations and fulfillment consulting firm with expertise in multichannel systems, warehouse, call center, inventory, and benchmarking; Learn more online at: http://www.fcbco.com.