Companies can outgrow traditional warehouse functionality available in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Order Management Systems (OMS) as order volumes increase, the number of distribution points increase, or the complexity of the fulfillment and distribution functions increases. Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and Warehouse Control Systems (WCS) can give companies the tools and functionality to improve facility throughput and productivity, manage complex operations and control large inventories, support a variety of processes and levels of automation, and manage multiple facilities and business channels.

Since 1984, F. Curtis Barry & Company has been assisting companies with evaluating and implementing warehouse management solutions to provide the necessary support required for all aspects of fulfillment and inventory control in the warehouse.

Warehouse management systems is just one aspect we look at during a warehouse assessment. Learn more here about why and how to conduct a warehouse assessment.

Warehouse Management System Strategies to Support Distribution and Supply Chain Solutions

As with our OMS and ERP services, developing a strategy is the foundation for implementing a successful solution. The strategic direction depends on many factors:

  • How many facilities are involved in the distribution model?
  • What role does each facility play—product fulfillment, kitting and product assembly, light manufacturing, or bulk reserve storage, for example?
  • What are the major benefits of supply chain software applications and how will they assist with improving the overall supply chain?
  • How do you integrate the new application with existing applications?

Developing a long-term systems strategy includes understanding the current and future distribution model, the features and functions available, the hardware requirements, capital investment required, and timeframes to implement the chosen strategy.

F. Curtis Barry & Company will listen to your plans, understand your uniqueness, and work collaboratively with your company to develop a strategy to meet your long-term systems goals and objectives. By combining our industry expertise with your business requirements and best practices, we can assist you in implementing the distribution system strategy that is right for your company.  When you are ready, call us at (804) 740-8743 or contact us here.

System Strategies for Mergers and Acquisitions

Acquisitions can mean many changes to the overall distribution strategy and functional requirements necessary in the systems to support these facilities. F. Curtis Barry & Company can assist your company with analyzing not only the current facilities and those potentially included in an acquisition, but also the systems that support the operations in the perspective company. By working collaboratively with our customers, F. Curtis Barry & Company develops a short-term and long-term warehouse management system plan to support the operations of both the current and acquired company.

Selecting and Implementing Supply Chain Software

Working with the right partner who understands distribution, product fulfillment, and your overall supply chain, as well as best-in-class supply chain management software applications, is paramount. The task of translating your business requirements and understanding how well a given application can support them can be difficult. With several tiers of software , various hardware options and considerations for best practices and integration, companies often have trouble knowing where to begin.

F. Curtis Barry & Company will assist you with the development of detailed business requirements, discuss industry best practices, evaluate vendor responses to your RFP as well as vendor references, and participate in in-depth vendor demonstrations and site visits. For selected clients, we have acted in an advisory role all the way through project managing the implementation. Upon selecting the partner that best suits your business, we can assist you with reviewing and negotiating a fair and balanced contract.

In addition to providing assistance in the evaluation, selection, and implementation of the right supply chain solutions, we are able to assist clients in maximizing the use and benefits available from the proper utilization of the capabilities of the supply chain software solution. Our experience as warehouse consultants gives us the ability to help design efficient operations, layouts and processes that can reduce costs and increase the effectiveness and benefits of the software to be used.

Vendor Independence

Most consultancies maintain a certain understanding of the various applications, or sell a predefined requirements document full of generalities with nothing that is truly specific to your company. Other consultants guide clients towards a preselected group of vendors in order to reap the benefits of a revenue share partnership.

F. Curtis Barry & Company is vendor independent, taking no commissions or finder’s fee for selecting a specific vendor, nor do we attempt to utilize a cookie cutter approach to address your requirements. F. Curtis Barry & Company has successfully completed over 100 systems projects with some of the industry’s most complex businesses. Having project managed these complex supply chain management software, warehouse management and warehouse control system implementations; we gained valuable first-hand knowledge of various vendors and their capabilities.

Developing Internal Applications to Support Fulfillment

Some companies have the desire to control their own destiny. Other companies have such unique requirements that commercially available applications provide such a low-fit functionally. For these companies, developing warehouse control and warehouse management systems internally is the most suitable option. Having the right internal resources and disciplines to develop applications internally is only part of the equation.

F. Curtis Barry & Company assists companies with developing internal applications from the ground up, from conceptually designing modules to functional designs, overseeing programming, testing and deployment. Companies may also choose to acquire a commercially-available application as a foundation and then develop functionality to resolve the gaps internally. F. Curtis Barry & Company has unparalleled multichannel experience that can be drawn on to develop best-in-class applications that meet the growing demands of your business.

Ready to explore warehouse management solutions for your organization?

Contact F. Curtis Barry & Company and discover how warehouse management systems and warehouse control systems can transform your business. Call us at (804) 740-8743 or contact us for more information.

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