© 2012 Material Handling Industry®. Copyright claimed as to audiovisual works of seminar

sessions and sound recordings of seminar sessions. All rights reserved.

Welcome to Session 317

Sponsored by: Presented by:

Eric Lamphier

Senior Director – Product Management

A Smoother Road for Your Supply Chain:

How to Better Integrate Warehouse &

Transportation Management

Agenda

• Typical Challenges

• Starting Point(s)

• Other Considerations

• Recommendations

• Benefits

• Wrap-Up and Q&A

Session 317

A Smoother Road

for Your Supply

Chain: How to

Better Integrate

Warehouse &

Transportation

Management

Sponsored by:

Manhattan

Associates

SMOOTH

The traditional challenge with

WMS & TMS integration… “Siloed” Departments, Processes, Systems

WMS TMS

The traditional challenge with

WMS & TMS integration… Integration via the ERP is NOT the answer

WMS TMS

ERP

Sometimes “optimized” is not “optimized”

For example, the optimal TMS plan may not work well for the WMS

WMS TMS

Shipments

Potential Issues:

Not Enough Labor

Poor Inventory Flow

Processing & Automation Constraints

Unbalanced Multi-Channel Order Fulfillment

Sometimes “optimized” is not “optimized”

Conversely, the optimal WMS plan may not work well for the TMS

WMS TMS

Potential Issues:

Insufficient Lead Times

Unbalanced Order Destinations

Mismatched Product Classes

Less Than Optimal Weigh & Volume

Orders

Integration, Not Magic!

Magic Pixie Dust

Starting Point(s) • What are the strategic objectives?

– Where are the improvement opportunities?

• Inventory

• Transportation

• Labor

• Customer Service / SLAs

– Where are the constraints?

• Inventory from suppliers and/or Value Added Services

• Distribution Center storage and/or Automation

• Personnel and/or Enabling Equipment

• Carriers and/or Carrier Pick-Ups

• Number of Deliveries to Stores/Customers per Week

Starting Point(s) • What is the workflow that will support the strategy?

– Which system will take the first step?

• WMS or TMS?

– Which system will be the ultimate system of record?

• WMS, TMS, ERP, or other?

Starting Point(s)

• Let’s talk the same language!

– Or arrange for translation (via an EAI tool)

– Frequency & Protocol

– Exceptions & Updates

– How are things defined?

• i.e. Orders, Shipments, Carriers, etc

Other Considerations

• Exception Handling

– What are the relevant exceptions for your operation?

– Are all exceptions treated equally?

– What can be automated versus manual review and resolution?

• Order Filtering

– Are some orders best processed without WMS/TMS integration?

• Overlapping Functionality / Sub-Modules

– Yard Management

– Appointment Scheduling

– Dock Management

– Parcel Rating & Execution

Other Considerations

• Synchronization / Context

– How are the modules synchronized when it comes to critical data?

• Concurrency

– Is there a way to prevent one module from significant activities

and updates while the other module is optimizing and updating the

orders and shipments?

• Process Lead Times

– Do assumptions and SOPs need to change when WMS/TMS

integration is implemented?

• i.e. to allow for TMS Carrier & Equipment selection, Shipment and

Lane Building, Tendering, etc

• i.e. to allow for WMS Value Added Services, Adequate Labor

Resources, and/or Inventory Availability

Recommendations

• Clearly define:

– Strategic Objectives

– Aligned Integration Workflow

– Detailed Business Requirements

– Technical Requirements

– Likely Constraints & Exceptions

– Project and Post Implementation Success Criteria

– Test Plans

Recommendations

• Identify :

– Business and IT Leads for WMS & TMS areas

– Solution Architects

• Business Workflows

• IT Deployment – hardware & software

– Partners

• Solution(s) Vendor

• Third Party Integration Experts

– Communication standards

• Protocols, frequency, triggers, monitoring, & recovery

• The role of an EAI tool, when required

– Including module-to-module and ERP integration

Recommendations

• Test:

– All Workflows

– Exceptions

– Data synchronization

– Concurrency

– Acceptance & Volume Testing

– Electronic Carrier Communications

– ERP Integration

Recommendations

• Training:

– Operations and IT Support Resources

• Implement:

– Mock Go Live

– Conversion & Contingency Plans

– Diagnostics & Logging

– Success Criteria

– Ownership & Reasonable Rollout Plan

Recommendations

• Strongly consider proven solution providers

that offer both WMS & TMS products

• A better approach to WMS/TMS Integration:

– Common Database & Business Objects

• No “translation” of messages

• Single point of integration to/from external systems

• Real-time integration, data synchronization, and

concurrency handling

– Common User Interface & Single Sign-On

– Shared Components

• Instead of redundant components

– Pre-built Integration & Expertise

– Pre-built Workflows & Exception Handling

WMS TMS

WMS/TMS Integration: Benefits

• Increase Speed & Inventory Turns – Integrate, Automate, & Reduce Manual Intervention

– Integrate Processes Across YMS, WMS, & TMS

• Improve Customer Service – Deliver the Right Orders on Target (time, price, packaging)

• Reduce Transportation Spend – Select the Best Mode, Carrier & Carrier Service

– Build Better Shipments

– Execute Immediately & Accurately

• Enhance Visibility – Across Silos / Departments

WMS/TMS Integration: Wrap-Up

• “Infrequent” integration messages are likely to

produce suboptimal results

– Real-time, contextual communication is better

• Exceptions will happen – plan for them

• Do not underestimate the complexity

• The integration can provide measurable benefits

to multiple supply chain departments

– Distribution, Transportation, Vendor Collaboration,

Merchandising, Retail, etc

© 2012 Material Handling Industry®. Copyright claimed as to audiovisual works of seminar

sessions and sound recordings of seminar sessions. All rights reserved.

For More Information:

Speaker: Eric Lamphier

elamphier@manh.com

Company: Manhattan Associates

www.manh.com

Visit MODEX 2012 Booth 709