Warehouse Management concept: Choosing between voice picking and pick to light

Many of you have mailed me asking which is better : voice picking or pick to light . In a Warehouse, order picking can be done in a number of ways, namely paper based picking, scanning (through RF guns), pick-to-light and voice technology.

I stumbled upon a video which pretty much is biased towards voice picking but then as I have always repeated, don’t form opinions based on this video alone.

The real advantage of voice picking which people tend to overlook is that the warehouse floor staff which feels burnt-out doing the same monotonous job of order picking, now look forward to an exciting day in the warehouse because they get to work on something new and consequently job satisfaction increases. Because at the end of the day, its the people and not any technology and software that is driving the warehouse.

Some voice picking software applications are VoCollect’s Talkman®, Lucasware, Vulcan Voice™ by CTG, and Voxware .

Here’s the link to the video about voice picking vs pick to light.
http://www.yourtechtv.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=362&title=Voice_vs_Pick_to_Light

 

Is the debate on Best of Breed vs ERP or is it on Functionality vs. Integration?

Almost everyone has an opinion on the question of best of breed vs ERP. Alas, not many have the answers.
SAP and other big ERP players have this habit of browbeating the best of breed competition .SAP had once famously talked about the perils of buying best of breed .Well, the logic put by the ERP players is that integration is always an issue with best of breed software. But then, I am at a loss as to why the best of breed vendors have never hit back on their strong point of functionality. In terms of functionality, best of breed would win hands down.
So which is better, best of breed or ERP, which people have termed as best of suite. There are no clear winners and there are no clear answers. There is ample space for both for many more years. The criteria which normally hold the key are functionality, integration, implementation and technology. Price comes at the last which does suggest that this is an extremely profitable domain. Functionality and integration have the same priority on the wish-list of buyers.
But beware! Lots of buyers are opting for ERP and their decision is based on the presumption that they have the incumbent ERP installed and hence it’s the natural choice. Not necessarily a correct decision. The incumbent ERP may not have the requisite functionality ,required by the customers business, packed in it. If the customer just wants the industry standard process ,maybe a vague example could be inventory management module and normal functionality, they can very well opt for their current ERP. But if their functionality is rapidly changing, they need to look further and here the balance tilts in favour of best of breed.
Best of breed SCM software vendors are investing a lot in technology as well as adding more and more functionality to their base product. With most shifting to SOA(Service Oriented Architecture) , ERP vendors won’t have any grounds to complain about integration.
In SCM, business runs technology and not vice-versa. Its time for the ERPs to come up with their own best of breed versions.

 

When I2 was slam dunked by Nike

In 2001, I2’s share plunged by 22.4% as the markets reacted sharply when the reason given by Nike for its expected third- quarter earnings dip was flawed software from I2.The then CEO of Nike Philip Knight thundered in a conference call :” This is what we get for our $400 million?”
I understand that all SCM best-of-breed softwares are complex. But technology and support was never a problem for I2 though their software is pretty complex (as normally every other vendors SCM software is). The problem lies in how it is implemented. Nike had a complex problem of mapping and tracking every shoe-model manufactured by it. I2 enhanced its software for this feature and it took longer than expected. With issues cropping up during go-live and Nike’s earnings dipping, Nike squarely deflected the blame on I2.
What would have happened if Nike had chosen a big ERP player (though they had limited role in SCM during that period)? Would they have been able to put the blame on these big ERP players. The answer is always yes. The inspiration to write this article was because of the below piece of news I read at the start of this year.
Source: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/013008-ibm-american-lafrance-bankruptcy.html
IBM probably won’t be asking American LaFrance for product endorsements anytime soon.
American LaFrance, an emergency vehicle and equipment company in South Carolina, has faulted, at least in part, IBM’s software implementation for its recent bankruptcy in court documents filed at the US District Bankruptcy Court of Delaware this week.
According to the documents, American LaFrance began using unnamed ERP purchasing, inventory, production, payroll and finance services with the help of IBM and IBM software after the company was spun off from Freightliner in 2005.
However, the company said it began experiencing a “plethora of problems” with the components of its ERP software from its inception. Among the “serious deficiencies” that American LaFrance claimed had a “crippling impact” on its operations were “incorrect or incomplete” inventory data on the system; missing financial information that included inaccurate accounts payable, accounts receivable and general ledger balances; and the inability to transfer data from the Freightliner system onto the new system. As a result of these problems, the company says it was unable to reliably maintain its inventory, thus hindering the company’s ability to deliver vehicles and equipment to customers. This “had an immediate impact on [American LaFrance's] cash flow and created a liquidity crisis,” the company claimed.
Later in the documents, the company said it was “analyzing potential causes of action against IBM in connection with the problem-riddled transition to the ERP system.”
An IBM spokesman confirmed to The Register that American LaFrance had used its systems, but declined to elaborate, stating that the company was “reviewing the documents filed with the court and have no further comment to make at this time.” IBM bills its ERP system as “a comprehensive solution for managing business processes, including financials, human resources and operations and corporate services.

This leads us to the raging issue of best-of-breed vs ERP systems. Watch out for my next post.

 

Supply Chain Management: How to introduce the subject to the uninitiated?

The oft-consulted Wikipedia gives the definition of Supply Chain Management as “Supply chain management (SCM) is the process of planning, implementing and controlling the operations of the supply chain as efficiently as possible. Supply Chain Management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point-of-origin to point-of-consumption.”

What do you do when a fresh intern asks you what is supply chain and supply chain management? Well, I go about like this.

Three things make a Supply Chain, namely Customers, Producers and Suppliers. One can extend the Supply Chain to include the customers’ customers and the suppliers’ suppliers. Supply Chain Management is an approach to manage the troika of PPF which stands for Purchasing, Production and Fulfillment, in order.
Purchasing- I/P from supplier
Production- Converting I/P to finished product(O/P)
Fulfillment- Delivering O/P to customer.

Major decisions that are taken before setting up a Supply Chain in place can again be summed up in a triad as where to, how to and from which.
a)Where to locate the DC(Distribution Centre)
b)How to transport goods among the DCs
c)From which places to procure the goods.

 

Things you need to take into account when buying supply chain management software

a)Understand what functions are required by your business before you buy any SCM product. How the product integrates with the other IT systems in place now or in future in your business should play a major role in determining the buy. Let’s straightaway start with a generic example. If you are planning to buy a Merchandising Software from one software vendor and already have a different Warehouse Management Software, make sure that the merchandise software can be integrated with the Warehouse Management Sofware. Another decision making criteria is whether the SCM software you are going to buy can integrate with the ERP system in place.

b)Most often than not, best-of-breed SCM software providers keep adding newer functionality to their base products by constantly taking the best custom features asked by the customers. These may suit your business needs which keep on changing and while fine-tuning your supply chain, you may need a new functionality which is already there in the software but has been switched-off at the time of delivery because it wasn’t asked for.

c)Keep in mind that an SCM product which suits a big player like WalMart may not suit everyone else.Just because WalMart has bought a certain product from an SCM software provider doesn’t mean that the product would be suitable for your business. Walmart is able to invest huge amounts of money in getting the product customized to suit its business. The customized product may more often than not nowhere resemble the base product sold by the SCM software provider. So never go by reputations. Your SCM problem could be unique and if you have luck on your side, a niche player could very well solve your business needs.