Open Sky Group released news in April about the paradigm-shifting approach the company is now following for WMS implementations, focusing on reducing the time to implement with no modifications to the software. This approach means a lower cost of entry for those companies with complex operations who need a robust, tier 1 WMS like JDA. Because this approach also shortens the implementation time, companies begin experiencing a return much earlier than with traditional approaches.
Roberto Michel, Editor-At-Large for Modern Materials Handling interviews Open Sky Group in the US , Clemens Food Group, and other industry companies in the October 2017 article entitled, “Injecting Agility into WMS Implementations.” Here’s a snippet:
“While WMS features are evolving in areas like mobile apps, for end-user companies the initial concern is how to get a WMS implemented quickly and effectively. If a company can deploy a WMS in two or three months rather than nine or 10, that’s a big win for DC operations.
WMS Vendors and their consulting partners are also under pressure to deliver solutions quickly.
“Often, a user company has hit some kind of business trigger—a growth pattern or an acquisition—that their current system just can’t support, so they need to move forward rapidly. So as providers, we need to be more flexible, faster and less expensive when it comes to putting a system in,” says Chad Kramlich, senior vice president of client services for Open Sky Group US.
Accelerated WMS deployments involve a mix of new methodologies, process models that guide the setup of the software, development environments, and other tools and content that streamline configuration or training. WMS providers say the right methods and tools—combined with a client’s willingness to adopt a streamlined approach—can dramatically cut deployment times…”