Introduction and challenges
The management of logistics flows (warehouse and transportation) must be based on a robust and scalable IT system designed to effectively support operational processes and provide decision-making support. The increasing number of business challenges faced by manufacturers, logisticians and distributors means that their IT systems have to meet the requirements of optimization, accessibility and visibility, responsiveness, traceability, compliance with regulatory standards and availability, in an increasingly complex and demanding context.
In addition, the IT architecture is often composed of specialized execution tools (WMS, WCS, TMS, OMS, control tower, optimization modules etc.) interfaced with each other and with one or more master systems, or even external systems. This adds a level of complexity to the need for integration (interfacing) and the availability of information in real-time.
In this context, it is essential that the company has a real logistics IT strategy and that it is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of its tools to ensure they evolve and contribute to making logistics a competitive strength.
How we can help
- Definition of the IT strategy: mapping of current tools, identification of strengths and weaknesses both in functional and technical terms and related to IT governance (urban planning rules, arbitration between internal developments or external tools, etc.)
- Diagnosis of planning and execution tools: functional coverage, user-level of maturity, identification of expectations, benchmark against market tools
- Support on the choice of a solution: definition of target processes and associated IT needs, formalization of specifications, identification of the impact on the overall IT architecture, conduct of the consultation, comparison of offers, negotiation and recommendation
- Support for proof of concept (POC) and/or experimentation phases: interface with system providers and internal IT teams, formalization of scenarios to test, identification of the conditions and modalities of implementation (operational change, impact on the activity in real conditions, etc.), monitoring and analysis of results, recommendations
- Supporting solution implementation: development of the deployment schedule, identification of a start-up strategy, contribution to detailed specification workshops and their validation, writing specifications, identification of training needs, formalization of start-up conditions, post start-up assistance