In the News – SupplyChainDive Article

Open Sky Group’s COO, Chad Kramlich was recently interviewed by SupplyChainDive magazine about why some companies are slow to adopt WMS – and offers a few things for those companies that might be lagging to consider. Below are a few excerpts from the article – the full article can be found here on SupplyChainDive.

“A recent survey of 549 industry professionals by Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) found 35% of warehouses are not using WMS as of 2018.  Why would companies be so slow in adopting a WMS?  While the statistics may be startling, they found companies still using Excel as their primary operating system even more so…”

For these companies, it can be hard to see the benefits of a WMS. “There’s a level of sophistication that they may not recognize that they need in terms of accuracy, order processing, adaptabilities, and warehouse staff utilization,” Chad Kramlich, COO of consulting firm Open Sky Group, told Supply Chain Dive.

“Companies may turn to WMS when they are in a growth phase and/or are looking to be acquired. “The research shows that they need tier 1 systems or better systems in place to be an acquisition target…” Kramlich said that the right WMS will allow for adaptation for both growth and whatever else lies ahead. “We see smaller companies that are willing to adopt a tier 1 application who are on a growth path,” he said. “They see they might not need all these capabilities today but based on their growth trajectory and where they want to be in three years, five years, they don’t have to go through this process again so they’re buying something that’s essentially future proof.”