At RF-SMART, we’ve helped thousands of customers increase inventory visibility, accuracy, and productivity in their warehouses. Our scalable warehouse management system (WMS) integrates with both Cloud and on-premise ERPs, offering a wide range of support and functionality across many industries.
However, we know RF-SMART isn’t the best fit for every business. Here are 3 circumstances when RF-SMART may not be the right WMS for your business:
Having your WMS tightly aligned with your Enterprise Planning Resource (ERP) can provide great benefits for your business when it comes to increasing visibility and managing your data. RF-SMART is designed to be the mobile extension of your ERP, providing real-time inventory updates throughout your operations.
For this reason, RF-SMART does not operate as a standalone WMS. We believe that ERP is more than just the "financials" piece of your business - in fact, it should be at the center of your operations. RF-SMART extends the functionality of your ERP to the warehouse floor and allows you to use your ERP for what you bought it for: complete visibility to every part of your business. Having your data in one place allows you to make better, well-rounded business decisions.
RF-SMART is purpose-built for each of the ERPs we support, which means we are built on the ERP platform. Using a standalone WMS introduces a 3rd party platform that will require you to sync your data across disparate systems.
RF-SMART provides purpose-built inventory solutions for NetSuite, Oracle Cloud, Microsoft AX & D365, and Oracle JD Edwards. To use RF-SMART, you need to be using one of these ERP solutions.
If you’re interested in using RF-SMART and would like a recommendation about which ERP could meet your business needs, we are happy to provide one. We can also connect you with one of the hundreds of Implementation Partners around the world that work with these ERP systems.
For any software to be the right fit, it's important to know that the investment you are making will ultimately benefit your business’ bottom line. As you conduct your ROI analysis, there are a few key details to keep in mind. Start by listing out all your current processes and their inefficiencies. Then, consider core requirements for your solution and evaluate your hardware. From there, you will need to consider each of the following as you quantify your potential returns:
In addition to these things, you’ll want to consider other quantifiable numbers, such as order picking accuracy, inventory carrying costs, and productivity & direct labor costs. Our free WMS Value Analysis tool provides formulas that will help you calculate the ROI of your project.
Free Resource: Download this Worksheet to complete your ROI analysis
Many people evaluate the upfront software and implementation costs, but they don’t consider the costs incurred by choosing the wrong solution. A failed implementation can bring you back to square one – but this time without a budget. What it comes down to is the difference between price and cost. Price is what you may be willing to pay for your solution, but cost is the tangible and intangible expenses accrued based on that decision. Costs could be things like time, delays of implementation, or other problems that might not be presented up front.
Take for example, our customer Thunderworks. Thunderworks initially chose to implement a different WMS due to its price tag and the misconception that it would more easily integrate to their ERP system. It was clear to Thunderworks before they were even fully implemented that they had made the wrong choice. Their initial solution provider had ensured Thunderworks that they would be able to provide business-critical functionality to scan different types of barcodes, but the initial provider was unable to support that feature. These empty promises caused Thunderworks to stop their implementation and start back at square one. Making the wrong choice incurred costs they weren’t expecting like lost time and money.
RF-SMART is a fit for companies that are looking for a scalable WMS solution and a team of industry experts to go along with it. Our solution includes working with a team of supply chain experts that can help save you those unexpected costs. We have an expansive array of industry experience (dating back to 1982) that we dedicate to the development, implementation, and support of our solutions. RF-SMART customers not only receive top of the line service from our entire team, but they also receive dedicated professionals who are experts in both RF-SMART, hardware, and their ERP.
Any software implementation requires dedicated time, effort, and people in order to be successful. This change may seem overwhelming, especially for companies that have always managed inventory manually or are using a different inventory system. To best support change management in your organization, look for a partner that can supply both ERP and warehouse experience. Our NetSuite customer, The Baby Cubby, says it best:
"It was a breath of fresh air to have a great combination of an approachable and knowledgeable partner who did fantastic as a subject matter expert."
The right WMS partner is just that - a partner! Make sure your partner can provide you with the tools, training, and best practices to get the most from your investment. Some examples of the support offered by RF-SMART include:
We understand RF-SMART might not be the right solution for your business. We're not for everyone.
If you’re interested in reading about companies we have helped, check out some of our customer stories.
