Supply Chain TV Series, V2 – Knowing Your Software Partner

Participants: Sarah Barnes-Humphrey, Let’s Talk Supply Chain Jeremy Hudson, Open Sky Group

Sarah (Intro) – In our last video, Jeremy took us on a journey to discover the meaning of change management. Why it is important for any successful implementation and the top three things we should focus on. In today’s video, we are going to chat about probably the most important part of an implementation, your software partner. How well you know your software partner will define every aspect from start to finish on whether the new technology will do what it is supposed to do 100% of the time. (end intro)

Hi Jeremy. So, a software provider is obviously the key to any successful technology implementation. I wanna get into how well you really need to know them and why. But first, let’s clarify what a software partner is, because I’ve heard, you know, different terms like “software provider, ““Software Partner,” “Implementer,” “integrator.” What do all of those mean?

Jeremy – Yeah so, just to clarify those terms. Number one, your software provider is going to be the one who sells you the licensing to the software itself, who gives you permission to use the software and normally has some fees associated with it either at a user rate or at the company level. And so that’s normally who you are going to refer to as your software provider. Your software partner or implementor is going to be who is responsible for installing that software. Then finally, your integrator is going to be who ensures that those software’s are capable of speaking to each other. And so, many times you may have a warehouse management solution, but you may also have an order management solution, a transportation management solution, all those different key components and the integrator is going to make sure that they all speak with each other. Now, a software provider may many times also provide the services for implementing and integrating the software. However, other times you may simply get your software from a provider, and then get those other services from more of an expertise type shop. And so, Open Sky Group, for example, is capable of selling the software and we also implement that software. Some of our customers will buy the software from us, others will buy the software and then come to us for support implementing.

Sarah – What a great explanation! I say that because with all those terms, it can get really confusing. If nothing else, we now know that we need to ask for clarification when someone starts using each of those different terms and what dovetails perfectly into

talking about how well you really need to know them and why. So, can you tell us a little bit more about that?

Jeremy – So, let’s make one thing clear, that relationship between yourself as a company and that software provider is a partnership. They need to be invested in your success just as much as you are. They need to make sure that their end goal is not selling you the software or not necessarily even implementing the software. They need to base their success off the KPIs that are the most important to you. So, if you have, as a company, certain goals that you need to set for your project, that software partner should be aware of those goals from day one and that’s what they should be looking to achieve. It’s a completely comprehensive partnership that needs to include, ultimately what you are looking to change, what you are absolutely not willing to change and how much, if any modification you want to have to your software. Ultimately, that software partner needs to be interested in what you need and also be responsible about how this software is implemented.

Sarah – So then let’s take a look at how a software provider can be a good fit for a company and what are the five biggest questions you should be asking to make sure that, that partnership’s gonna be successful?

Jeremy – Sure, I think, first when you start to pursue a software provider, and you start that selection process, you need to understand the longevity of the product that you are implementing, and so within the supply chain specifically, we are seeing so much change and so much technological advancement. If you look at automation, artificial intelligence, internet of things, all of those buzz terms… The software needs to be capable of implementing those in the future. You need the ability to adapt. If you look at the way that software providers were producing software years ago, they weren’t taking into consideration the ability of having touch screens or mobility throughout the warehouse and ultimately, that’s why we are seeing so many upgrades and implementations right now. You need a software provider that is cognizant of the change in the marketplace. You also need to ask them how your product will be supported in the future. Make sure you are getting to know, not just that sales team, not just the product itself, but also the support team. How am I going to support this product long-term? Who is going to answer the phone when I call? And how responsive are they going to be to my needs? And then I think you have a transition into understanding how you are going to learn about that product. So, how am I going to be taught about that product as I am implementing it? So, as I am rolling the software out, how are you going to teach me about the product, how am I going to learn from that? Then you are going to ask how this product is going to

integrate to my other products? So, I may have order management systems, transportation management systems. I need to understand how well the product that I am implementing will integrate. And so, how am I going to make sure that my orders are coming down to the system correctly, how have you done it before, who have you worked with before? Don’t be afraid to ask for the previous experience when it comes to software. And finally, you need to make sure that the software is going to be something that is self-sustaining, that you can implement overtime. So, I mentioned about learning from the software provider before. You also need to make sure that you are able to advance on your own. Are you capable of taking advantage of changes that come down with the software overtime? So, it kind of loops in some of those previous topics: is it supportable, is it sustainable, but then, ultimately you do not want to be married to a support network over a long period of time, you wanna be able to have that self-sufficiency. Something that we are proud of at Open Sky Group, some implementations we’ve done, we are seeing companies that do not specialize in logistics, being able to grow their system, even though that’s not their specialties. So, we’re empowering their IT departments to really grow in a self-sufficient manner and still use us for support when necessary.

Sarah – So, technology is changing all the time. What role does your software provider play in making sure that the technology that you are implementing today, will take you into the future without too many additional costs or add-ons?

Jeremy – Sure, so, something that I like to do when I am implementing a software for the company early on, I like to understand what is most likely to change about their business. Are they frequently implementing for different clients? Are they a 3PL that might have several different requirements that change over a period of time? Are they a business that might have…you know… flexibility between temp control and ambient product, and they need flexibility to change that around? So, I feel like if you go in with that approach, understanding what’s most frequently changing about a company. You’re able to make sure you configure those things in unison with them. The last thing that I wanna do is configure a software in a silo. Sure, there are certain configurations that will be one-and- done. You’ll touch them once in the software development and never touch them again. However, what we are finding, is when you implement a base product solution, there are going to be some configurations that require change over time and so configure those with an IT department, so you don’t have those revolving costs. I don’t want you to have to come back to me every time you get a new customer in your warehouse or every time you have a change in a certain product type. You should be able to be self-sufficient, handle that change on your own and control that cost internally within your IT department and so, if there are certain changes that you are aware of coming in the future, understand what

those changes going into an implementation. Understand how the software needs to work for you, so you can mitigate those costs over time and have the least amount of impact possible.

Sarah – What are the top five benefits that you should really see when you’re working with the right partner?

Jeremy – When I’m implementing a project, I like to stop and ask myself, and I like to remind my team, are you providing the five Cs to that company? And I like to think of those Cs as this: Number 1: Curiosity… may seem like an odd choice, but ultimately, you need someone implementing the software for you that is going to be curious about your business and that’s going to challenge you, that’s going to say “why are you doing it that way?” You don’t necessarily need someone that’s just going to go with the flow and take your requirements and run. You wanna be challenged on what you are doing today and you wanna make sure your partner’s fully understanding of what your business does and why you are doing it that way. And then in addition to curiosity, they should also have collaboration. So, ultimately your implementation team should be an extension of your team. Think of it as a way of doubling, tripling the size of your team, just by adding your software partner into that team. So, it shouldn’t just be that your five employees alone are the ones that are shouldering this project. It should be that you are working collaboratively with your software partner, that allows you to really have a full team implementing this project. I think, next is comprehension. That one is a little bit hard to understand, but ultimately, what it boils down to is you are working with a partner that has done several implementations. You’re working with partners that have seen hundreds of warehouses potentially around the country. Use that to your advantage, ask them how other companies are doing this. Use them as kind of a knowledge source, as a research capability to understand what others are doing with certain challenges in the industry and what works best, and what may not work. The fourth C is caution. Now that one is really interesting, because you think to yourself, why would I need someone who is cautious? Truthfully, you need that software partner to keep you in check. I think when you look at software’s that become heavily customized, or that have a really unique code base, it’s because they weren’t implemented with caution. I’ll be honest, I have no issue telling a client that they are too far off the reservation. They’re off the rails, they need to bring it back in with the base product functionality. So, I have no issue warning a client that they are asking for too much of a software. They are maybe trying to compensate for a business lack somewhere else. Well, and ultimately it shouldn’t necessarily be the responsibility of a warehouse management system, or workforce management system, or whatever you happen to be implementing. So, they need to be cautious, and finally, going along with that, I need a

software company that is going to be creative. So, if you are asking me to stay within confines of a base product, to not customize a solution, then you need to be creative in how you leverage the base product solution. You know, something out of the box, you still need to have kind of an open mind to transforming that software into something that truly fits your needs. So, maybe it’s extending the software to a point that a description on a screen reads a little bit differently or that we expose something to a user that might have been hidden before and still provide you with a supportable code base. That’s ultimately a product of creativity and something that your software partners need to have.

Sarah – So, with a new technology, you know, once it’s been approved, implementation is on the horizon, what does that process look like?

Jeremy – Well… Buckle up! It looks like a challenge… ultimately. So, what you are in for is a whole different atmosphere of a project. It’s one thing to select a software, and that’s a good group to have together, and it’s good to have their input on the actual project, but ultimately, it’s not about assembling that perfect team for your business. Kind of finding those who have an open mind about the future. That are aware of what you do great and what you don’t do so great. You want them to be part of your project team. You wanna get those folks huddled together. You wanna make sure that you are ready for an open- minded design conversation and open-minded discovery conversation around what you are doing today, how I needs to change in the future, and you need to make sure the entire business is aligned. You have a large project in front of you. You need to make sure that you have the right team available and that your software partners are part of that team.

Sarah (Exit) – So, we’ve learned a lot from Jeremy today and what to look for in a software partner. What you should ask and what you can expect if you’ve chosen the right one for you. Stay tuned for our next video to learn why no modifications should be a best practice.