The decision to implement a WMS is often the result of a growing business and emerging operational challenges. Companies struggle with inefficient warehouse processes, falling profitability and difficulties handling orders. But implementing a WMS alone doesn’t guarantee success if the warehouse isn’t properly prepared. So how do you prepare your warehouse for a WMS implementation? And how does the implementation work?
Rapid company growth, entering new sales channels (such as Allegro or Amazon), rising order volumes – these are the most common moments when companies start to notice that their existing way of managing the warehouse is no longer sufficient. Chaos sets in, picking errors appear, there’s no control over stock levels, and operational efficiency starts to fall noticeably. It’s in such situations that it turns out the warehouse, although key to the whole operational chain, still works manually – using sticky notes, Excel printouts or individual goods issue notes generated from the ERP system. This way of working quickly proves inefficient. It leads to disorganisation, frustration in the team, poorer customer service and a negative impact on ratings on sales platforms. That’s when the decision to implement a WMS is made more and more often – a solution that organises processes, increases control and restores efficiency. But the implementation itself can’t happen “on the fly” – it has to be well thought through and preceded by proper preparation.
Stage ZERO – organising your own processes
Although formally a WMS implementation begins with an implementation analysis carried out by the vendor’s team – including conversations with employees at all levels, from warehouse staff to the board – there is one key step that companies very often skip: organising their own processes before any external analysis begins. This is the so-called stage zero – an internal inventory of how the organisation really works. In practice, many companies “know that they sell”, but can’t clearly describe how the process runs. Competencies are scattered – Ania has been issuing invoices for 15 years, Agnieszka handles purchasing and Rafał runs the warehouse – but nobody has a complete picture. When implementation talks begin, it often turns out that the organisation doesn’t have consistent knowledge of its own operational chain – from purchasing goods to shipping them to the customer.
That’s why it’s so important to take time before the project formally starts to map processes internally and prepare the warehouse. Finding goods that have been lying around for 10 years is just the tip of the iceberg. The key is understanding the flow of operations from purchase to shipment and defining who is responsible for what.
“A well-executed stage zero is the foundation of the whole implementation. And although it formally lies with the client, very often it’s us – the EX7 team – who help companies organise the warehouse, map processes and show how they should look. We act as advisers from the very beginning, because we know that without solid foundations even the best system won’t deliver the expected results” – emphasises Karol Grzech, WMS Implementation Specialist at EX7, the vendor of XWMS.
The (pre-)implementation analysis
Before choosing a specific WMS, a company can commission a pre-implementation analysis from an external party – an independent consultant who helps organise processes and define the company’s real needs. Such an analysis can end with the choice of the system and vendor that best meet the business’s requirements. Increasingly, however, companies entrust it directly to the WMS vendor.
“An implementation analysis by EX7 isn’t desk work – it means being physically present in the warehouse, observing processes in real time and talking directly to employees at every level. The team spends a whole day, sometimes even several days, at the client’s site, looking at how goods are received, stored, picked and issued, as well as at the processes for returns and complaints. That’s when the biggest discrepancies come to light – between what management thinks and how warehouse staff really work. We often hear managers say: ‘Is that really how you do it?’ – that’s the key moment when real transformation begins” – comments Karol Grzech of EX7.
The result of this analysis is a document that not only describes the current state, but designs the target state – taking into account all needs, integrations and possible improvements. Preparing such an analysis can take from a month to as long as six months, depending on the size and complexity of the organisation. The process ends with both parties formally confirming the content of the analysis.
“In practice, an implementation analysis is much more than writing down expectations or the processes that exist in the company. It’s the stage where – based on conversations and observations – we diagnose challenges together with the client, advise on changes and often initiate the first reorganisations. ‘Stage zero’, i.e. organising internal processes and the structure of work, very often develops as part of the analysis – and its impact extends throughout the implementation and long after. Experience shows that companies often start implementing our first recommendations during the analysis, which speeds up the whole project significantly” – adds Karol Grzech.
Week ZERO – go-live
Once the system configuration is complete and everything has been agreed, the most important moment of the project arrives – the so-called week zero, i.e. launching the system in the client’s warehouse. Depending on the size of the operation and the level of preparation, the whole process takes from one to several days. EX7 carries out this stage physically on site with the implementation team – often with developers present as well.
Going live isn’t just a matter of technically “switching on” the system. It’s a moment when responsibilities lie on both sides – EX7 is responsible for XWMS working correctly, and the client for actually putting it into daily operations. For the launch to go smoothly, the company has to prepare properly. It’s crucial to ensure that employees who know warehouse operations are present – shift managers, team leaders, warehouse staff and those responsible for receiving and picking. At the same time, the warehouse itself must be prepared: storage zones organised, labels added or replaced, racks, signage, devices and the right IT infrastructure (server, network, mobile devices) made ready.
In most EX7 implementations, the first day of week zero starts with an opening balance – employees’ first contact with the system and the moment they start learning its logic. That’s why it’s so important that the goods are ready for stocktaking, clearly labelled and physically accessible. Only a well-prepared warehouse and a committed team on the client’s side make it possible to get through this key stage smoothly and effectively. After just a few hours, employees usually navigate the system intuitively – its logic guides them “by the hand”, and EX7 implementers are present all the time to train, answer questions and check that operations are performed correctly. In most cases, after 2–3 hours the system runs stably and warehouse staff can fulfil orders on their own.
What mistakes do companies most often make when preparing for a WMS implementation?
From an implementation perspective, one of the most common and costly mistakes is an insufficient analysis of processes before the implementation. And this isn’t only about how the warehouse itself is organised, but about the entire technology environment – integrations with the ERP, sales platforms (such as Allegro and Amazon) and order management middleware such as BaseLinker. A lack of full knowledge of these systems and how they connect can cause serious delays or force changes to the implementation schedule – especially if such information only emerges a few weeks before go-live. The second recurring mistake is insufficient preparation of the warehouse itself – both physically (mess, illegible labels, no up-to-date stocktake) and organisationally. Companies often don’t assign the right people to take part in week zero or don’t ensure that employees with real operational knowledge are present.
“In such situations, the EX7 team responds flexibly and splits the implementation into stages instead of launching the whole system at once. For example, on go-live day only some of the functions are switched on – e.g. stocktaking, receiving and issuing – and the remaining elements are implemented over the following days. Importantly, we try to foresee such scenarios earlier, during testing and analysis, so the risk of surprises on go-live day is minimal. And if a problem does arise, we’re on site with the whole team – not only implementers, but developers too. This allows us to respond on the spot, fix problems ‘on the fly’ and complete the implementation as planned. It has never happened that we had to postpone a go-live at a client’s site. That’s the result not only of good organisation, but also of real support and commitment to the project’s success” – says Karol Grzech.
Implementing a WMS is a complex process that requires not only the right software, but above all solid organisational foundations. A well-prepared warehouse avoids costly mistakes and delays, shortens the time needed to stabilise the system and significantly speeds up achieving the first benefits. In practice, the more time and attention a company devotes to preparing for the implementation, the sooner it will see real, measurable results. A WMS is an investment that – when implemented well – starts paying for itself very quickly.
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