Avoid Comforting Ideas When Buying a Warehouse Management System

Use Facts not Emotion When Buying a WMS

Savvy sales executives know that people buy based on emotion and then justify their purchase with logic.  Don’t think for a moment they don’t take advantage of this quirk of human nature in pursuit of a big commission – the kind they earn when they sell Warehouse Management System (WMS) software to a logistics and distribution company. If you’re the person tasked with selecting a WMS software vendor for your organization, it’s imperative that you make objective decisions in the cold light of reason and not at all based on emotion.

We’ve all done it, made an expensive purchase we knew was not practical, then rationalized it with numerous logical arguments until we convinced ourselves there were plenty of good reasons for buying the item.   Renowned social psychologist Leon Festinger developed an entire theory observing this dynamic, “cognitive dissonance”. When humans hold two inconsistent ideas in the mind at once, they suffer from an uncomfortable mental tension.  They must either change one of these inconsistent beliefs or add comforting ideas to their thinking to relieve this tension. 

When it comes to selling enterprise software, there is a reason why technology companies invest heavily in promotional materials and sales activities.  Elaborate and impressive trade show exhibits, glossy sales materials printed on heavy stock, client dinners at high end restaurants and customized demos are all designed to produce an emotional response in the buyer’s mind.  There are tons of WMS choices in today’s market and you want to ensure you select the best one for your business. In today’s world, making the wrong choice based on emotion instead of on sound evidence can be at best costly and at worst catastrophic!

To ensure you make a better business decision, before you purchase a new WMS you should spend time answering the following five questions:

  1. Have you documented your specific business requirements and are you certain the prospective vendor will meet them? 

  2. How detailed was your due diligence; not merely the verbiage of the proposed contract, but more importantly, the solvency of the vendor organization, the stability of its executive team, the depth and availability of the resources they will have to allocate to your company?

  3. Have you spoken with any of the prospective vendor’s customers independently about how satisfied they are with the solution and the vendor? 

  4. Did the prospective vendor share a high-level project plan for a pilot program and did the plan include estimates regarding project scope, time and resource requirements/availability?

  5. Have you looked at your internal resources to be certain your organization and team will be able to adequately manage and execute your part of the implementation?

Before you sign on the bottom line, if you spend the right time on each of the above questions, you’ll be buying based on logic and on the right path to successful WMS selection and deployment. Selecting the right partner is mission critical today, and project implementation is where the rubber meets the road!

Don’t go it alone. You may know all you need to know about your company business but technology is evolving faster than ever. You can save time and money while significantly reducing your risk via an experienced consultant who has been down this road many times, one who knows how to help you anticipate and avoid the twists, turns and bumps in the road. That is where ATS fits in.  We do this work all day, every day and we have helped scores of businesses successfully select and automate warehouse operations with the best solution for their needs and budget. Set up a free consultation with an Advantage Technology Solutions expert today!