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8 Tips for Improving SLM & IWMS Implementations SLM / IWMS Leading Practice: Tip 7 Akin to Tip #1, I Saw It In The Demo, but now that you're implementing the software you think "I can solve this requirement with out-of-the-box functionality." We cringe anytime we hear the term out-of-the-box (OOB), because in the more than one hundred implementations we've done, it has never been true – or at least, completely true. With very few exceptions, OOB functionality is a myth. All systems require an escalating level of set-up, configuration and in some cases, a word no one wants to say, customization. That's why often RFP requirement answers are not worth the paper they are written on. When a software vendor checks "out-of-the-box functionality" for an RFP requirement all they are saying is, it's "possible" to satisfy the requirement. It's not a reflection of what it takes to make the system meet the requirement, whether anyone has ever attempted it before, or if they would if they knew the unnatural act required to make it happen. The first step in your recovery from this myth, is to quickly progress through shock, denial, anger, frustration and depression, to acceptance. Believe me, we all dream of the day we can flip a switch and the software will meet all the needs of the business. Until that day comes, we need to deal with reality. The key here is finding the happy balance between how the system operates, and how your business operates today. In order to accomplish this, you need a partner who is both deeply knowledgeable in your business and the capabilities of the software you're implementing. Make no mistake, this is an art. Each Store Lifecycle and IWMS solution has strengths and weaknesses, and every organization has specific needs. You need a partner who can marry the two. The Software Does That The Reality of Out-of-the-Box Implementations • Be sure to ask the vendor to clearly explain what features / functions come out-of-the box and what requires configuration or customization. Put another way, what does the system look like on day one when we turn it on? • Focus on the right level of change – whether that is a deeper configuration of the system or a change in how you execute a business process today. • Keep score – know in aggregate how much you're changing the system through configuration and how much you're asking the organization to change the way it does business. It's easy to make decisions in a vacuum without realizing the totality of all of your choices. • Develop a reasonable tolerance for the reality of set-up and configuration needs. It's inevitable, and the sooner you realize it, the faster you'll have an operating system with limited implementation friction. • Implementation methodology is important. System designers and users need to clearly understand and envision how work will be done in the new system. Doing so often helps with aligned expectations and system adoption.

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