The 21st century is well underway. So, why are distributors and manufacturers still using 20th-century warehouse management systems? Steve Shebuski, managing director of MCA Connect, says that an outdated WMS costs companies more than they realize. Jason caught up with Steve to discuss insights gained from his long career in Microsoft-based warehouse solutions, as well as the benefits of a modern WMS on order management, supply sourcing, and business strategy.
“Most of my time has been spent with our customers on cement floors,” says Steve, who graduated with a degree in chemical engineering but fell in love with writing RPG code for WMS during the dot-com boom of the 90s. “The thing that I most like about [distribution] is every building, every order profile, every company, whatever it was, has some uniqueness to it.” Steve and his team identify the processes and routines that would benefit from intelligent upgrades while respecting their distinct characteristics.
MCA Connect provides teams with tailor-made WMS applications, leveraging data to optimize sales, customer service, pricing, warehouse usage, and more via the latest Microsoft-based tech. The system allows businesses to prioritize strategic goals because rote tasks are handled efficiently and automatically. ”Everything that we do is precise,” says Steve. “It becomes less about trying to set up a million locating rules on your WMS and more about what are my objectives in the system?”
“A lot of my background is working with family-owned businesses,” explains Steve. “So, you get a lot of folks that have been doing things certain ways for a long time.” Many are reticent to let go of the simple spreadsheets and docs they’ve used for decades. “We’re looking for needles in haystacks, if you will, and trying to download things into Excel and pivot it every which way but Sunday. For a lot of these family businesses, when you’re in the trees, sometimes you just don’t see some of this stuff,” he says. “It can become overwhelming.”
MCA Connect makes WMS technology that’s accessible and affordable for one reason, says Steve. “In order for you to sustain the growth that you have, you have to invest here.”
QUOTES
“The ability to bring creativity as well as experience to problems is probably what I like about this the most, and just really helping folks optimize what they’re doing using both process and technology tools.”
“Obviously, being so customer-centric and people-centric, a distributor’s people and their customers are really the most important things. And so I think I like that part about it too, is just being in that kind of environment.”
“At the end of the day, what WMS is doing is helping manage all the human beings that are working out there and scanning. As that becomes more automated, as the AI can become more sort of informed about the data, will we really need to run waves and things of that nature? Or are we just figuring out the next optimal thing to do?”
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Distribution Talk is produced by The Distribution Team, a consulting services firm dedicated to helping wholesale distribution clients remove barriers to profitability, generate wealth, and achieve personal goals.
This episode was edited by The Creative Impostor Studios
Special thanks to our sponsors for this episode: Moblico, helping businesses do more business on mobile devices; and INxSQL Distribution Software, an integrated distribution ERP software designed for the wholesale and distribution industry.
