Looking back at the development of WMS

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. -

The agency's Warehouse Management System is now in use across all DLA Disposition Services sites and there are a lot of people from different parts of the organization who helped to make that happen. The development and rollout of WMS involved Battle Creek headquarters personnel, DLA Training, DLA Information Operations, and Information Services.

One of those individuals was WMS project manager Nick Bristow, who was responsible for the execution of day-to-day tasks for the DLA Disposition Services rollout. According to Bristow, among the many challenges associated with this project, there was one that proved most difficult.

"Time was our biggest challenge," Bristow said. "We were operating on a very tight timeline with a lot of tasks to accomplish in developing a product that worked for the field and headquarters."

To develop a product that would work well for both the field and headquarters, collaboration was a necessity. The decision was made to consult with a wide range of MSC personnel during development so that the input of a good cross section of Distribution Standard System users from across HQ and the field sites was represented. This teamwork allowed the developers to get a better idea of exactly what was required to carry out primary duties and functions and successfully design the most effective product for the end user.

"I would say the overall project success would not have been possible without the partnership between our PMO, the IT PMO, Training, Disposition Services Operations and field sites," said Bristow. "This relationship led to the development of excellent system requirements which provided the bedrock for the rest of the project from testing to training material."

Frequent communication was a necessity during the WMS development process and teams overcame geographic and technological challenges to keep the project moving along.

"We started out with a small team," said Mike Rogers, a general supply specialist who worked on the project. "Whenever we needed more input from different areas or different expertise, we were able to reach out and got buy in from everybody - from all aspects of Disposition Services - to participate in the project and provide valuable input to bring all of our processes together into one system. I think the teamwork was fantastic."

For many members, including Bristow, the teamwork displayed throughout the WMS development and rollout was second to none.

"I am most proud of the teamwork, professionalism and dedication of the workforce from all of the entities mentioned above," said Bristow. "We built enduring relationships over the course of this project that led to overall shared success."

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