Forte and Cquential partnership WHM

New partnership drives digitisation in warehouse space

ATG group company, Cquential Warehouse Management Solutions (WMS),  and Forte Warehouse Solutions have formed a partnership with the goal of improving warehousing via systems and process optimisation.

Shaun O’Brien, CEO of Cquential WMS, says the shared venture was finalised late last year. “This development is all about improving visibility, throughput and efficiencies within warehousing and distribution. It is interesting to note that we already have a shared client account that both companies are working together to service the best interests of the client,” says O’Brien.

He adds that in the past businesses were blind to the value proposition that warehouse management systems offered. “Those attitudes have changed gradually as organisations have come to realise the enhanced efficiencies and competitive edge that results with the deployment of a best-of-breed WMS coupled with a strong implementation team. 

“Cquential is uniquely positioned to respond to this market trend and we have decided to expand our opportunity window through an alliance with Forte who have all the right credentials for us as an SME with specialist knowledge in the supply chain and warehouse management arenas.

Cquential and Forte’s first combined project involves a third party logistics service provider in Ekurhuleni responsible for operating around eight warehouses on behalf of a large FMCG company. The first stage of the new WMS implementation roll-out is planned to take place in the next three months. “Our first goal and challenge will be going live successfully,” says Forte COO Renko Bergh. He emphasised that a successful WMS implementation involves consultative decision making and customer executive buy-in to ensure that methodical planning is undertaken with the client’s best interest being front and centre of all decisions.

“Firstly it is about using optimal processes to get our client’s data into the WMS, then seamless integration with their enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, followed by dashboards for management and control.  Only then can we start doing things with big data and building true value,” he explains.

WMS, which essentially means going paperless and driving warehouse excellence, can be quite disruptive and generally does not take less than three months to implement. “However, this should not be a barrier to WMS implementation – the benefits far outweigh deployment time issues,” says Berg.

O’Brien concludes: “We don’t just sell a system, install it and move on. Our customer service model is one of partnership – walking the journey with the client ensuring that we continually add value to their warehouse operations”.

Source: Freight & Trading Weekly