Coreflex 3PL WMS & Billing System
Customer Startup Guidelines
There are eight high level tasks in a Coreflex 3PL WMS & Billing System startup. Each task has a To Do list for you to complete. These tasks may be performed by a Customer’s in-house staff or with assistance from Coreflex staff. The tasks are:
Project Kickoff:
E-mails and Appointments - Your to do list
Installation:
During installation the technical layout of the facilities computers is determined and the vanilla Coreflex system is installed along with a testing database. Installation begins with completing the Coreflex New Customer Worksheet. This worksheet helps identify issues that may arise during installation of the system.
Installation can be broken into separate tasks depending on the requirement. The Database Server, Client Software, RF Scanning Software and Web reporting can be installed at separate times if needed. Site specific configurations are completed later during Site Configuration and Profile Setup.
Business Integration:
A Business Integration Analysis (BIA) is performed which dovetails the customers physical procedures with the Coreflex system to create new operational and billing procedures. Depending on the complexity of the customer’s accounts (your customers) these operational procedures can be specific to one account or can apply to all accounts.
This task begins with completing the Coreflex New Account Worksheet questionnaire for the specific account to be brought onto the Coreflex system. It is important to:
· Identify any time critical business needs.
· Supply existing printed documents examples so account specific data needs can be identified.
Document examples are needed to understand and identify unique data and print form needs.
Click here to view an example of a simple operational flow.
Site Configuration and Profile Setup: (back to top) next
Using the new operational procedures, profile settings, configuration
changes, and EDI settings are determined.
If required, efforts to complete the configuration changes are estimated
and changes are programmed / configured.
Profile Settings consist of: user specified prompt names (custom
fields), reports, and billing parameters.
The system is then run through end to end in preparation of user training. The run through consists of receiving, shipping and billing per your new operational and billing procedures.
Training:
Using the Operational flow created during the BIA, Coreflex trains customer personnel on inbound (receiving), outbound (shipping) and billing procedures specific to their operation.
Training utilizes the Train the Trainer concept. One individual is identified as the main person to learn how to operate Coreflex. Multiple people may be in the training; however it is recommended that one person be identified as the “go to person” for the customer.
Training can be performed using test data or actual account data (products, billing, etc) depending on the timing of the data load task.
Data Load:
Data specific to one account is loaded consisting of products, locations and inventory. Depending on the amount of data to load and the availability of the data in electronic form, data may be manually keyed, loaded from standard file formats and EDI transactions or loaded from other applications. File formats are provided and data can be manipulated into the formats for loading. Custom data loads can also be created if required.
The load generally occurs three times. First an initial load is performed and the system is run end to end to identify any required data that may be missing. (For example: UPC needs to print on the packing list but is not in the database.) Next the data is loaded again with the missing data and an end to end run is performed. Lastly, prior to live, current products and inventory is loaded.
Parallel and Testing:
Receipts, shipments and billing tasks are performed on Coreflex for the initial Account. The results of these tasks are compared for accuracy to the current system being used in production. Any issues are identified and corrections are made as needed.
Live: (back to top)
A specific date is selected for cutover to the Coreflex system for the first account. The date selected should consider operationally critical periods such as high volume and critical delivery dates. The final load of inventory and products is performed and processing begins on the Coreflex system.