|
Ari Suominen
Director,
Logistics Software
|
|
Standardisation and commercialisation do not prevent tailored solutions
At the start of the process of procuring
internal logistics software solutions, a few fundamental
decisions have to be made in order to narrow down the number
of potential solution suppliers. One of the most important
decisions is choosing between standard software or a tailored
solution.
Put simply, there are two options in the
procurement of software:
-
Pure standard off the shelf software
packages, which provide customers with cost-efficiency,
ready-tested software solutions and rapid implementation
times
-
Tailored solutions created from a clean
slate, in which case the software optimally supports the
customer’s process and provides employees with the most user
friendly and easy-to-use working methods and user interfaces
It is not always easy to select between these
two software packages, and there are several, partly
contradictory factors related to the decision-making process. As
a result, the end solution may have to be a compromise with
which none of the parties are completely satisfied.
But things do not have to be this way.
Done Logistics has striven to bring the
best-of-breed properties of these two implementation models into
one software process. The standardisation/commercialisation of
software has been taken to the module and component level. These
software elements are standardised, tested and documented. The
software package delivered to the customer is compiled from
these standard modules, which can, if required, be modified to
better support the customer’s special needs.
If necessary, a package can also be
supplemented with new customer-specific modules/components. The
package formed in this way boasts the required cost and
timetable benefits, which are typical to standard products,
without compromising the optimal control and individual needs of
the customer’s process.
The modular structure of the software also
creates cost benefits for the customer in the latter stages of
the software's life cycle. The adding of new properties to
software that is already being used is easy, since the
modifications are only applied to carefully selected software
components, not the entire software package. This way, further
development can be implemented in a cost-efficient and a quick
manner, with minimal risks.
By combining the customer’s extensive knowledge
of its own processes and ways of working with the supplier's
special expertise in internal logistics and software
development, it is possible to create an individual software
solution without having to settle for compromises. |
