Transportation Systems Selections

SCT’s value proposition lies in the process that ensures requirements are not a regurgitation of the current state, but a well developed visionary view of capabilities that will achieve organizational objectives, and that the leadership team is well aligned to those objectives, and these objectives are ready to be vetted with the broader organization and potential partners.

• Stakeholder Alignment & Program Charters – Interviews with key stakeholders are coupled with education on operational best practices and industry trends to develop program objectives project requirements.  Alignment to a vision for project deliverables and a future state operating environment allow effective scoping, scheduling, and staffing to follow.
• Integrated System Architecture & Analytics Design – Evaluation of impacts to existing systems will solidify future state business processes and validate assumptions on level of effort and required skillsets.  A keen understanding of freight spend drivers and load/route optimization benefits, combined with our appreciation for specific requirements regarding domestic, multi-modal, cross-border and international shipments and global trade compliance requirements ensures our clients receive a comprehensive view of their transportation technology requirements and an architecture capable of supporting regional and global growth strategies.  Other cost-savings opportunities that arise from improved integration and workflow automation allow alignment with IT leadership to ensure internal skill sets are applied or, where there are gaps, are considered for development throughout the implementation.
• Requirements Definition – Detailed definition of functional requirements by which vendors can be evaluated and implementation scoping can be agreed upon is the heart of an effective RFP process.  SCT develops those requirements through interviews and the introduction of recommended best practices with areas of focus including master data availability and cleanliness, load planning, multi-modal route optimization, carrier selection and tendering, customs compliance, special handling, tracking and communications, and freight payment requirements.
• Critical Differentiators – SCT’s elevation of critical requirements and differentiators across functional requirements and provider approach can be leveraged in weighted scorecards as an effective tool to socialize priorities across different stakeholder entities within the organization and to ensure that priorities are aligned when selecting a vendor and solution.

SCT Advisory provides RFI and RFP support for Transportation Management Systems and associated technology selections by capturing and prioritizing key business requirements, facilitating the organizational alignment on program objectives while orchestrating the selection process with the right group of WMS providers given the required capabilities, budget and culture fit.  Our unique value proposition combines the depth of familiarity with the solutions and how they can be configured or customized to achieve process objectives and operational results, combined with an understanding of the effort required to translate requirements into systems capabilities.  We drive aggressive plans with the partners, while setting realistic expectations and contingency plans with our clients.

• Sourcing Strategy, RFP Oversight, & Vendor Selection – As SCT lays out a broad view of the provider landscape, it is often necessary to short list those providers that are more likely to participate in the proposed architecture.  This may include large TMS vendors, real time transportation visibility providers, smaller niche providers of adjacent solutions, freight auditors, or market analytics providers (amongst others).  Vendor identification and interviews allow our clients to hear the stories and prioritize activities in a way that will provide the needed insight to develop scope for the evaluation and program planning exercises.  Vendor demonstrations are a critical step in vetting potential partners and ensuring consensus on success factors and preferred vendors across the organization, which in turns delivers a critical success factor to the overall program.  SCT provides vendors with guidance on your organizational priorities and what we see as critical differentiators so you can get a 360 degree view of the options before you.  Briefing sessions following the demonstrations translate vendor claims into valid expectations, and roundtable discussions unveil any reservations from the team that can be addressed in future conversations by the vendors.
• RFP Management – Managing vendor communications, scoring responses, consolidating evaluations, and tracking contract progress can be time-consuming and complex. Our proven methodology streamlines this process, keeping it efficient and transparent—while providing clear updates and recommendations to your executive team.  Vendor demonstrations are a critical step in vetting the solutions and ensuring consensus on success factors and preferred vendors across the organization which is critical to the success of the overall program.  SCT provides vendors with guidance on your organizational priorities and while presenting what we see as critical differentiators to you for a 360-degree view of the options to choose from.  Briefing sessions following the demonstrations translate vendor positioning into valid expectations, and roundtable discussions unveil any reservations from the team that can be addressed in future conversations with the vendors.
• Program Planning – Company-wide projects require careful collaboration, roadmap development, milestone planning, and executive engagement. With hundreds of supply chain projects completed, SCT knows which questions to ask, critical success milestones to track, and KPIs to monitor—helping you build a strategic program plan that drives lasting value across your organization.
• Following vendor demonstrations, as the preferred solution is materializing, Scoping workshops allow our customers to dig deeper into capabilities and setup requirements to more fully develop an appreciation for solution capabilities and the effort required to achieve them.  SCT facilitates workshops with 1-2 vendors to walk through the day in the life of warehouse operation (end to end given the surrounding system architecture), implementation methodology, roles and responsibilities, and critical success factors.
• Scoping, Scheduling, and Roles & Responsibilities – Aligning project and program objectives with high level estimates of effort allows a best in class approach to take shape.  Iterations allowing the evaluation of complexity and projected results allow refinement of scope to deliver optimal value.  Considerations of staff availability and supplementation options allow time and cost tradeoffs to be evaluated, delivering an ideal balance of speed and value.
• Program Justification & Business Case Preparation – Investment priorities will be scoped and sequenced, providing clarity on transformation strategies and business justification.  Cost estimation and returns on investment will be combined into a time phased justification for your program, and combined with soft benefits and insights to socialize effort & procure funding.

SCT’s advisors integrate with your project teams to help extend conversations related to transportation project design and its successful delivery.    Embedding ourselves into regular conversations with program stakeholders provides a third-party view of progress and a supportive yet challenging voice seeking to provide optimal impacts and value realized from of your Transportation Management System, while minimizing the disruptions that might result in the process.  Participating in or leading steering committee meetings provides a third party view free from internal politics on the readiness for system cutovers as well as the ability of the solution to achieve value.

• Industry Best Practices – Our advisors have succeeded in guiding some of the most complex environments for shippers, freight forwarders, brokers, and carriers – so we can connect the interdependencies across trading partners and ensure that the technology meets the needs of the end to end solution landscape.  Throughout design and continuously as issues arise and parking lots are addressed our advisors provide invaluable insight into industry recognized best practices and opportunities to improve existing processes. Managing the balance of delivering the best solution and deferring potentially disruptive changes to the business delivers a high value outcome with opportunity to grow from a foundation of success.
• Implementation Methodology – Following the critical elements of a best in class methodology assures solution readiness and business preparations to absorb the extended capabilities that implementations have to offer. Our advisors, through years of experience, ensure the rigorous exercises of data cleanliness, testing thoroughness, and robust training are executed in alignment with the appropriate milestones.
• Change Management – Change management is perhaps the most critical element assuring the success of an implementation. Preparing the business for the impacts of process and technology changes, while championing the positive impacts it will have on the personnel and the business can go miles towards driving the correct outcomes. SCT works with client leadership to build awareness of pending change and communicate effectively across stakeholder groups while preparing them for a successful transition.
• Program Leadership Alignment & Coaching – Ensuring stakeholders maintain a clear line of sight to both project success and program objectives is critical.  Opportunity often lies beyond your typical cadence of status reporting and milestone presentations.  With ongoing and frequent dialogue beyond the mechanics, our advisors will cultivate a dialogue with project stakeholders deliberating project risks related to people, process, and technology, adding rigor to change management and calibrating scoping decisions to balance results with objectives around schedule and costs.
• Steering Committee Oversight & Support – Formal, objective reviews of program success prove useful to calibrating program investment.  Our advisors, extracted from the day to day challenges of operations and project management, provide a useful rudder to steer your program to achieve its longer term vision, and serve as a reality check when responding to trends and anticipating potential disruptions.