Rock Ledge Resources > Industries - Retail > Representative Project - Transportation Management

Transportation Management

Business Challenge

A $30 billion retailer was evaluating how to create a "state-of-the-art" transportation management system. Their issue was should the system be built in house, should "canned" software be used or should the existing system be modified to satisfy the business requirement. While searching for available software vendors the decision was made to have one of the major consulting organizations undertake an analysis, led by a Rock Ledge Resources principal, who would represent the interests of the retailer. The vendor would work through the Rock Ledge Resources principal, who in turn would communicate with the retailer. The retailer had over 100 distribution facilities, over 3000 selling units and a large corporate office to consider in its transportation requirements.

Solution

The Rock Ledge Resources principal and the vendor visited locations and met with key participants to determine system requirements. During the site visits and in many group meetings, system specifications were categorized into "must have," "should have" and "would like" reviews. After system specifications were defined, the principal researched vendor software options and the major consulting firm generated cost estimates associated with building a proprietary system. The retailer's IT department determined the modification cost to existing software.

Results

The search concluded there were no "canned" software packages on the market to satisfy the retailer's need that would require any less modification than would be needed for the existing software. The proprietary system architecture specified and evaluated by the major consulting firm was examined from a cost-to-create viewpoint. It was determined that the cost to build an advanced proprietary system (scraping the existing software) exceeded the cost to modify existing software. The modification would accommodate all the "must haves" and some the "would like" items. The retailer's IT division was to undertake the system rewrite based upon normal budget and capital review.

Relationships: Bill Driscoll | Business and Strategic | Retail