warehousing as the cost of doing busi-
ness.... People didn’t understand the value
of engineering.”
The latest recession has brought about
a new focus on cost control, and given a
shot in the arm to labor-management soft-
ware in additional industries, including
high-tech, consumer packaged goods,
pharmaceuticals and automotive. 3PLs
like DSC are also embracing the technol-
ogy. They are either acquiring it directly,
or through licenses purchased by manu-
facturing customers, Kozenski says.
Workforce-management apps are of particular value to 3PLs because they allow the
user to track costs that can be charged back
to each client. They can also help the logistics provider to sort out expenses in a multi-client facility, where employees might be
dedicated to certain customers.
DSC wasn’t a user of RedPrairie’s full
WMS suite when it acquired Workforce
Management. The company saw no point
in replacing legacy systems at its various
sites unless there was a proven return on
investment, says Kozenski. That said, DSC
has been gradually rolling out the Red-
In addition to tracking labor perform-
ance, Workforce Management supports
incentive programs for employees who
perform above set benchmarks. That fea-
ture has been key to winning acceptance
by workers who want to be recognized for
their individual efforts. “[Some] employees
said it’s about time that everyone was held
accountable at the same consistent way of
doing work,” Chamberlain says. Others
were more skeptical at the outset, prefer-
ring to take a “wait-and-see” attitude.
SPOTLIGHT ON ACCESS AMERICA TRANSPORTATION
‘This company has created a one-stop shop concept in terms
of service and support of our account.’
‘They simply have it all, great service, great attitude, great value.’
‘Access America provides top-of-the-line customer service.
They continue to exceed our expectations.’
‘Detailed on-time service, paying attention to the needs
and wants of our demanding company.’
