Transportation Software Implementation Methodologies

Courier based software is continually being increased in its capabilities, with features like full internal operations, 2-way data dispatch, online order entry, signature capture, GPS tracking, bar code scanning and warehouse distribution to name a few. Choosing the right vendor for this technology has come down to relationships, however implementing this technology lies the major hurdle. The most common issues that occur when implementing software products are business procedure alignment and acceptance from the human view.

Although many of the industry's software developers offer a comprehensive and acceptable training program, this training lacks the identification of the most common issues, procedure alignment and human acceptance. In most cases, the ROI (return on investment) for a software package will never be recognized until the software is properly and effectively implemented. Rarely is the cost of implementation budgeted and accounted for while discussing new software and this cost frequently exceeds the initial cost of the original software. The additional cost is typically associated to improper implementation and the implications of not addressing the procedure alignment and human acceptance. It is stated that the implementation of software consumes up to 1/3 of the budget of a software purchase (more than hardware and software requirements together).

Implementation Complexity Challenges

The complexity of implementing software is different on several issues. Some of examples are the effects that the implementation has on changes of tasks and responsibilities for the end users, the culture and integrity of the organization where the software is going to be used and the number of end users that will use the software. In general, business procedures have to be aligned with software or functional procedures.

According to one of the industry's software vendors, on average a courier company 40% of the time requires some level of software customization. Although today's courier software packages are very feature rich, it is impossible to adhere to all business procedures.

Software customization and Business Process Redesign

Technology assessments, used to align product software and organizational structures, identifies the differences in current business practices and software workflow. When the conclusion is drawn that the software and organizational structure do not align, there are two alternatives.
1) Change business procedures
2) Customize software.

It is estimated that 80% of courier companies running courier software is faced to make this decision.

Customizing the software actually transforms the software, which may result in loss of support or increased cost of support or upgrades. Customizing however results in a situation where organization integrity is not adjusted, which puts less pressure on the end user and less changes in business workflow.

Redesigning business processes is more sensible for causing resistance in the usage of product software, as altered business processes will alter tasks and responsibilities for the end users of the product software. However, while the software is not altered, better support, training and service levels are possible. The final cost is generally less and the adoption time frame is greatly decreased.

Overcoming Implementation Issues

Elliot Masie, president of the MASIE Center Learning and Technology Think Tank, once said that is is relatively easy to change your technology or to create new business processes, but that the difficult part in any change initiative is the people. Changing people's attitudes and behaviors is the greatest challenge in implementing new software systems, and one that can be easily overlooked. Not following through on the human component of software implementation can result in increased costs and reduce productivity through sub-optimal performance, more errors and longer implementation times.

Training is a key component in accelerating performance. However, courier software developers offer technical based training and do not provide business training. Technical training defines how the software functions, but does not address how the functionality addresses the specific business processes. It does not identify the key business process gaps nor does technical training address business and procedure alignment. Business training for the end user is generally the responsibility of the organization to identify and generally leaves gaps, in turn decreasing the ROI and increasing implementation time frame. The cost associated to this failure results in several measurable costs and many immeasurable costs such as customer satisfaction and retention, user adoption and acceptance level, decreased efficiency and loss of competitive advantage.

Additionally, software vendors provide the necessary tools to empower the courier company to effectively provide the necessary business training to users, but rarely does a courier company deploy these tools effectively. End users and managers are provided with operating manuals, multimedia presentation and demonstrations as a form of training. Unfortunately these learning styles only have a 30% effective retention rate.

Implementation Frameworks

There are several implementation frameworks available as a guide to effectively managing software implementation, which include but not limited to DSDM, Prince2, Clarity, Iterative incremental, embedded and generic methods. Since courier operation software is a mission critical application, it is generally favorable to employ the embedded method. Embedded models implies not only that the model is usable with the specific software product, but also that the product can and should only be implemented using the software model. Thus, generally little or no customization is required and software integration is favored.

Technology Assessments

Generally, prior to software implementation and sometimes software purchase, conducting a technology assessment will provide the necessary frameworks and set directions towards a successful implementation. Following a systematic approach will help to identify technology and process gaps.

1. Determine the problem areas from the employees' perspective, by talking with new users, seasoned veterans, instructors and sale representatives. They can articulate where the real difficulties are. Don't rely on information solely from managers or executives, as they are usually too far removed from the daily issues.
2. Identify KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) for the courier business. Benchmark these KPIs against industry averages and top industry performers. Examples include Dispatcher to Courier ratio and Online Order percentage for on-demand businesses.
3. Determine and identify the market situation and demands. This information will help determine what needs your existing clients, and potential clients require from your service, outside of delivery. This may include EDI capabilities, Electronic signatures, Electronic PODs to multiple locations or a simple live person on the phone!

Such information will be beneficial in determining whether software customization or procedure changes are necessary. Upon your findings, prepare an action plan for implementation.

1. Select the high value concepts and procedures for training, as theses are the most often used and most difficult to master.
2. Add a glossary explaining new terms and new vocabulary, as quite often vocabulary used by the software developer may be different than the courier company.
3. Create timelines for training, ensuring all end users are effectively training on each of their respective component AND thoroughly tested. Timed tests for order entry and dispatch are a good idea. Although this can increase costs, the benefits of doing this versus failure to do so will ultimately harm the full implementation in the long run. This includes creating multimedia training tools for end users AND customers. Any software training program should consist of mastering a certain mixture of vocabulary (new terms and what they mean), concepts (how things actually work) and procedures (how to do something).
4. Measure the performance and benchmark against initial findings, including industry averages and leaders.
5. Make these training modules and KPIs available to anyone, anytime, anywhere. The internet is a wonderful medium for delivery instructional programs from one location to many.

The Return on Investment

By comparing the total cost of implementation with the desired results, the value of a performance program focused on the employees' real skills can be determined. How the return on investment is measured depends on what is deemed important to the company. It may be increased sales, increased productivity, decreased costs, decreased error rates or other tangible measures. On the other hand, the performance intervention can be used to gain something intangible like promoting change, creating a community of practice or building teams.

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