Everything was on the table. "We decided that if we’re going to disrupt the warehouse, we’re going to do it all at once and get it done," Dulle says. "We felt that that was the only way to go."

Dorfman Pacific execs also wanted to make certain that the wireless component, a critical piece of the overhaul, would work in their warehouse. They hired Texas Bar Code Systems to conduct a radio frequency study to see if the wireless signals would play nice inside the facility’s concrete walls, steel doors and metal racks, and to identify the best wireless access points.

The IT infrastructure gluing this all together also needed a makeover. Dulle had to revamp the ERP system he inherited as well as select, install and integrate a new warehouse management system that had wireless capabilities and could sift through the company’s warehouse data and shipping information. He also ripped out the old networking, cables and switches, and upgraded to the latest and fastest network gear and fiber.

After hiring Symbol Technologies for the wireless networking equipment, HighJump Software for the warehouse management system and Zebra Technologies for the bar-coding equipment, and selecting an integrator (RedLine Solutions), Dorfman Pacific could see its future warehouse. The backbone would be a wireless local area network (with 802.11 connectivity) that utilized 15 wireless access points (APs) spread out over the facility that could simultaneously run the 802.11a/b/g bands on each AP. Warehouse staff would have 40 mobile and fixed-mounted computers on the forklifts at their disposal. The devices were kept simple: "[It was] all F1, F2, press this key, press this button—no mouse and no pen," Dulle says.

In the back office, IT was set to roll out an upgraded ERP suite and the new warehouse management system that would direct the picking, packing and shipping processes using specialized logistics software. Data from the software would appear on the forklift’s mobile device and tell a picker where to go, what to grab and where to bring it in the most efficient way. Paper would be a thing of the past.

Learn from Mistakes

In late 2004, executives and the project team had to sell the change and set the expectations for the March 2005 go-live date for the folks on the floor. Executives held group meetings and one-on-ones, formed focus groups and selected project leads to get the message out. "We said, We’re going to make your lives different," Dulle recalls. "We’re going to make it harder to make mistakes. We’re going to make it more efficient. We’re going to help you to do a better job." Everyone got on board.