In the race to meet the March deadline, as the pressure to deliver the new system pushed everyone to work nights and weekends, and as the opportunity to deliver the first reduction in temporary labor costs loomed, Dorfman Pacific hit the brakes. Despite everyone’s efforts, the new system and processes just weren’t ready. "We pushed this very, very fast. We were trying to drive operational costs down, and we let that color our judgment," says Dulle.

The go-live date moved to July. It was a costly decision. Dorfman employed the largest amount of temporary labor in March and April, and executives were counting on this first reduction in costs. However, the extra time allowed employees to work through lingering issues with the IT systems and the new shipping and inventory flows. For example, the warehouse management system required a different floor configuration and new ways to pick, pack and ship products. It also placed more emphasis on the process of expediting the merchandise no matter how many other products were a part of the order and were, most likely, going to the same customer.

For bigger retailers, receiving 20 boxes instead of five wasn’t a problem. But for the smaller stores, receiving 20 boxes instead of the usual five made a huge difference because of the accumulated freight charges. The delay let Dulle and the team reconfigure the software to fix the problem and keep smaller customers happy.

CEO Highsmith says the decision to delay was based on how the premature rollout might have a negative effect on Dorfman Pacific’s customer base so close to peak season. "The technology embrace has to have a positive impact on customers. If it makes it more efficient here but has a negative impact on the customer, whatever gain you make you lose on the other end."

After the delay, Dulle says, Dorfman Pacific was "mentally ready" for the new operations and procedures. Each warehouse bin now had only one product type in it, and all bins had bar code labels so wireless scanning devices could track inventory. The warehouse was divided into new zones, which sped up the shipping process for orders that didn’t need any extra handling.

Instead of bludgeoning its way to the finish line, Dorfman Pacific was able to pull back when other companies might have pressed on. "We were able to stop and catch our breath, and work through the issues and flows," Dulle says.