Synergy Logistics, provider of the innovative Snapfulfil ‘Software as a Service’ (SaaS) Warehouse Management System solution, is a highly successful UK software company, which is now taking on the US market, with two offices in Charleston, South Carolina and Chicago, Illinois and more on the way.
Synergy focuses on developing effective Warehouse Management Systems, especially Snapfulfil for its wide range of clients, ranging from global organisations to SMEs. Significant and continuous R&D investment ensures Synergy remains at the forefront of advances in WMS technology, whilst maintaining rock solid reliability. Their focus on and understanding of the needs of the modern warehouse ensures they develop solutions ideally suited to addressing the significant operational demands their clients face, in a clear, simple and intuitive way.
Snapfulfil, the latest in Synergy’s family of WMS solutions, is breaking new ground in the WMS market with a unique combination of technological sophistication, class leading user interface and a simple but comprehensive and ‘No Capex’ Software as a Service (SaaS) business model. This means that Synergy shares the risk and reward of implementing a WMS with their clients, to make sure that both parties are just as motivated to ensure that every project is successful.
Snapfulfil provides a WMS solution for clients in many industry sectors including manufacturing, third party logistics, retail and wholesale distribution, e-commerce, food & beverage and electronics & electrical. Synergy’s dedication to customer service and the delivery of effective solutions to their valued clients has resulted in numerous business awards, culminating in the latest accolade, inclusion as a ‘visionary’ in the latest Warehouse Management Software Magic Quadrant from Gartner Inc which recognises Synergy’s efforts to provide excellence in service and quality software, which has ultimately resulted in their prestigious client profile.
Gavin Clark, Commercial Director at Synergy Logistics Ltd, spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News.
Warehouse & Logistics News – First of all, Gavin, can you run through the different software products and services that Synergy provides?
Synergy focuses on the support and development of the SaaS WMS product, Snapfulfil, but we never cease supporting a software application we have launched while there is still a demand for it. We are therefore involved with the support and development of a number of systems, including a system that forms the basis of a WMS solution that we provided to Coca-Cola over 20 years ago and they still use across 12 sites to this day.
WLN – As Commercial Director, what is your role in the company day to day? Are you directly involved in developing solutions for customers?
Looking after the sales and marketing efforts for the business, I spend most of my day on different aspects of those key business activities and while I find them interesting, it will make for very dull reading, so I won’t continue! I’m very lucky in many respects, as my role involves a wide range of different responsibilities and business goals, which while are not related to the software applications, are all connected to the promotion and provision of a first class solution for our clients.
WLN – When was Synergy founded? Who owns it now?
Synergy was founded in 1972 and in fact we recently looked back on the years since we turned 40. 1972 saw great technological advances and achievements. As Apollo 17 heralded the last manned mission to the moon, NASA was also launching the Space Shuttle programme and Mariner 9 was beaming to Earth the first photos of Mars. Back on Earth the first hand-held calculator HP-35 was launched for the princely sum of $395 and Atari launched the first video game, “Pong”, which now seems like a game of tennis for Neanderthal man!!
In the same year Synergy Logistics first opened its doors for business in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. Ever since those early days, Synergy has built its reputation and client base by revolutionising the transportation and warehouse industries. The Chairman of Synergy Logistics, Hugh Stevens, joined the company in 1980, coinciding with a re-location to Loughborough and has been instrumental in virtually all of our many achievements since.
WLN – Where are you based in the UK? How much of your business is now outside the UK? Can you tell us about your plans to take on the US market?
Our head office is in Loughborough and we have two offices in the US, in Charleston, South Carolina and Chicago, Illinois. These offices provide sales support, client and implementation services across the USA and Canada.
Despite the high number of established vendors in the US, we have won some significant business there this year, including some very big names in the market, across the e-commerce, 3PL and retail verticals. We intend to build on this success with a further office on the west coast of the US and increased attendance at trade shows and seminars across the country.
WLN – How do you sum up the Synergy proposition, particularly for warehousing and logistics operations?
We are the UK’s leading provider of ‘Software as a Service’ Warehouse Management Systems. We provide a sophisticated, Real Time, RF hardware based solution to our clients, but with no requirement for capital investment and only requiring a short 12-month subscription. We have clients in virtually all business verticals and sizes and can help operations to benefit from the years of experience we have gained, helping warehouse operations to save money and improve customer service.
WLN – Can you talk us through the Snapfulfil Software as a Service (SaaS) concept, and the benefits it offers to users of Warehouse Management Systems?
Software as a Service is simply a way to access a first class Warehouse Management System (WMS) but requiring “No Capital Expenditure.” For companies that adopt Snapfulfil, there are no payments or costs incurred for the system until it is installed, tested and ready to go “Live”. Once the system is tested and is proven to do everything the agreed specification said it would, a simple monthly subscription becomes payable, based on the number of concurrent users. SaaS offers a ‘win-win’ situation for our clients. Not only do they benefit from a huge cost saving of up to 30% through improved efficiency and accuracy by installing a WMS, but all the way through the process we share the financial burden with them to ensure that all parties continue to be successful.
Major research establishments, such as Gartner™ and AMR™ have been predicting major growth in the software industry, due to the increased adoption of Software as a Service and Cloud solutions since 2009 and the pace is continuing to grow. In effect SaaS means businesses can access the software solutions they need without tying up essential credit lines, or taking on long term fiscal commitments, which in the current economic climate can only help companies remain solvent and competitive.
WLN – Does ‘Software as a service’ mean ‘pay as you go’? What’s the minimum contract period?
Essentially, the Software as a Service model is ‘pay as you go’, but due to the high costs of hardware and the amount of implementation services that are absorbed by us, we have to stipulate a minimum contract term of 12 months.
WLN – What kinds of cost savings and other benefits can you expect using SaaS WMS instead of investing in conventional WMS?
Snapfulfil typically improves picking and dispatch efficiency by up to 30%. It dramatically reduces order fulfilment time and significantly enhances accuracy and customer service.
WLN – What size of organisations stand to benefit from SaaS-style WMS systems?
Snapfulfil and our other effective Warehouse Management Systems are ideal for clients of all sizes. We have clients across a wide range of verticals: E-Commerce, manufacturing, distribution, retail, third party logistics providers, construction and public utilities.
The power and flexibility of the system has always attracted the 3PL providers, from the smallest to the largest, but we have noticed a shift to e-commerce in the past few years. These businesses are now experiencing such growth they are taking on people who are experienced in logistics and supply chain, rather than previously where they only recruited technical expertise. This attention to more professional distribution, along with many of these businesses also bringing in-house previously out-sourced operations, has created a real lift in the amount of business from these dynamic companies.
WLN – Can you name any of your clients and talk about which Synergy solutions they have, and what they use them for? Do you publish customer case studies?
With a client list built over 40 years, we are delivering solutions for companies such as Coca Cola, Huhtamaki, Vax, Pine Solutions, UTL, Vodafone, Oak Furnitureland, SCA and DHL, plus many others that we can’t name due to confidentiality clauses!
WLN – You have recently introduced ‘Mobile Manager,’ a new iPad reporting tool. Can you tell us about that?
“Mobile Manager” is a new reporting tool designed to be deployed from an iPad (or other tablets later in ’13) and allows the data from the Warehouse Management System to be interrogated whilst on the move around the warehouse, or even remotely… Pick rates in Pisa, shipping volumes in Singapore! Each reporting Pod can be interrogated in a variety of ways, with graphs, charts and other easy to view options.
WLN – What sets Synergy apart from other vendors? Why buy a WMS solution from you?
Quite simply, Snapfulfil is Software as a Service, and we focus on the service element. Software is simply a solution to a problem and when it becomes a problem, rather than a solution you need a fast and effective response from our most significant investment… people. While many vendors are cutting back, we have added additional expertise to our senior management, client services and sales teams this year. For example, Tony Dobson is our new Operations Director, with over 18 years’ experience as an Operational and IT Director for businesses such as Microlise, Kewill, eBuyer.Com and Play.Com. He will be using his in-depth knowledge and experience as a vendor AND as a customer to ensure we continue to deliver a first class solution.
WLN – How easy is it to integrate Snapfulfil and your other WMS solutions into a company’s existing systems? Do you supply middleware to help users access your software?
Yes, we do. We have developed ‘SnapIntegrate,’ a sophisticated integration tool to take the the pain and uncertainty out of the process of integrating WMS with proven connectors to most of the existing financial control or ERP systems.
WLN – What solutions will you be showing at IMHX? What new products and developments will you be introducing at the show?
We will be launching and demonstrating the new Mobile Manager system, along with highlighting some of the key features that we have already delivered to Snapfulfil clients that might also provide improvements in efficiency and accuracy to any prospective clients.
WLN – The big question: why should a busy professional from the logistics industry take a day out of the office to visit your stand?
Warehouse Management Solutions are one of the key tools that can help a warehouse manager to increase efficiency and drive savings within their warehouse operation. Typically the acquisition and implementation headaches, never mind the up-front capital costs, prevent most warehouse managers from using this important tool. Snapfulfil SaaS WMS is, quite simply, “a better way.”
WLN – Looking at the wider picture, what do you see as the biggest pressures on users of WMS systems, going forward?
Many users of the older, legacy type system may face some issues with support and/or changes to their vendor. Many of the largest players in the US and UK have been acquired or merged in the past 12 months, and this is likely to continue. Many of the companies that have failed to invest in future technologies are now struggling, or have been acquired by larger businesses.
According to the latest report by business analysts, some of the UK WMS market has had some poor results: 8 WMS vendors are in financial danger and will struggle to survive: 15 companies named in the report would make excellent acquisitions: Competitive pressure is now so intense, a third of companies are making a loss: 8 companies increased their debt
As a business we have experienced 20% growth for the past three years running, but it is clear that many others are facing tough trading conditions.
WLN – Finally, where do you see the UK WMS market and Synergy Logistics going from here? What impact will expanding your US involvement have on your operations here?
We see the market moving towards slicker, leaner implementations and more focus on the faster realisation of the benefits associated with deploying a WMS.
Also, there are likely to be many more SaaS and Cloud offerings on the UK market, with some being described as Hybrids. This blend of older technology with a different payment model can often be made to look like a ‘Software as a Service’ offering, but with few of the real benefits available to their users.
2013 will see increased use of tablet and Smartphone hardware to access key business systems, with Windows 8 also driving the market towards this rapid access approach for all users. Our US expansion will provide greater resources for the development and improvement of the Snapfulfil system, which will benefit both of our markets!
Tel: 01509 232706
email: info@snapfulfil.com
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