Our idea of what the description “new and improved” means can vary by experience and expectations. It can mean that a product operates faster or has some degree of expanded functionality. Other times it’s more marketing and flash than actual usefulness. However, sometimes it means something deeper or more innovative that completely shifts our approach to how we use that product.

Manhattan Associates’ Active WM application is a great example of this type of innovation. I would argue that it should change how we design and operate in a high-volume distribution facility. The interesting aspect to this application is that most clients and project teams don’t fully appreciate where the true innovation resides. The front-and-center features of lightning-fast cloud hosting, 24/7 uptime, quarterly functional upgrades, and advanced API touch points are amazing. In fact, they’re so great they can sometimes overshadow an equally important, often overlooked feature  pertaining to the Labor Management (LM) module. 

To properly explain why this is the case, some history might be helpful. Early versions of LM in 2006 and 2007 were somewhat clunky, and it wasn’t uncommon for clients to build their own reporting that used only parts of LM or completely replaced it. Newer versions over the next 10 years did a better job of integrating with WM and time clock systems but were expensive and challenging to implement. As a result, enthusiasm for LM in Manhattan’s Active product was somewhat muted. It should be mentioned as well that the early days of Active in 2021 were more focused on the basic process flows required to get a site to go live; many clients simply couldn’t prioritize the LM piece. 

After 2022, the Active application stabilized, and focus shifted more to efficiency and throughput. The pricing structure for LM with Active is different from past versions as it is now included in the license for most customers. Certainly, gains can be found in using LM now in Active, but that is not the full story. 

A fully and properly integrated LM system in Active means that you can take full advantage of Active’s Capacity Manager (CM) module. CM enables tasking to be uncoupled from waving, allowing true order streaming to be embraced for ecommerce environments with behind the scenes order re-prioritization that helps minimize the dreaded cost of expediting. When configured properly in concert with LM, CM keeps critical work areas from being overloaded and helps balance labor to areas of need that might spike during a shift. 

However, determining the best way to set up the CM configuration during design can be challenging if the project team doesn’t fully understand the business and where the volume can potentially fluctuate. During a Manhattan sales pitch for Active, a significant amount of time is dedicated to management dashboards inherently dependent on CM and LM being fully implemented. In spite of this emphasis, it is very rare to see an Active site go live with fully configured or functioning LM or CM modules. It’s typical that CM is just set to max constraints, limiting its functionality to depend on inventory availability. 

Clients are left with a difficult choice: Do they extend design and functional testing phases by adopting  a more iterative or Agile-like hybrid approach, allowing vendors and integrators to develop a better understanding of the business? Or do they go live with the bare bones required for usefulness and circle back to LM and CM post go live?  

The answer depends on several factors, but the overall goal should be to achieve a fully functional LM that feeds the proper use of the CM module. Just as our expectations of “new and improved” vary, so too do the paths clients can take. By embracing a comprehensive implementation approach, clients can achieve a more transformative experience with Active, ensuring they meet their immediate needs while also unlocking the platform’s full potential. Otherwise, clients risk missing out on the best part of what Active has to offer.