Serving Up Scale: Modernizing a WMS for growth
Discover how a leading food distributor streamlined operations and optimized its Blue Yonder WMS across sites for 28% revenue growth
INDUSTRY
Consumer ProductsSOLUTION
Warehouse Operations & AutomationOFFERING
WMS Upgrade & OptimizationTECHNOLOGY
Blue YonderWhen growth is the norm, yesterday’s systems become tomorrow’s bottlenecks
This leading food distributor wasn’t just growing—it was doubling in size every five years. That kind of scale puts pressure on every corner of the supply chain, especially warehousing. Their existing warehouse management system, a heavily customized 2009.2 version, had become more anchor than engine: Slowing testing cycles, complicating integrations, and creating risk with each new enhancement.
Meanwhile, their operations weren’t simple. They had 10 U.S. and Canadian DCs, warehouses that handle dry, frozen and refrigerated
goods under the same roof, and a customer base ranging from major distributors to smaller mom-and-pop stores ordering in mixed‑unit quantities. Complexity was the rule, not the exception.
To stay competitive, they needed more than a simple fix. They needed a modern, standardized, and scalable WMS platform—one that could enable faster upgrades, reduce customizations, keep warehouses running at high availability, and create a foundation for future strategic initiatives.
From Blueprint to Breakthrough: A roadmap built for scale
Spinnaker SCA applied its proven Five Lenses Framework to design and deploy a multi-site WMS upgrade that was fast, structured, and flexible. This wasn’t just about installing new software—it was about enabling new ways of operating.
- 01 Defined upgrade path
- 02 Agile multi-site rollout
- 03 Standardization with flexibility
- 04 Collaboration at the core
- 05 From upgrade to enablement
Prioritizing clarity over complexity
We created a clear roadmap from the heavily customized 2009.2 WMS, reducing nonessential customizations to simplify future upgrades and accelerate time-to-value.
Speed without shortcuts
Adopted phased milestones and agile practices to meet aggressive deadlines, ensuring each site’s upgrade was fully tested, validated, and aligned with business needs.
Consistency where it counts, adaptability where it matters
Leveraged Spinnaker SCA's accelerators and templates to create consistency across sites while still adapting to unique warehouse operations in both U.S. and Canadian facilities.
Three partners, one playbook
We built a three-legged partnership between the client company, Spinnaker SCA, and Blue Yonder to keep priorities aligned, minimize disruption, and enable rapid decision-making.
Turning warehouses into growth engines
Moved beyond the upgrade itself by enabling new warehouse capabilities, including: Enhanced each-picking, optimized work assignments, and streamlined receiving.
These efficiencies unlocked the ability to serve smaller-unit orders, expanding distribution models without losing scale.
Upgrading today to fuel tomorrow’s growth
The results speak for themselves. By modernizing WMS execution, the distributor didn’t just maintain operations—they expanded capacity, enabled new business models, and built a foundation for the future.
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Ahead of schedule, under budget: First three multi-site deployments completed faster than planned, with reduced costs
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Operational efficiency gains: Improved throughput via optimized work assignments and faster, simpler receiving processes
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Reduced future tech debt: Fewer customizations ensure smoother upgrades moving forward
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Expanded distribution models: Enabled fulfillment of smaller, more varied order profiles to support evolving customer needs
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Revenue growth support: The modernization contributed to a 28% increase in revenue from 2019 to 2022, with momentum continuing toward 2023 projections
Ready to modernize supply chain execution?
If you need to find capacity, generate fresh revenue streams, or level up your operations to keep pace with growth, let's talk.