Three public cases
The cases below come from different countries and from projects that were not WMS-only; but what happened in warehouse and distribution processes clearly shows the risks a WMS project can face. Figures are only as stated in the cited sources.
| Case | What happened | Lesson for your WMS project |
|---|---|---|
| Hershey (US, 1999) | The system, spanning ERP, CRM and supply chain software, went live as Halloween orders were pouring in; the company said the problems would keep it from delivering about USD 100 million of product [1]. | Do not time go-live for the peak season; set the date against readiness criteria, not the calendar. |
| Target Canada (2013–2015) | The team investigating the problems estimated that product information in the system was accurate only about 30% of the time (98–99% in the US). Distribution centres were bursting with stock while store shelves were empty; some items could not be processed for shipping. All 133 stores closed [2]. | If master data such as item dimensions, weights and units is wrong, the warehouse system cannot work. Make data cleansing the project's first task and add validation at entry. |
| ASOS (United Kingdom, 2019) | Struggling to embed new automation software at its Berlin site, the company faced stock availability problems in the US and EU; the CEO called it “a failure in execution”. The company booked GBP 50.5 million of transition and restructuring costs [3]. | Launching a new site, automation and software at the same time multiplies risk. Plan a phased ramp-up and allow time to reach full capacity. |
Seven common failure patterns
- Wrong or vague scope. A system is chosen before processes are written down; exceptions (returns, partial shipments, quarantine) surface in production.
- Missing or wrong master data. Without dimensions, weights, barcodes and units, putaway and picking rules cannot work [2].
- A project team that does not know the operation. The project is treated as an IT job; the warehouse team is not part of the design and does not own the system.
- Cut-short testing. When the schedule tightens, testing is the first thing cut; the system goes live without end-to-end and load testing.
- Going live at the wrong time. Going live in peak season, or with many changes at once, removes the time needed to fix problems [1][3].
- Unnoticed integration errors. Faulty messages from the ERP pile up silently; stock differences appear later.
- Unmeasured goals. Because accuracy and productivity were not measured before go-live, neither success nor failure can be proven.
Early signs of the “return to Excel” after a WMS
Failure does not always look like a crisis. Often the system seems to work while operations quietly start working around it. Watch for these signs in the months after go-live:
- Reports are prepared in spreadsheets again; data from the system is not trusted.
- Some transactions are done on paper instead of handhelds and entered in bulk later.
- Count differences do not fall; stock adjustments become routine.
- Users constantly override system suggestions (locations, pick sequence).
- Nobody looks at the integration error screen, or there is none.
- Every rule change requires a work order to the vendor.
If two or more of these signs are present, measuring the current state with the operational diagnostic is a good way to separate software, process and data problems.
Reducing the risks
- Write down your processes and exceptions before selection; have vendors play your own flows in a scripted demo.
- Define data cleansing and its owner in the first weeks of the project.
- Make the go-live decision against a go / no-go checklist, not the calendar; write down the rollback plan.
- Ask reference customers about their first weeks after go-live; our reference call questions are designed for this.
- Record accuracy, productivity and lead-time measures before go-live and tie the end of hypercare to them.
If you would like to share an anonymous lesson from your own project, write to info@wmsturkiye.com. Shared cases are published only with explicit permission, with company and personal details removed.
Sources
- CIO, “Supply Chain: Hershey's Bittersweet Lesson” — cio.com (accessed: 2026-09-19)
- Canadian Business, “The Last Days of Target Canada” — canadianbusiness.com (accessed: 2026-09-19)
- RTÉ / Reuters, “ASOS warns on profit again after botching warehouse revamps”, 18 July 2019 — rte.ie (accessed: 2026-09-19)
Method and corrections: editorial policy.