Expertise & Services
Specialist Manhattan WMS support across the full project lifecycle, from design workshops to post-go-live optimisation.
Focused. Practical.
Deeply Experienced.
Every engagement is different, but the underlying requirement is usually the same: you need someone who genuinely knows Manhattan, not someone who learned it on your project. With more than two decades working exclusively in Manhattan Active WM and WMOS, across nine industries and fifteen countries, that's exactly what SMH Supply Chain offers.
Areas of Expertise
Solution Design & Workshops
The design phase is where implementations are won or lost, and it's the part most often underestimated. Leading design workshops with operational and IT stakeholders requires both deep product knowledge and the ability to facilitate complex decisions under pressure.
I've led design workshops for tier-one clients across multiple industries, covering warehouse processes, task management strategy, integration architecture, and the configuration decisions that will shape how the system operates for years to come. The goal is always to help clients make informed strategic decisions, not to default to whatever worked on the last project.
Implementation Design & Delivery
Hands-on implementation support from initial configuration through to go-live. I'm equally comfortable working at the detailed configuration level (building rule sets, task types, directed work definitions, wave templates and integration mappings) or taking the lead on a broader implementation programme.
Testing is part of this. A well-structured test programme, aligned to the design decisions made in the workshops, is essential to a clean go-live. I bring experience designing and executing test plans that expose the gaps before they become production incidents.
Integration Architecture & Design
WMS-to-host integration is one of the most technically complex aspects of a Manhattan implementation, and one of the most common sources of project risk. Defining the interfaces between Manhattan and ERP, order management, transport management or client-specific systems requires a clear head and detailed functional knowledge on both sides.
I've designed integration specifications across numerous host systems in multiple industries. The work involves defining message flows, data mapping, error handling, cutover sequencing and the operational implications of interface failures. Getting this right at the design stage is considerably cheaper than fixing it in testing or, worse, after go-live.
Operations Optimisation
Identifying where a WMS operation is underperforming requires spending time on the warehouse floor, not just reading reports. GEMBA walks, observation, data analysis and conversations with the people doing the work are how the real pain points surface.
Optimisation work covers directed work redesign, slotting strategy, task type configuration, pick path logic and process flow, with a focus on measurable productivity improvement. The philosophy I've operated under, particularly during my time at DHL, is to achieve more with the existing workforce: smarter system design, not headcount reduction.
Task Management & Directed Work
Manhattan's task management engine is one of the most powerful tools in the WMS, and one of the most underutilised. When configured well, it eliminates dead running, drives equipment utilisation, balances workload across shifts and ensures every resource is always doing the most productive work available to them.
Specialist expertise in task interleaving, eligibility rule design, zone and location-based task assignment, and the operational logic that makes directed work actually work in practice. The case studies on this site include two operations where task interleaving delivered substantial, measurable productivity gains.
3PL & Multi-Client Configurations
Third-party logistics presents a distinct set of challenges in any WMS: multi-client inventory segregation, billing, client-specific process rules, shared resource management and the commercial sensitivity around client data. This is territory I know exceptionally well.
I was part of the team that designed the original 3PL extensions to Manhattan WMOS, the multi-client functionality that made the product viable for logistics providers operating on behalf of multiple customers. That work was later adopted into the Manhattan base product. If your operation runs multiple clients through a single Manhattan instance, I understand the design challenges better than most.
Training & Knowledge Transfer
Effective training requires adapting to the audience. An IT super-user session needs different content, different language and a different pace than a warehouse operations team session. Getting that wrong (and it happens often) leaves people either bored or confused, and neither outcome is useful.
I've delivered Manhattan WMS training at all levels: end-user process training, super-user configuration workshops, and technical sessions for IT staff responsible for ongoing system management. Training was consistently one of the highest-rated aspects of the client engagements I led at Manhattan Associates.
Complex Configuration & Technical Support
Some problems require a level of product knowledge that standard support channels (and most consulting firms) simply can't provide. Configuration issues that have stumped the internal team, defects with non-obvious root causes, unexpected system behaviour that appears post-go-live: these are the kinds of problems where deep product expertise matters.
I spent four years in DHL's Warehousing Centre of Excellence resolving exactly these types of issues for country-level teams across APAC. If you have a Manhattan problem that nobody else has been able to solve, it's worth having a conversation.
Manhattan Active WM & WMOS
SMH Supply Chain specialises exclusively in Manhattan Associates' warehouse management products: Manhattan Active Warehouse Management (formerly WM) and the legacy Manhattan WMOS platform.
This focus is intentional. Manhattan is a product of genuine depth and complexity, and the difference between someone who has worked in it for two years and someone who has spent twenty years in it (including helping to build part of the product) is substantial.
Whether you are running a current Active WM implementation or managing a legacy WMOS environment, the expertise available through SMH Supply Chain covers both platforms across multiple version releases.
Platforms Covered
- Manhattan Active Warehouse Management
- Manhattan WMOS (all major versions)
Industries
Not Sure Where to Start?
An initial conversation costs nothing and usually clarifies a great deal. Get in touch and let's work out whether there's a good fit.
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