WMS Pioneers Episode 7: Turn Your Uniqueness into a Competitive Weapon
by Mike Catalino
In this episode, Softeon CEO Jim Hoefflin and CTO Mark Fralick discuss how enablement empowers users to customize and adapt their WMS to unlock its full potential, why other vendors seem to have lost their minds, and how Softeon helps customers leverage their uniqueness as a competitive weapon.
After a short break, the WMS Pioneers are back!
The first episode of season 2 begins with a discussion on enablement: the idea that customers should be able to own their operational processes, rather than conforming to a one-size-fits-all solution.
“Before joining Softeon, I felt like WMS vendors had lost their minds. Many were focused on expanding their footprint and forgot the fundamentals of optimizing the floor. That’s when Jim said, ‘Yes, you’re right – except for Softeon.’”
Mark Fralick, CTO, Softeon
Softeon’s CEO, Jim Hoefflin, adds that to understand the importance of enablement, it helps to zoom out and look at the broader WMS landscape.
“We need to take the physical workflows of a warehouse and map them to a digital reality. That’s the fundamental difference between us and something like QuickBooks. In a warehouse, you’re always striving for that perfect mapping to operational flow.”
Softeon’s unique approach allows customers to copy rules across their network, support different user types, and scale with ease.
“Enablement is all about understanding the audience,” says Mark Fralick, CTO, Softeon. “Maybe it’s a casual user who wants to set and copy a rule across locations. Maybe it’s someone optimizing pick paths. As you go deeper, it’s about codeless integrations. The question is: are we giving the right tools to the right people so they can be effective?”
For companies, especially 3PLs and shippers, differentiation is critical. A generic system won’t cut it.
“If you just have a [one sized fits all WMS] approach, then operationally you can’t differentiate. A lot of our customers are 3PLs and they are always looking to differentiate.”
Jim Hoefflin, CEO, Softeon
“Even shipping companies come to us looking to leverage their supply chain and how they operate as a competitive weapon. It’s hard to do that if you just use a standard solution that everybody else uses.”
Want to hear more about why flexibility beats simplicity in modern supply chain operations and how Softeon keeps its cloud platform stable and extensible? Listen to the full episode today and subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, or other popular podcast channels.
