Manhattan Associates Streamline Military Supermarkets

Manhattan Associates, a provider of supply chain execution and collaborative commerce solutions, announced its advanced warehouse management system, PkMS(R), was used to streamline facilities in the European region for Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), the U.S. military supermarket chain.

“During our market research, we developed a matrix of features and capabilities that we wanted in a warehouse management system. We graded more than 20 vendors in categories such as operating system, hardware, inventory management, labor management and help desk support,” said Victor Claar, chief of distribution for the DeCA European Region. “Manhattan Associates rated highest against our criteria, especially in the areas of cost and flexibility.”

Manhattan Associates said it consulted throughout the testing stages during the implementation, while the DeCA team handled training and documentation. Manhattan Associates said it committed two consultants full time–including six months in Germany–to support DeCA’s efforts. Additionally, Manhattan Associates committed a project manager to perform supplementary duties and fulfill the government contract requirements and administration.

“Manhattan Associates’ delivery model proved it could successfully adapt to DeCA’s international requirements. The project provided us with the opportunity to become well-versed in the conditions unique to government contracting — reporting, code delivery, funding and approval requirements,” said Michael Ghioto, project consultant for Manhattan Associates. “Although the implementation required the coordination of numerous teams, Manhattan Associates and DeCA worked closely to ensure its success. What we’ve learned through this implementation will prove to be invaluable.”