Synapse Software

Synapse has completely changed the way we operate. It has taken time to change our processes and re-train our employees, but for the better. Many of our customers have come to us from other 3PL’s and are astonished by the level of service and transparency that Synapse offers. Every system has pros and cons; there’s no perfect system out there. Zethcon listens to their customers, large and small. The cons that I’ve listed will likely be addressed in the future, so you shouldn’t put too much weight on those if you’re in the market.

Pros

Synapse can be installed on your own internal network or hosted by Zethcon.

Customer support is fantastic! Zethcon utilizes an online ticketing system and are quick to respond to critical issues. The staff is very knowledgeable and has found a solution to every unique situation that we've given them.

Zethcon is continually upgrading their products to keep up with technology and changing customer needs.

The warehouse interface, WebRF, allows the use of smart phones and tablets instead of the costly RF guns. WebRF also has a function called Media Capture which allows the warehouse operator to take photos and upload them to the order. Our customers absolutely love this!

Cons

Billing is event driven (which is ok), but it does not allow for conditional logic. Storage renewal billing is confusing and can't be fully automated for daily, weekly, or bi-weekly schedules.

Synapse's emailing capabilities are lacking and don't allow for much customization. Small package shipment notification emails to consignees are only sent once and can't be re-sent if there is a tracking number change.

The customer portal, Web Synapse, is generally good and easy to navigate. Our customer’s biggest pet peeve is not being able to select & copy text from the page.

the Zethcon team is still available to help and offer suggestions after the sale has been made and the startup is complete. great team that cares.

Pros

Synapse has a variety of features and functions that make the software versatile. In the 3PL environment, I appreciate the variety of options. Customer Support is excellent as well, as a long time customer the team has established working relationships with Zethcon employees that are familiar with our business, making trouble shooting and functional questions much easier to resolve

Cons

During startup and training, the variety of functionality can be overwhelming. Internally we have to streamline the documentation to make it more operational user friendly.

Pros

Zethcon has provided great customer service and helped us with whatever questions we have. Synapse is a highly evolved system and it offers many great options for whatever type of WMS a business requires.

Cons

There are some small quirks with the system that affect some of our customers. Because we can't use special characters it offers problems for some of our customers. Zethcon has worked with us, however, and provided work arounds to be able to satisfy our customer requirements.

Pros

Synapse is very user friendly and easy to navigate for all warehouse functionality. Synapse is highly configurable offering many solutions for satisfying many specific customer needs. Synapse support group is always available to discuss any software needs and review process efficiency, including possible modifications if needed. System availability is never a concern while working from remote locations and support is always immediately available on critical issues.

Cons

May take some time to get all the configurations setup to get the process running exactly as needed, but there is always a solution with Synapse and the Zethcon team.

Our business is complex...many customers with a variety of requirements. We required a WMS with the flexibility and robustness to meet these requirements. Synapse is that WMS and the Zethcon team works in partnership with us.

Pros

Synapse is user friendly at all levels, and for all functional areas...customer service through warehouse operations.

Cons

We cannot point to any negatives. While the base system did not provide all of the functionality that we determined essential for our business, the Zethcon team readily supported us with necessary modifications.

i have been through 3 implementations for WMS systems. two were complete failures with large amounts of money spent on consultants that could not deliver when it mattered. that is not the case with synapse. the go lives were supported and the system worked as it was designed.

Pros

the ability to manage inventory with ease is the most productive part of this system. everything is systemic and inventory can be tracked, updated, adjusted, reviewed, and reported from the computer. there are multiple layers of permissions and security for users of the system so that user's abilities can be controlled with ease. all of my customer will question their inventory levels at some point because they are not using a system that is on the level of synapse on their end. 99.9% of the time my inventory is right and we are able to quickly identify where the issue is on my customers end. i would say that we use about 40% of the functionality of the system, so there is always room to grow. we are always finding new options and processes that we can use to our benefit. every time a customer throws a curve ball we are able to find a way to use the system to support their request.

Cons

i have found that it is best to have a super user in house that learns and uses all of the supporting functionality of the system. it is more cost effective to build custom report in house. a super user that is 100% dedicated to understanding and managing the system allows for faster processing of reports and system setup to fully utilize all of the functions of the system and to fully test new processes. Zethcon does provide support, but there needs to be that in house person to interface and implement.

The product has a great features, very custom software. It is a cloud based.

Pros

Custom feature, migration, REPORTING

Cons

Price, number of users

Advice to Others

Very custom
good for invoicing
reporting

Likes Best

Synapse knows its stuff stone cold...extremely helpful customer service...they know which direction you point you to...

Likes Least

Nothing at this point...honestly - quite good...the Customer Service department is quite good...

Recommendations

Lay out the process for your warehouse...make it very very detailed...then compare and work Synapse hard...their Customer service will be of great help to you, for sure.

Likes Best

The team at Zethcon is friendly and knowledgeable. They all have experience in the 3PL sector and it shows. From the very beginning, during the demo and quoting processes; it was very nice to be able to communicate with a software that understands your needs at your level. They sell you a product that can get the job done for you, the way you need it done; not just a package of bells and whistles. Once we became a live & operational customer, the support staff (help desk) has been attentive, quick to respond and has answered every question and issue we've presented to them.

Likes Least

I honestly have no complaints about Zethcon. I know people don't necessarily like to hear that, but it's the truth. As far as the product, Synapse, there have been little system capability/operations issues that occasionally arise, but honestly expected when migrating to new software. These issues are minor and we've been able to adapt to everything except one, which we needed to pay for a customization/addition. Zethcon delivered this addition as agreed upon and very quickly.

Recommendations

I'd say laying a detailed list of needs and wants is key. Also categorize them; must-haves to the not-a-deal-breaker items, then set a limit of how many items you feel is acceptable to have met or not. Compiling this list should start months in advance. Not everything that happens in your warehouse will happen every day, or even every week.

Likes Best

Focus on the multi-client 3PL warehouse operator. Synapse has robust functionality, strikes the right balance between functionality and complexity - not an easy accomplishment for many developers. Zethcon is certainly the right size company for us and for most companies in the 3PL space. We have access to ownership and senior decision makers. Zethcon has adequate resources to devote to significant projects, e.g. new customer implementations and version upgrades.

Likes Least

Their unique approach is both a strength and a drawback. Zethcon has a robust user group that collaborates to improve the software. This approach means that my company benefits from developments other users have made to the software. At the same time, my competitors go to school on my talented IT team and learn our unique approach to handling some complex requirements. At the end of the day, any competitive advantage we spur is short-lived anyway. In the long run we are better served to operate in a collaborative environment with other users, and benefit from the collective investment in Synapse.

Recommendations

Don't bother with consultants who market their 1000-question surveys - you will never wade through all the responses in a meaningful way. That only serves the interests of the consultant. Instead, identify your top 10-12 key reasons that you want to upgrade your WMS and then have each vendor/developer demonstrate how their system handles your unique requirement. You will find that Synapse will handle your requirement in their base release; or Zethcon will find a way to elegantly incorporate your requirement into a mod for a modest additional cost.

Likes Best

Flexibility, Advanced Functionality, Track and Trace ability, Easy export of reports into a plethora of formats (PDF, Excel, RPT File, CSV, TXT, Word), Ability to customize reports, System generated auto-emailing (Receipts, BOL's and many other notifications), GUI is simple, straight forward and customizable, good support staff who is truly in-tune with their customer base and extremely knowledgeable from top to bottom.

Likes Least

Nothing different from any other out of the box product. Enhancements, modifications are always going to happen and should be expected.

Recommendations

Ask as many questions as possible and be extremely specific. All systems have they're own vernacular and it might not be the same as you are used to (I.E - Can you do this vs. can you do this in this scenario, etc.) Take your time with the process and have a plan.
This is a large decision ... Get as much feedback from your end users and evaluate all aspects of the software - Top to bottom / Executives all the way down. Buy in is critical.

Likes Best

They've got a great help desk when we have issues, and since they are local it's nice that we can get hands on support when needed. There are a lot of great resources for training and the user group is nice to bounce ideas off of other companies using the software.

Likes Least

There really isn't much that we don't like about the software. The only thing I can think of is that there were a few modifications required to get the system setup to exactly how we would like it, which was an added cost.

Recommendations

Go see the software in action, that's the best way to get a good feel for it.

Likes Best

As a system, Synapse has done very well with our varied facilities and customers. I believe there is only one option that would top Synapse as our WMS and that would be if we had our own custom, in-house WMS and Developers. However, the cost would be much higher and so the value of Synapse is a better option. We have been with Zethcon/Synapse since 2006 and in my previous experience, I have not found a better software supplier to work with. In previous work experiences, when an upgrade to software was done, there was almost always failures in meeting customer expectations; with Synapse, we have not had that once. In addition, we have undergone 16 conversions from different WMS to Synapse and 8 startups and again, not a single missed shipment. That speaks highly of the software and the provider.

Likes Least

There is some functionality that is not available, such as billing for labor in less than a full hour and a customer monthly minimum overall charge that I feel is something that could be considered standard with a WMS but is not so with Synapse. From a vendor standpoint, there really isn't anything that I could list here, beyond cost, but primarily because cost is always a factor in the use of software.

Recommendations

Reviews such as this are a primary consideration to me in evaluating the software, not just from a software standpoint, but from customer satisfaction in regard to the supplier (in this case Zethcon). If the supplier promises the world, it is unlikely that they can meet the expectation. Zethcon never promised the world, so there was no disappointment in that regard. However, they have come through with positive responses to questions and issues each and every time. I think direct contact with some of the vendor's customers is critical - whether on site, or by phone.