WMS Pioneers
Technology Podcasts
Softeon CEO Jim Hoefflin and CTO Mark Fralick team up in this limited podcast series to share stories, anecdotes, and lessons learned over the last 35 years in the warehousing industry. The two friends and colleagues specifically discuss their role in creating one of the first warehouse management systems (WMS). Watch all the episodes at https://www.softeon.com/wms-pioneers.
Location:
United States
Genres:
Technology Podcasts
Description:
Softeon CEO Jim Hoefflin and CTO Mark Fralick team up in this limited podcast series to share stories, anecdotes, and lessons learned over the last 35 years in the warehousing industry. The two friends and colleagues specifically discuss their role in creating one of the first warehouse management systems (WMS). Watch all the episodes at https://www.softeon.com/wms-pioneers.
Twitter:
@Softeon
Language:
English
Contact:
703-793-0005
Website:
https://www.softeon.com/
Email:
contact@softeon.com
Episodes
Ties, Tech, and Touchdowns: The WMS Pioneers Look Back at Their NFL Picks
12/5/2025
This episode, recorded last summer, is a fun look back at Softeon’s leadership team and where their NFL predictions currently stand.
Duration:00:10:55
Navigating Tariffs and Uncertainty
11/4/2025
In the latest episode of The WMS Pioneers, Softeon CEO Jim Hoefflin and CTO Mark Fralick discuss the ongoing tariff war, supply chain uncertainty, and how businesses can stay agile amid change.
Duration:00:10:40
The Power of One WMS
10/8/2025
Softeon CEO Jim Hoefflin and CTO Mark Fralick discuss what makes Softeon’s One WMS philosophy unique and how it drives value for customers.
Duration:00:09:57
Life After SAP WM: Choosing the Right WMS Path Forward
9/11/2025
In this episode of The WMS Pioneers, Softeon leaders Jim Hoefflin (CEO) and Mark Fralick (CTO) weigh in on what the end of life for SAP WM means for customers and why this transition presents a major opportunity for organizations to rethink their warehouse management strategy.
Duration:00:14:46
Muscle, Speed, and Flow: Softeon’s 3PL Advantage
8/12/2025
In this episode of WMS Pioneers, Softeon CEO Jim Hoefflin and CTO Mark Fralick explore how Softeon helps third-party logistics (3PL) providers identify efficiencies, drive operational excellence, and unlock the power of enablement for both themselves and their end customers.
Duration:00:12:49
Creating the Industry’s Best UI UX with Lessons from the Floor
7/8/2025
In this episode of the WMS Pioneers, Softeon CEO Jim Hoefflin and CTO Mark Fralick discuss how Softeon is redefining the warehouse management system (WMS) experience through cutting-edge UI/UX, smarter interfaces, and a deep understanding of real-world operational challenges.
Duration:00:19:33
Turn Your Uniqueness into a Competitive Weapon
6/3/2025
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.
Duration:00:09:45
Bonus Live Episode: Patrick Maley on Robotics Selection at IntraLogisteX UK
4/8/2025
Softeon Chief Revenue Officer Patrick Maley delivered a well-received presentation on how to evaluate robotics and automation for your warehouse during IntraLogisteX UK 2025. This is a bonus episode of the WMS Pioneers podcast that contains the full audio.
Download the robot guide referenced in the episode at https://www.softeon.com/blog/robot-and-goods-to-person-selection-guide/.
Duration:00:18:27
WMS Pioneers Episode 6: The Power of Micro-tuning
12/17/2024
In this episode, Softeon CEO Jim Hoefflin and CTO Mark Fralick discuss Softeon’s concept of micro-tuning, philosophy for upgrades, and commitment to creating more value for customers and partners as quickly as possible. Plus, a look back at how the executives’ preseason predictions for their favorite NFL teams, the Packers and Eagles, measure up in December!
Duration:00:15:47
WMS Pioneers Episode 5: Why Softeon
11/21/2024
In this episode, Softeon CEO Jim Hoefflin and CTO Mark Fralick discuss their decision to join Softeon, the customer-focused culture they're building, and valuable advice for aspiring supply chain professionals on becoming indispensable in their organizations.
Duration:00:24:37
WMS Pioneers Episode 4: The Rise of the 3PL
10/22/2024
Mark has a sneezing spell, while the Pioneers dive into the rise of third-party logistics (3PL), the intricacies of multi-tenant systems, and how Softeon empowers 3PLs to enhance both speed and flexibility.
Duration:00:35:47
WMS Pioneers Episode 3: What Makes a WMS Implementation Successful?
9/17/2024
In this episode, the Pioneers discuss the secrets to a successful WMS implementation, how to avoid death by a thousand keystrokes, and share battle scars from challenging go-lives.
Duration:00:38:03
WMS Pioneers Episode 2: Coffee Addiction, Robotics and Automation
8/20/2024
Softeon CTO Mark Fralick loves coffee. And efficient, integrated, and harmonious warehouses! Mark joins Softeon CEO Jim Hoefflin in the second episode of the WMS Pioneers limited podcast series. The two friends describe the evolution of warehouse technology, where the industry stands today, and provide tips for leaders to navigate the sometimes-daunting landscape.
Lookout for new episodes every month. Watch them all at https://www.softeon.com/wms-pioneers.
Duration:00:23:23
WMS Pioneers Episode 1: The Early Years of WMS
7/23/2024
“Brothers from different mothers” as they describe it, Softeon CEO Jim Hoefflin and CTO Mark Fralick have worked together over the last 35 years. The duo, known at Softeon as “WMS Pioneers” developed one of the first Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) in 1993 after realizing there was a market shaping.
Lookout for new episodes every month. Watch them all at https://www.softeon.com/wms-pioneers.
Duration:00:32:40
Improving Your Warehouse Management System Vocabulary
9/22/2023
Getting WMS team members on the same page in terms of terminology is a key part of a successful Warehouse Management System project. The WMS Glossary of Terms can help, defining more than 90 terms and acronyms, as an on-line resource or downloadable pdf. Great handout for term members at start of a project.
Duration:00:03:18
Understanding the Gartner WMS Critical Capabilities Report
9/15/2023
Less well-known than the WMS Magic Quadrant, the Gartner Critical Capabilities report ranks WMS vendors purely on functionality across nine attributes, weighted by different levels of warehouse complexity. It is an important companion piece to the MQ to understand the WMS market, as we explain in this podcast.
Duration:00:03:39
Softeon’s Mark Fralick on a New Way to Think about Warehouse Execution Systems and Workload Balancing
9/7/2023
In the second of our two podcasts featuring highlights of Mark Fralick’s interview with Bob Trebilcock of Modern Materials Handling magazine, Fralick suggests a new way to think about how Warehouse Execution Systems might orchestrate order fulfillment to balance work across the distribution center.
Duration:00:05:16
Interfacing versus Integration in Materials Handling Systems
8/31/2023
Highlights from a recent Modern Materials Handling magazine podcast featuring editor Bob Trebilcock and Mark Fralick, Chief Technology Officer at Softeon. “Interfacing is easy. Integration is hard,” when it comes to warehouse automation, Fralick says. Trebilcock wants to know why.
Duration:00:04:01
Understanding Distributed Order Management Part 2
8/24/2023
We conclude our look at this important but little understood type of supply chain software.
Duration:00:04:26
Understanding Distributed Order Management
8/4/2023
Distributed Order Management or DOM is a powerful and unique tool to optimize order sourcing across an extended network. It is most well known in Omnichannel retail applications, but there are a number of use cases in B2B as well. Learn more in this informative podcast.
Duration:00:04:22