Synapse WMS Reviews

Pros

As a 3PL we like the substantial feature set of the software. No matter what business process we have encountered we have found a way to accomplish the goal with Synapse.

Cons

It took us a long time to better understand the feature set and implement them in a meaningful way. Technical support via the ticketing system can be slow. This can be addressed with selecting the correct severity level that meets the needs of the problem at hand. An outage or system failure with a high priority ticket does get addressed immediately.

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.

Pros

IF set up properly the system is scalable and had all of the functionality you would want in a robust WMS.

Cons

Where do I start....let's address the platform first. The system is NOT a true cloud-based solution. In order to access the operating system (servers) you will be require to set up VPN tunnels from any location that you wish to access the software from. Why is this a problem? Accessing the software from home, on a business trip, or anywhere other than your primary office is a multiple day setup process. Yes, they do have a web based access portal called WebSynapse but the functionality is EXTREMELY limited and it is basically a portal to view transactions only.

Set Up....because of all of the "bells and whistles" the system requires someone extremely well versed in the software to set up your first account. After the initial set up of this single account you will need to test that single account functionality for 6+ months prior to going live. Over the course of that 6+ month you will experience issues that range from simple set up errors to critical stop dead in your tracks problems. Which leads me to my next topic...

Customer Support....IT'S ALWAYS YOUR FAULT! Either you didn't test the software enough or you didn't ask the right questions. It is very difficult to ask preventative questions about a new software package since you do not know the system logic and it is nearly impossible to test every scenario that may come up with one account. Be prepared to pay a lot of money to fix these issues.

Repeat this process for every account you have.

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.

Pros

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.

Cons

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.

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

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.

Cons

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.

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.

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

We are in the 3PL space and being able to configure the system to meet our various customers user needs is crucial. Synapse has great configure options to meet any customer demand. Synapse works very well for 3PL DC's that have robust billing needs. Integrating Synapse with other systems has been very smooth. The support team at Zethcon is an important partner to our process to meet customer IT demands.

Cons

No major cons with this system to speak of at this time. The only areas I would like to see improvement in is the availability of standard reports within Synapse and Web Synapse and the overall UI of Web Synapse needs some slight updating for an improved user experience.

Pros

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.

Cons

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.

Pros

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.

Cons

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

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.

Pros

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.

Cons

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.

Pros

Custom feature, migration, REPORTING

Cons

Price, number of users

Pros

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

Cons

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