HighJump Conference Affirms Strategic Progress

HighJump held its annual user conference last week in Orlando, Florida. The conference had about 650 attendees and a wide selection of session tracks, similar to the 2015 conference. Last year’s event was the first after the merger of HighJump and Accellos and management focused on the newly combined entity and path forward at that conference. Specifically, there was a strong emphasis on the company’s technology strategy and development roadmap (see Last Year’s Post). Logically enough, the focus of this year’s conference was the strategic progress made over the last twelve months.

Extend and Unify
Extended Footprint
HighJump announced its acquisition of Nexternal shortly after last year’s conference, officially extending its solution footprint to include an e-commerce platform. This year, management confirmed the integration of the Nexternal plaftform into the HighJump ecosystem, and announced plans to develop vertical “bundles” for markets with specific e-commerce and client engagement requirements. A conference demonstration of an order lifecycle showed how the Nexternal platform, and functionality from recently acquired WeSupply, extends and complements HighJump’s fulfillment capabilities.

Unified and Modernized User Experience
HighJump officially lauched its HighJump One platform, a set of modern user facing technologies that leverage HTML5, and there are currently 10 – 12 customers running it. More specifically, Warehouse Advantage is now available on the HighJump One platform. In addition, some of the Essentials apps from Accellos are now available as well. Most notable are the Pulse BI tool, an application for resource (ie dock door) scheduling, and another for document imaging. Later this year HighJump will release its parcel shipping and manifesting Essentials app on HighJump One.

HighJump has also launched a number of its In-Motion applications specifically designed form mobile devices. Examples include Engage, a mobile POS and clienteling solution, and Dashboard+, a mobile BI application that displays analytics designed for a tablet. In addition, clients for Android and Windows with Bluetooth scanner integration are coming soon later this year.

Common Themes from WMS Users
Very often at user conferences there are a few common themes or threads that pass through the fabric of user case studies and informal discussions. At HighJump Elevate, this year’s common threads were modifications and adaptations to support increased order volumes for e-commerce fulfillment and parcel shipping. Most notably, Singapore Post’s e-commerce logistics business implemented HighJump WMS and integrated it with warehouse automation including pick to light, carousels, and an extensive multiple zone conveyor system; as well as a mobile smart phone picking and packing app that is intuitive and enables seasonal workers to get up and running quickly. In addition, Colony Brands discussed its implementation of HighJump Warehouse Advantage and integration with warehouse automation and real-time parcel manifesting to support a high volume, direct to consumer warehouse.

Conclusion
HighJump is making progress on its technology strategy outlined last year. While the company is unifying the product lines from the former distinct entities, it is also still actively extending its footprint through acquisitions and product developments. Although I did not hear about any prospective acquisitions, I also did not ask management about their inclination toward the possibility.