ABOUT ATLANTA BONDED WAREHOUSE
Atlanta Bonded Warehouse (ABW) is a third-party logistics (3PL) provider specializing in warehousing and distribution for confectionery and other temperature-sensitive products. Founded in 1948, the company has grown from a single refrigerated storage unit to a network of 16 facilities covering 7.4 million square feet across the Southeast, Southwest, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic. As a family-owned business, ABW has built a culture of in-house innovation, continuously seeking ways to optimize operations and stay ahead of industry challenges.
CHALLENGES
As ABW continues its rapid growth, the company faces increasing complexity in managing warehouse operations and system upgrades. With six instances of Blue Yonder WMS and over 120 clients, including major brands like Hershey, Storck, and Reynolds, the company must ensure seamless system performance while accommodating new clients and evolving operational needs.
Key Challenges
- Manual Testing Bottlenecks: A small, 5-person IT team handles all WMS configurations and testing, making manual regression testing time-consuming and resource-intensive.
- Multi-Client Complexity: Some facilities house up to 70 clients, each with unique standard operating procedures (SOPs), storage requirements, and business rules.
- Ensuring System Stability During Growth: As ABW expands, onboarding new clients quickly while maintaining system integrity and operational efficiency is a growing challenge.
- Maintaining Up-to-Date WMS Instances: System upgrades are necessary for performance and security, but with limited resources, keeping instances current is difficult.
CYCLE LABS' SOLUTION
To address these challenges, ABW has begun implementing Cycle Labs' automated testing platform to streamline WMS testing, improve system reliability, and support future growth.
Implementation Goals
ABW's initial focus is on integrating Cycle into its regression testing strategy, specifically for:
- System Upgrades – Automating key tests to ensure that WMS upgrades do not disrupt operations.
- Configuration Changes – Quickly validating changes for new and existing clients without manual intervention.
- Ongoing Regression Testing – Establishing a structured approach for proactive system monitoring and stability.
Phase 1: Core Test Automation
- Focus Areas: Receiving, putaway, storage, picking, and shipping.
- Objective: Achieve 60% automation of test scenarios for system upgrades, reducing manual workload.
- Approach: Develop test cases tailored to ABW’s multi-client, multi-instance WMS environment.
Phase 2: Expansion & Continuous Testing
- Enhance test automation coverage to include exception scenarios and more complex workflows.
- Establish scheduled automated regression testing to proactively identify and address system issues.
- Ensure synchronization between test and production instances for accurate validation.
EXPECTED BENEFITS
While ABW is still in the early stages of implementation, the company anticipates significant operational improvements, including:
- Reduced Manual Testing Burden – Freeing up IT resources by automating at least 60% of test cases for upgrades.
- Improved System Stability – Proactively detecting issues before they impact operations.
- More Efficient Client Onboarding – Faster validation of system readiness for new clients.
- A Scalable Testing Framework – Supporting future growth with structured, repeatable automated testing processes.
PROGRESS SO FAR
As part of the implementation, ABW has already started developing automated test scenarios. Even in the early stages, Cycle has helped the team identify configuration issues before they caused real operational disruptions.
The company is now working towards achieving its Phase 1 goal of 60% automation and will continue refining its testing framework.
LOOKING AHEAD
ABW’s long-term vision includes expanding test automation capabilities beyond upgrades and configuration changes. The company is exploring scheduled regression testing, cloud-based execution, and enhanced reporting to further improve efficiency.
As implementation progresses, ABW expects Cycle Labs to play a key role in supporting its growth strategy—helping the company maintain operational excellence while expanding its footprint in the 3PL industry.
CONCLUSION
ABW is in the process of transforming its approach to WMS testing through automation. While full implementation is still underway, the company is already seeing early signs of success and is confident that Cycle Labs will help optimize its operations for the future.
"With six WMS instances and over 120 clients, manual testing was becoming a bottleneck. Cycle Labs is helping us automate 60% of our test cases, allowing us to scale efficiently without compromising quality. This is a critical step in ensuring our systems are ready for continuous growth."
Alex DeGrossi
SCO Applications and Project Manager | Atlanta Bonded Warehouse