Tag: warehouse management system

Categories
Technology

Why I Put Our 3PL Fulfillment Technology Under the Microscope

orders flow down a line in a fulfillment warehouse

What an independent assessment taught me about transparency in third-party logistics.

Key Takeaways

  • Boxzooka Founder & Chairman Brendan Heegan commissioned an independent assessment of the company’s proprietary warehouse management system (WMS), benchmarked against six leading fulfillment and WMS platforms.
  • The review rated Boxzooka’s WMS at or above the leading platforms in the market across receiving, inventory, order fulfillment, and reporting.
  • Boxzooka’s system connects to 82+ external platforms, well ahead of the 50-connection benchmark used in the assessment.
  • Returns management, value-added services, and labor management stood out as particular strengths.
  • Heegan argues that independent technology audits, not marketing claims, should be the standard eCommerce brands demand when they vet a 3PL partner.

Every 3PL I’ve ever competed against says some version of the same thing: our technology is different, our platform is better, we’re not like the others. I’ve said versions of that sentence myself, more times than I can count, in pitch meetings and on calls with brands trying to decide who to trust with their fulfillment. At some point I stopped being comfortable repeating it without proof.

The Trust Gap in 3PL Technology

That instinct isn’t unique to Boxzooka. Ninety percent of shippers say technology is a critical factor when choosing a 3PL, but only 57 percent are satisfied with what their current provider delivers. A separate 2025 NTT DATA survey found that 62 percent of shippers want to see change in their provider’s technology, trailing only supply chain visibility at 69 percent. Brands aren’t struggling to find 3PLs that say the right things. They’re struggling to find ones that can prove it.

Part of that is the Amazon effect. Brands that ship through Boxzooka are competing for the same customer who expects two-day delivery, real-time tracking, and an easy return, no matter who actually fulfills the order. A brand can’t deliver that experience on top of a fulfillment partner running outdated systems, so the technology question stopped being a nice-to-have line item and became the thing that determines whether a brand can even compete. That’s what puts retailers in the driver’s seat in this relationship. They’re not just buying warehouse space. They’re buying a technology stack, and they’re right to ask hard questions about it.

We built our own warehouse management system (WMS) in Boxzooka’s early days because the off-the-shelf options at the time weren’t built for how we wanted to run fulfillment for growth-stage eCommerce brands: real customization, seamless returns handling, total flexibility for brands with SKU depth and seasonal complexity. Owning the platform meant that whenever a client, or internal operations, needed a feature not typically available in an off-the-shelf WMS solution, my team could build it instead of waiting on a vendor’s development roadmap. That decision has paid off in countless meaningful ways over the years. But at the same time, nobody outside our own walls had ever really put our claims to the test.

That’s a familiar position for a lot of 3PLs, honestly. It’s easy to talk about “technology” in the abstract, as a bullet point on a sales deck, without ever putting a number next to it. I didn’t want to be in that position anymore, and I didn’t want our sales team fielding the same skeptical question in every deal without something real to point to.

So in late 2024, I commissioned West Monroe to come in and tell us the truth about our own platform. Not a marketing audit. A real one: dozens of hours inside our operations, a stack of technical documents, and a direct comparison against six of the leading fulfillment and WMS platforms in the industry, the same platforms our prospects evaluate us against in nearly every sales conversation.

I’ll be honest about why that’s not a common move. Once you invite outside experts in to grade your platform, you don’t get to pick which parts of the report you keep. If it had come back and said our technology was behind the market, I would have owed our team, and our clients, an honest reckoning with that. What matters here isn’t how rare I believed that risk to be. It’s that we were willing to put our own claims in front of the same scrutiny we’d want from a partner. I think that’s exactly why it was worth doing.

Here’s the thing: an outside review only means something if it’s structured the same way a prospect would evaluate us. So we didn’t let the firm grade us against our own roadmap or our own definition of success. We had them score us against the functions a warehouse actually has to perform every day, the ones that show up in an RFP whether the buyer knows the right vocabulary for them or not, and against real competitor platforms rather than a hypothetical industry average.

Where Our WMS Stood Out, and Where We Can Keep Improving

Our WMS was rated at or above the level of the leading platforms in the market across the functions that actually run a warehouse: receiving, inventory, order fulfillment, reporting. Three areas stood out specifically: returns management, value-added services, and labor management, the parts of the job that are hardest to fake and easiest to notice when they go wrong. And on integrations, the connections that keep a brand’s storefront, marketplaces, and ERP talking to their fulfillment partner, we came in well ahead of the category average: 82 direct connections against a benchmark of 50. You can see the current featured list on our 3PL WMS technology page.

None of that means we’re finished. The same assessment also identified real opportunities to continue strengthening the platform, and we’re already working through that list. I don’t think an independent assessment is something you do once and put on a shelf. I think it’s something you do on a schedule, the same way you’d audit your financials, because the alternative is finding out where you actually stand from a client instead of from your own team.

Those three standout areas aren’t random. Returns management is the part of fulfillment most 3PL’s neglect and brands underestimate until they’re living with a bad version of it: slow processing, no visibility into inventory condition, no clean path back to sellable stock. Value-added services, things like monogramming, kitting, custom packaging, and subscription-box assembly, are where a rigid platform shows its limits fastest, because they demand flexibility to effectively automate where a generic WMS falls short. And labor management determines whether daily SLA’s are met and if peak season is a controlled process or a scramble. Those are also the three areas our growth-stage eCommerce clients ask about most, in fashion, beauty, and subscription box specifically, so it’s not a coincidence that they’re where the assessment found the clearest daylight between us and the category.

I’d also rather be candid about what a report like this can’t tell you. It’s a snapshot of capability, not a guarantee of fit. A platform that scores well on paper can still be the wrong choice for a specific brand if the team running it doesn’t understand that brand’s category, or if the onboarding process doesn’t match how that brand actually operates. Great technology alone doesn’t make a great 3PL. This assessment is proof we take ours seriously, but it’s one part of the answer, not the whole answer, to whether we’re the right partner for you.
In short, transparency in this industry means inviting outside scrutiny before a client has to demand it.

Why the Stakes of Choosing a 3PL Are Higher Than They Used To Be

Ninety-four percent of domestic Fortune 500 companies now work with at least one 3PL, and U.S. 3PL revenue is estimated at $424.3 billion, according to Armstrong & Associates. Outsourcing logistics stopped being the question years ago. Choosing the right partner is the whole game now. Half of shippers say they’re consolidating the number of 3PL partners they use, according to the 2026 Third-Party Logistics Study, so each remaining relationship carries more weight than it used to. When 88 percent of shippers report their 3PL relationships are successful, the failures that do happen rarely come down to price. They come down to whether the technology actually does what the pitch deck said it would.

Price is the easiest thing for a prospective client to compare across proposals, and the hardest thing for a 3PL to differentiate on honestly. Technology transparency is different. It’s harder to fake, and it tends to predict the parts of the relationship that are hardest to fix after the contract is signed: how quickly problems get caught, how clearly they get communicated, and how much manual work your team ends up doing to compensate for gaps in your provider’s systems.

I see this most with growth-stage brands, the ones consolidating inventory, order management, returns, and sometimes labor planning into one partner’s systems for the first time. That’s exactly the moment when a WMS with weak integrations or thin reporting turns into a daily headache instead of a one-time decision. The brands that get burned aren’t usually the ones who asked too many questions up front. They’re the ones who didn’t ask enough.

What This Means When You’re Vetting a 3PL Partner

If you’re evaluating fulfillment partners, I’d ask every one of them the same questions I’d ask us. Not because the answers need to match ours, but because how specifically a provider answers tells you more than any pitch deck, including the ones I’ve given:

  • How fast do you actually see your inventory? A dashboard that updates once a day isn’t real-time visibility, no matter what the sales page calls it.
  • How fast do returns come back to sellable stock? This is one of the areas easiest to fake in a demo and hardest to fake once you’re a live client.
  • Which of your systems does their WMS actually connect to? A vague “we integrate with most platforms” answer is worth a follow-up question with specific platform names.
  • How do they plan labor for your peak? Ask what happens to your service levels in the four weeks a year that matter most.
  • What happens when your order volume doubles? A provider that can’t answer this concretely hasn’t stress-tested its own systems.

We put together a longer breakdown of the exact questions to ask here, including the follow-up questions worth asking when the first answer sounds too smooth. The short version is this: ask, and don’t accept a generic answer to a specific question.

We built our WMS technology to run our own warehouses well, not to win an award. Having someone independent confirm that is proof we’re on the right track. If you’re evaluating a 3PL right now, ask us the same hard questions I’ve laid out here. We’d rather earn your business by answering them than by outspending everyone else on the pitch deck. Contact us today, and let’s get started.

* Disclaimer: The statements above are derived from an independent assessment conducted by West Monroe Partners, LLC (“West Monroe”) in late 2024, based solely on information provided by Boxzooka at that time. West Monroe has not independently verified the accuracy or completeness of such information. This assessment was performed solely for Boxzooka’s benefit and is not intended for, and may not be relied upon by, any third party for any purpose. Benchmarking results reflect conditions as of the assessment date and may not reflect current conditions. To the fullest extent permitted by law, West Monroe disclaims all liability arising from or related to any use of or reliance on these statements.
Categories
Technology

6 Questions to Ask Before You Trust a 3PL and Their WMS

3pl worker scans an outbound order

Most guides to warehouse management systems stop at the definition. That’s useful once. It doesn’t help you in the room when a 3PL is walking you through a demo and you need to know whether what you’re looking at will actually hold up at your order volume.

If you’re still getting oriented on the basics, our guide to what a warehouse management system is and how it works is a good place to start. This post picks up where that one leaves off: the exact questions to ask, in order, before you sign with a 3PL.

Key Takeaways

  • The strongest signal in a 3PL evaluation isn’t the feature list, it’s how the WMS handles your actual SKUs, channels, and peak volume in a live demo.
  • Six questions, asked in order, surface most of what separates a strong 3PL WMS from a weak one: visibility, returns speed, integrations, value-added services, labor planning, and volume scalability.
  • A few specific red flags, vague “real-time visibility,” padded integration lists, and unclear returns timelines, are worth treating as previews of your day-to-day experience.
  • Boxzooka’s proprietary WMS was independently benchmarked by West Monroe against six leading fulfillment platforms and rated at or above par, with standout strengths in returns management, value-added services, and labor management.

Evaluate the Workflow, Not the Feature List

Every 3PL can hand you a list of WMS features. The list rarely tells you what happens when your SKUs, your order volume, and your peak season hit their system.

We’ve sat on both sides of this conversation enough times to see the pattern: a feature list says “returns management,” but it doesn’t say whether a return sits in a bin for weeks before anyone touches it. It says “integrations,” but it doesn’t say whether the connection to your storefront is direct or held together by a third-party tool nobody at the 3PL can actually support. The six questions below are built to close that gap. Ask them in a live demo, with your own products if you can, and pay attention to how specifically each one gets answered.

  1. Can I see my inventory in real time, at the status level? Ask to see the client portal live. If visibility means a report someone emails you, that’s a different answer than the one you want.
  2. How do returns get back to sellable stock, and how fast? Walk through a return end-to-end: reason code, inspection, disposition, restock. Days matter here, and vague answers usually mean the process isn’t tracked closely.
  3. Which of my systems does the WMS integrate with directly? Name your storefront, marketplaces, and ERP specifically, and ask who owns support when that connection breaks, the 3PL’s own team, or a third-party tool neither of you controls. A direct integration is a good sign, but it can still depend on the other platform’s API, so the ownership answer tells you more than the connection itself.
  4. How are kitting and custom work orders handled? If your brand needs value-added services, confirm the system manages them at the order level rather than off to the side on a clipboard.
  5. How do you plan labor for my peak? A 3PL with real labor management data can show you planned versus actual productivity. One without it is estimating, and estimates are how peak season turns into a scramble.
  6. What happened the last time order volume doubled on your platform? Ask for a specific example, not a hypothetical. Growth is the goal of the relationship; make sure the software has actually been tested by growth before.

Red Flags Worth Naming

A few patterns are worth flagging on their own, because each one is a preview of what working with that 3PL will actually feel like. Be cautious when “real-time visibility” turns out to mean emailing an account manager for a report. Be cautious when the integration list is padded with connections that run through a third-party connector nobody at the 3PL actually owns. And be cautious when nobody can tell you how long a returned unit takes to become sellable again, since that’s usually a sign the process isn’t measured, let alone optimized.

None of these are automatic dealbreakers. But each one tells you something about how the relationship will run after the contract is signed, which is exactly the information a feature list can’t give you.

Where Boxzooka Stands on These Questions

We don’t expect anyone to take our word for how we’d answer these questions, so in late 2024 we commissioned West Monroe * to find out independently. The assessment benchmarked our proprietary WMS against six of the industry’s leading fulfillment and WMS platforms. The conclusion: Boxzooka’s WMS performs at or above the level of the leading platforms across core warehouse management functions, with standout strengths in returns management, value-added services, and labor management, three of the exact areas the questions above are built to test.

Returns Built to Recover Value

Returns are where a lot of fulfillment operations cut corners, so we built ours to recover value, not just process paperwork. Every return follows a dedicated workflow, inspection, grading, light refurbishment when needed, and a fast path back to available inventory, with unit-level serialization so you can trace an item from outbound fulfillment through the return. Because we build our own technology, we can configure custom workflows for seasonal or high-return categories quickly, and when inventory can’t go back to primary stock, we route it through recovery channels instead of writing it off.

Visibility and Control You Actually Get

Visibility on our platform isn’t a dashboard someone checks for you. Our Client Experience Portal (CXP) gives you self-serve control: edit open orders, create your own shipping and return labels, initiate refunds, and locate any order in seconds, from pick and pack through final delivery. Prebuilt dashboards track order throughput, delivery performance, and inventory by SKU, alongside receiving accuracy and SLA adherence. And because the platform connects through open APIs rather than one rigid integration path, our 82+ direct integrations aren’t a ceiling: if a system you run isn’t already connected, our in-house team can usually build it.

Bring These Questions to Your Next Demo

The right 3PL won’t flinch at any of the six questions above, and won’t need to hide behind a feature list to answer them. Bring them to your next demo, ask us the same six questions, and see how the answers compare. Contact us today and let’s get the conversation started.

Frequently Asked Questions

What questions should I ask a 3PL about their WMS before signing?

Ask whether you can see inventory in real time at the status level, how fast returns become sellable stock again, which of your systems the WMS integrates with directly, how kitting and custom work orders are handled, how the 3PL plans labor for your peak season, and what happened the last time order volume doubled on their platform.

What are red flags that a 3PL’s WMS isn’t ready for my brand?

Watch for “real-time visibility” that turns out to mean emailing an account manager for a report, an integration list padded with connections routed through a third-party connector nobody owns, and an inability to explain how long a returned item takes to become sellable inventory again.

How has Boxzooka’s WMS been evaluated against other platforms?

In late 2024, Boxzooka commissioned West Monroe to benchmark its proprietary WMS against six leading fulfillment and WMS platforms. The assessment found Boxzooka’s platform performs at or above the level of the leading platforms, with standout strengths in returns management, value-added services, and labor management, and counted 82+ direct integrations compared with a category average of 50.

* Disclaimer: The statements above are derived from an independent assessment conducted by West Monroe Partners, LLC (“West Monroe”) in late 2024, based solely on information provided by Boxzooka at that time. West Monroe has not independently verified the accuracy or completeness of such information. This assessment was performed solely for Boxzooka’s benefit and is not intended for, and may not be relied upon by, any third party for any purpose. Benchmarking results reflect conditions as of the assessment date and may not reflect current conditions. To the fullest extent permitted by law, West Monroe disclaims all liability arising from or related to any use of or reliance on these statements.
Categories
Technology

What Is a Warehouse Management System (WMS)?

3PL worker at a station using a WMS

Key Takeaways

  • A warehouse management system (WMS) is software that controls real-time inventory, order picking, packing, and shipping inside a fulfillment warehouse.
  • A 3PL WMS adds multi-client functionality, meaning one warehouse can simultaneously manage inventory and fulfillment operations for many eCommerce brands.
  • When evaluating a 3PL partner, the WMS is the operational backbone. It directly affects order accuracy, inventory visibility, fulfillment speed, and your ability to scale.
  • A strong WMS integrates seamlessly with your eCommerce platforms and order management systems, giving you real-time data without manual reconciliation.
  • Not all 3PL WMS platforms are equal. Purpose-built, technology-enabled WMS solutions deliver better accuracy, faster processing, and clearer client-facing reporting than legacy or generic systems.

If you are evaluating third-party logistics partners, one of the most important questions you can ask is: what does your WMS look like? The warehouse management system sitting behind the scenes determines how accurately orders get fulfilled, how visible your inventory is in real time, and how smoothly your operation scales during peak season. It is not small detail to gloss over. It is the core engine running your fulfillment.

This post breaks down what a WMS is, what it does, how it differs from related systems like an order management system (OMS), and what to look for when you are deciding which 3PL to trust with your brand.

The Definition: What a WMS Actually Does

A warehouse management system is software that controls and optimizes the physical operations inside a warehouse or fulfillment center. At its core, it tracks inventory from the moment it is received at the dock to the moment a package leaves the building. Every step in between, from putaway and storage to pick-and-pack and outbound shipping, runs through the WMS.

In a 3PL environment, the WMS carries additional responsibility. It manages inventory and operations for multiple client brands simultaneously, keeping every SKU, every order, and every return cleanly separated while drawing on shared warehouse resources. This is where purpose-built 3PL WMS platforms can differ from generic warehouse software. The multi-client architecture is not an add-on. It is a foundational requirement.

Think of it this way: your 3PL’s WMS is what turns a warehouse full of products into a streamlined fulfillment operation.

Core Functions: What Happens Inside the WMS

A well-built WMS handles every operational stage of warehouse fulfillment. Here is what that looks like in practice:

Receiving and Putaway

When inventory arrives at the facility, the WMS logs it against your purchase orders, verifies quantities, and assigns storage locations. A strong system guides warehouse staff to the most efficient storage positions based on SKU velocity, size, and pick frequency, which directly affects how quickly orders can be fulfilled later.

Real-Time Inventory Tracking

This is where the WMS earns its keep. Every unit is tracked by location in real time. When you log into your client portal, you are seeing a live snapshot of your inventory position, not a batch update from last night. That visibility matters for reorder planning, forecasting, and avoiding costly stockouts during your busiest periods.

Order Routing and Pick-and-Pack

When an order is received through your eCommerce platform, the WMS routes it to the appropriate fulfillment path. It generates pick lists, directs staff to the correct inventory locations, and sequences picking to minimize travel time on the warehouse floor. Efficient pick-and-pack is one of the single biggest drivers of throughput and accuracy.

Shipping and Carrier Integration

The WMS connects to carrier networks to generate labels, select the optimal shipping method based on service level agreements and cost, and transmit tracking information back to your platform. This keeps the post-purchase experience seamless for your customers without requiring any manual intervention on your end.

Returns Processing

Reverse logistics is where a lot of fulfillment operations fall apart. A capable WMS manages returns with the same discipline as outbound orders: receipt, inspection, restocking or disposal routing, and inventory adjustment. For eCommerce brands in fashion and apparel, where return rates can run 20-30%, this is not a nice-to-have. It is a core operational requirement that returns product back to stock quickly and efficiently to generate revenue.

Reporting and Client Visibility

A 3PL WMS surfaces this operational data through a client-facing portal. Order status, inventory levels by SKU, shipment confirmations, and exception alerts should all be accessible in real time. If your 3PL cannot give you that level of transparency, that is a signal worth paying attention to.

WMS vs. OMS: Understanding the Difference

Brands evaluating fulfillment partners often encounter both terms and are not always sure where one ends and the other begins. Here is a straightforward breakdown.
A warehouse management system (WMS) manages what happens physically inside the warehouse. It controls inventory, directs labor, and executes order fulfillment at the operational level.

An order management system (OMS) manages the order lifecycle from the moment a customer places a purchase to final delivery. It sits above the WMS in the technology stack, receiving orders from your eCommerce platform and passing fulfillment instructions down to the warehouse.

In a 3PL relationship, your eCommerce platform (Shopify, for example) or OMS sends orders to your 3PL’s WMS via an integration. The WMS fulfills the order and sends tracking data back up the chain. When the integration works cleanly, it is invisible to you and to your customer. When it does not, you feel it immediately in delayed shipments and manual workarounds.

This is why integration capability is one of the most important questions to ask any 3PL. A WMS that connects seamlessly to the platforms your business runs on will get you up and running faster and keep things operating smoothly.

Why the WMS Matters When Choosing a 3PL

A 3PL’s WMS is not just a back-end tool that warehouse managers interact with. It is what determines the quality of your experience as a client. Here are the ways it shows up directly in your business:

Order Accuracy

A well-configured WMS with barcode scanning and directed pick workflows drives order accuracy rates well above 99%. Errors in fulfillment are expensive. They generate return freight costs, replacement shipments, customer service interactions, and brand damage. The WMS is the primary control mechanism against that outcome.

Inventory Integrity

Cycle counting, lot tracking, and real-time inventory adjustments all live in the WMS. If your 3PL’s system is not keeping pace with physical inventory accurately, you end up with overselling, surprise stockouts, and reconciliation headaches. Solid inventory integrity is what lets you run your business with confidence instead of constantly verifying numbers manually.

Scalability During Peak Season

Order volume does not stay flat. Whether you are running a holiday campaign, launching a new product, or experiencing a viral sales moment, your fulfillment operation needs to absorb the surge without breaking. A capable WMS handles volume spikes through efficient labor direction, smart slotting, and workflow automation, so your peak season does not become a crisis.

Proactive Communication and Transparency

The best 3PL relationships are built on visibility. When you can see exactly what is happening with your inventory and orders at any point in time, you can make better buying, marketing, and operations decisions. A modern WMS with a strong client portal puts you in the driver’s seat rather than waiting on weekly reports from your 3PL.

What Sets a Purpose-Built 3PL WMS Apart from Generic Warehouse Software

Not every warehouse runs the same kind of WMS. Some 3PLs operate on legacy systems that were not built for the multi-client, high-velocity demands of modern eCommerce fulfillment. Others have invested in custom-designed platforms built specifically for the 3PL model. The differences matter.

A purpose-built 3PL WMS handles:

  • Multi-client inventory isolation: Your inventory is logically and physically separated from other clients in the same facility, with no risk of cross-contamination in picking or reporting.
  • High SKU depth: eCommerce brands, especially in fashion and apparel, often carry wide assortments with size and color variations. A capable WMS handles complex SKU configurations without slowing down the operation.
  • Client portal access: You see your data, not a summary your 3PL chose to share with you. Real-time access to inventory, orders, and exceptions is a standard expectation, not a premium feature.
  • eCommerce platform integrations: Seamless connections to the platforms and systems your business actually uses, so orders flow automatically without manual intervention.
  • Omnichannel fulfillment support: Whether you are shipping B2C direct-to-consumer, fulfilling B2B wholesale orders, or managing both simultaneously, the WMS routes each order type correctly within the same operation.

How Boxzooka’s WMS Works for eCommerce Brands

The Boxzooka WMS is the operational foundation behind everything we do for our clients. Our in-house custom-built platform was created specifically for the demands of eCommerce fulfillment, giving brands the visibility, accuracy, and flexibility they need to grow.

Through the Boxzooka WMS, clients get real-time inventory tracking across every SKU, order-level visibility from the moment an order is placed to the moment it ships, and clean integration with the eCommerce platforms and systems their businesses depend on. The system supports the full range of fulfillment workflows, from standard direct-to-consumer pick-and-pack to more complex requirements like kitting, special handling, and reverse logistics.
We built our approach around a straightforward conviction: when our clients have better data and better operational performance, they grow faster. The WMS is what makes that possible.

Our software is refined and improved on an ongoing basis by our talented in-house development team, who are onsite and can respond quickly to the challenges that may arise for our clients in day-to-day operations.

Ready to See the Technology Behind the Operation?

The Boxzooka WMS is built to give eCommerce brands the accuracy, visibility, and scalability their fulfillment operation needs. Learn more about how it works and what it means for your business. Schedule a demo with us today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a warehouse management system (WMS)?

A warehouse management system (WMS) is software that controls and optimizes warehouse operations, including inventory tracking, order picking, packing, and shipping. A 3PL WMS adds multi-client functionality so one warehouse can manage fulfillment for many brands simultaneously.

What is the difference between a WMS and an OMS?

A WMS manages what happens inside the warehouse. An order management system (OMS) manages the order lifecycle from purchase to delivery, sitting above the WMS in the technology stack. In a 3PL environment, the WMS powers the physical operation while the OMS or eCommerce platform connects to it via integration.

Do I need my own WMS if I use a 3PL?

No. When you partner with a technology-enabled 3PL like Boxzooka, you access the 3PL’s WMS directly through a client portal. You get real-time inventory visibility, order tracking, and reporting without having to own or maintain the underlying software.

How does a WMS connect to my eCommerce platform?

A 3PL WMS integrates with your eCommerce platform or OMS through direct API connections or middleware. When an order is placed on your storefront, it flows automatically to the WMS for fulfillment. When the order ships, tracking information flows back to your platform and to your customer. A seamless integration eliminates manual data entry and reduces the risk of errors.

What should I look for in a 3PL WMS?

Look for real-time inventory visibility, a client-facing portal with meaningful data access, proven integrations with your eCommerce platforms, accurate order and inventory reporting, and a track record of performance at scale. Ask your prospective 3PL partners to show you the system, not just describe it.

Categories
Fulfillment

Optimizing Warehouses – Blend of Art, Science, and Humans

A picture of a large warehouse fulfillment center.

Today, warehouses in the supply chain are more complicated than ever, from meeting constant and growing customer demand, especially in the e-commerce sector, to an ever-growing selection of products and even globalization. Warehouse operations that are in tip-top shape have never been more important.

An inefficient warehouse will negatively impact every other part of the business, from sales to customer service and daily operations. Naturally, a highly optimized warehouse provides benefits and profits to the business as well as a “positive halo effect” across the entire supply chain.  

Warehouse optimization refers to the process of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of a warehouse’s operations, layout, and processes to maximize productivity while minimizing costs. The primary goal is to streamline the flow of goods through the warehouse, enhance order fulfillment speed, reduce errors, and utilize resources more effectively.

This has become a hot topic in light of the explosion of AI, Artificial Intelligence, software, and other innovative new tools. Machine learning and robotics, in particular, are changing the landscape for the future of material handling. If you scan the agendas at industry events like Modex, Manifest, and ShopTalk you’ll find dozens of speakers and hundreds of companies leveraging the remarkable possibilities. Not surprisingly, SDCE references AI almost 5,000 times when you search the publication’s website. 

At the same time, we may be in the “too much, too fast” segment of AI product development when it comes to logistics. The best warehouse operations also value the insight and expertise of human beings, who should always be the backbone of a successful model.

“A tech-only layer on top of the current logistics industry just doesn’t work.,” Ryan Peterson, CEO, Flexport, Wall Street Journal, December 2023. “I still think at the end of the day, there’s a strong role for people with a lot of expertise.” 

Compliance is an important area that must remain on the radar because it’s not one where AI can be fully trusted. This requires 100% accuracy, something only a real expert can understand and back up.

Given this landscape, let’s consider the foundational aspects of warehouse optimization. This means an eye for innovation that supports the business and is sensitive to not bankrupting the company. As you build your plan to optimize your warehouse(s), it is prudent to incorporate a blend of automation, technology, and human interdependencies to create process efficiencies.  

Best Practices for B2B and B2C Commerce.  

Efficient Layout 

Warehouse optimization starts with an efficient layout that meets your needs now, with plans for future growth. Do you have a clear highway for material handling equipment that is safe and effective? Map the flow of inbound inventory and products for efficient staging and put away. Storage areas should be designed with SKU velocity in mind with automation tools that have predetermined the slotting strategy, bin sizes, and replenishment cycles. Be mindful of the human traffic and number of footsteps to access production/assembly areas. At the heart of the layout should be a detailed inventory management plan managed with a WMS. 

5S – “The Toyota Way”

It’s not old school, it’s ‘the’ school. Sort, Streamline, Shine, Standardize, Strive, and the 6th S is Safety. These principles of LEAN Six Sigma manufacturing can be quickly incorporated into your existing warehouse operations. In fact, these tasks should become cultural, with every employee in sync with the processes that create efficiency. Standardization is an area that lends itself to machine learning and automation tools. 

Know Your Staffing Requirements

Labor management planning is essential for productivity and cost management. Warehouse managers are better equipped when they have specific productivity, quality, and throughput targets that are measured and monitored daily. Labor management is a data-driven exercise that requires effective leadership techniques and communication channels.  

Technology Gaps and Automation Strategies

Identify the gaps in your current technologies for warehouse management with an eye toward automation. 

“There’s a time and a place for automation when a business reaches a certain scale that requires it, especially to try to eliminate repetitive, non-value-added activities.” Suggests Nick Pellegrino, COO, Boxzooka, Multichannel Merchant.

The time, cost, and effort of implementing new technologies and new processes to optimize your warehouse can deter you from moving ahead. A roadmap with a budget and an ROI will take some of the risk out of implementing new tools. 3PLs with multi-client facilities are constantly examining new tools for more efficient store, pick, pack, and ship processes. We’re 30 years into barcoding and scanning for accuracy, and there is a long list of choices for put to light, pick to light, voice picking, robots that follow pickers, goods-to-person robotics, and automated storage retrieval systems, to name a few.   

Data-Driven Decision Making

“In God We Trust, All Others Bring Data.”  

Supervisors, managers, leaders, and all employees need data to support their suggestions and plans for optimization. The days of “gut feel” decision-making and “we’ve always done it that way” attitudes are not productive management tools. Consider the large number of tools that might help you manage your facilities. Inventory management tools, WMS, TMS, labor planning tools, forecasting tools, intelligent slotting tools, quality assurance processes, regional distribution analyses, space allocation tools, and inventory density monitors – with so many choices, management teams need to be disciplined in choosing and using the best tools for their shop. 

Supply Side Strategies

Finally, do you have a handle on the supply-side equation and the flow of products into your building? Being active in these upstream activities with vendors, transportation providers, clients, and suppliers is equally important to keeping your warehouse efficient. The sequencing of inbound materials to be able to store, stage, and assemble outbound products is essential. Warehouse optimization is the essential link between supply and demand in your business.    

Conclusions

We’ve highlighted a handful of techniques to help optimize warehouses. As the industry becomes more integrated with new forms of technology and automation tools, warehouse management experts will keep finding more efficient means to operate their facilities. Having the right blend of human-integrated automation systems is ultimately the quest for improving customer satisfaction and maintaining a competitive edge in the marketplace.  

By Tom Behnke