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Because of our focus within the 3PL warehousing industry, we frequently are asked if we have any recommendations of the Best 3PL Warehouse Software systems.
When a 3PL (third party logistics) company is looking for a warehouse management software program, it’s usually because they’ve run into some limitations with their existing software that is preventing them from operating at the expected level of success. Oftentimes, the requirements for a 3PL firm are quite stringent, considering that they are operating the storage and shipping functions of a multitude of clients and may span multiple locations.
Furthermore, warehousing providers may utilize more sophisticated supplemental technologies to enhance the various warehouse processes and procedures. All of this combined makes for a complicated set of requirements for inclusion on a software request for proposal. If you find yourself wondering if your current warehouse management software has seen its better days, then pay close attention to these key features that will help meet the ongoing needs of your warehouse for years to come.
A Warehouse Management System (WMS) is a software application that helps manage and optimize the daily operations of a warehouse. It facilitates the entire process of managing the flow of goods and materials in and out of a warehouse. WMS systems streamline operations by guiding the most efficient methods for storing, retrieving, and packing products. They enable the use of technologies like radio frequency identification (RFID), barcode scanning, and advanced picking technologies like pick-to-light and pick-to-voice, which enhance efficiency in order fulfillment.
Moreover, WMS systems often integrate with transportation management and logistics software to expedite the fulfillment process, including generating necessary shipping documents and offering real-time tracking features. This integration helps maintain accurate inventory levels and improve overall warehouse performance.
Warehouse Management Systems work by automating and monitoring key warehousing processes. They are crucial in managing the daily operations of a warehouse, from organizing stock to coordinating with shipping partners. WMS systems control warehouse operations, including inventory tracking, receiving and put away, picking and packing goods, shipping, labor management, yard and dock management, and performance reporting.
WMS provides real-time insights into warehouse operations, enabling efficient workforce scheduling, optimizing daily schedules, managing inventory, and facilitating order fulfillment. These systems also offer monitoring and reporting capabilities, enabling businesses to assess warehouse performance and find areas for improvement. This real-time data handling and automation lead to increased efficiency, accuracy in order processing, and cost savings.
There are several types of Warehouse Management Systems, each with unique features and suited for different business needs:
Warehouse Management Systems have various features designed to optimize warehouse operations. Key features include:
Exploring WMS benefits reveals how it enhances operational efficiency and business performance. Let’s look at these advantages.
Your business is growing, and you need technology that can help you keep pace. As a third-party logistics (3PL) provider, you likely already have a warehouse management software (WMS). Now that your business is evolving and growing, you’re looking for something more…
But where do you start? When you try to search for “3PL warehouse management software” online, you get innumerable results.
First, you need to identify your challenges, and then based on that, you’ll be able to determine which features matter most to you.
As a 3PL, you face additional challenges that other businesses don’t have to deal with. You’re turning warehouse management into an outsourced service. So you aren’t on the hook for marketing your customers’ products, but they’ll be unhappy if your management leaves them with dissatisfied customers.
Yes, you manage products, but you also manage your customers. Their requests, questions, needs, and more. Even though they know you have other customers, they’ll expect you to courteously and promptly respond as if they’re your only customer.
Many times, customers will reach out to you when they have a fulfillment emergency. Perhaps product demand grew faster than they expected, or their product got picked up by an influencer. Whatever the case may be, they’re contacting you, and they need to onboard quickly before their business gets banned in the marketplaces.
You need lead time to set up new clients, and you don’t always have as much as you’d like. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a streamlined process that looked the same for each client, while allowing them to receive individual treatment?
Without real-time reporting, you’re going to struggle to make rapid-fire business decisions. If your clients decide to have unexpected sales (as they may be prone to do), does your data tell you how many temporary workers you need to hire?
Are you going to need those workers to work overnights and weekends?
Do you need your customer to place orders for additional inventory so they aren’t out-of-stock?
These are questions that require fast answers. Of course, to be sure you’re coming up with the right decisions, you need real-time data. Real-time data from all of your sales and supply chain channels comes from integrations that connect to your system.
As you grow your 3PL business, one or two new clients may require you to scale your capabilities. You will seek to grow by landing larger clients with larger budgets. However, once you start to gain those clients, your warehouse capacity will reach its max, which means you may have to add new warehouses to your network.
You’ll need more equipment and more employees, which means you’ll generate more data that can help you run your business smartly. Investing in technology that can support your business growth for the next 3, 5, or 10+ years is a smart investment.
You must build scalability into your business model to have sustainable growth and see the most return on your investments.
There are many different 3PL Software systems out there but it can be quite overwhelming to find the right one to fit your specific needs. When you start looking for new software it is important to know what the shortcomings are of your current system and what you need from the new system. We know that the requirements for a 3PL company can be very comprehensive as they are working for many different customers and possibly for different locations, which may even be in different states. Once you have a list of what you are looking for it is also important to keep the basics in mind. What are some other things that a 3PL warehouse should look for? We recommend looking at customization, automated billing and customer support as some of the most important factors so you can ensure that you will enjoy your new 3pl software system for years to come. Software needs to be continually updated to keep up with the fast-paced world we live in and it is important to invest in a system that will be able to do this alongside your business.
Looking at the different 3PL software systems that are out there, one thing that stands out is the difference in the ability to customize their system. Some interfaces are very easy to use but leave little to be customized for a 3PL and others are not quite as user friendly but there is training available to support you in customizing the system to your needs and requirements. Customization is very important in order to best meet your needs in the future as well. If you are able to adjust the system for your own requirements you know that you will be able to do so in the future as well when the requirements of your customers change. If there is a team available to guide you on how to best modify the software then that is even better. Bottom line – If the 3PL software has the flexibility to adapt to new situations it will let you better serve your customers and not have to worry about software capabilities later down the line.
For every customer a 3PL company has there is a possibility that the services are charged for in different ways to meet the unique needs of each individual customer. It is important that the warehouse software can adapt to these different billing processes. If the warehouse software is able to automate the billing procedure to takes away a major burden for the accounting department and at the same time ensures that less errors can occur in the billing process.
Every 3PL company charges differently for their services provided. Therefore, warehouse software programs for this particular market need to be flexible, allowing individual companies to structure their unique billing process. Furthermore, the extent to which warehouse software automates billing procedures alleviates an intense burden for accounting personnel – and reduces the chances of errors in the billing process. Examples of the divergent billing needs of a 3PL include a systematic way to automate product storage, fulfillment fees (along with ad hoc packaging materials used throughout the process), receiving time, assembly of units, shipping charges, among many others. As if this isn’t enough, 3PLs will also have to export this information to the appropriate accounting software or platform, making easy integration a top priority.
Customer support should also definitely be one of the top things to look for. Software for 3PL services can be very intricate as these kind of software needs to be customized for many different customers. It is very important to have the right support. When a problem occurs in the system it needs to be resolved quickly in order for you to serve your customers best. Customers outsource their business to 3PL warehouses so they do not have to deal with these problems. If it takes days for support to fix an issue with the warehouse software it also means that there is loss of business for the end customer, which could also potentially lead to the warehouse losing business. Furthermore, if new updates that are needed for your business take months to get on the development schedule, you may have to implement workarounds that can be time consuming and costly. When looking at reviews you specifically look for quick response of customer support.
With the growth of e-commerce, warehousing and fulfillment companies have had to adapt by integrating their warehouse software with a number of varying sales channels in order to receive orders automatically, send various information such as tracking information back to the client, and offer customized client reporting. The best 3PL warehouse software programs make this process easy by utilizing technology to enable the 3PL to integrate quickly with any of hundreds of online shopping carts, EDI software, and accounting and billing systems. Furthermore, warehouses are moving increasingly in the direction of automating as much of the receiving, storage, and pick/ship process as possible – requiring the need for the 3PL software to integrate with different bar code systems, pick systems, and other electronic devices. The best 3PL software companies are not only offering solutions in this regard, but also keeping up with the pace of change so that new requirements are implemented quickly.
With the account integrations you’re certainly going to want, it becomes a lot easier to trust the data behind your reporting. By minimizing the need for manual data entry, you lessen opportunities for human error. Imagine, you could have real-time 100% accurate data across your entire warehouse.
If all of your clients’ sales channels are integrated with your WMS, then information will flow from the moment their customers hit the “buy now” button. Most modern 3PL WMSs integrate with barcode scanning technology. This allows for real-time updates on the status of all of your clients’ orders:
A truly advanced WMS not only gives you the pulse of your warehouse, but also helps keep your ops in sync. Warehouse operations are kind of like an orchestra. Different parts that create a greater whole. Could you imagine how rough the orchestra would sound if you couldn’t get the percussion and woodwind sections in harmony?
A great 3PL WMS keeps your operations synchronized and streamlined, bringing harmony to your warehouse.
Let’s face it – the world has changed significantly in terms of the various sales channels available to businesses. From ecommerce websites and retail sales to wholesale relationships and manually entered orders by sales reps in the field, a warehouse software program must be able to integrate with a multitude of varying platforms. Furthermore, each of these sales channels can be even more intricate and require layers of additional information exchange and integration. For example, with literally hundreds of ecommerce shopping carts to choose from, 3PL firms must be able to quickly integrate with new shopping carts in order to win new clients – and retail clients offer another glimpse into the complexity of order exchange, with unique EDI requirements for each specific retailer. A robust warehouse management system must be able to integrate with these divergent channels, or else a 3PL will not only miss out on the opportunity to streamline operations, but may also miss out on signing up a new client.
One of the most frequently requested features by fulfillment companies looking to increase warehouse performance is added functionality in the picking and packing process. Many baseline warehouse management programs offer integration with bar code scanning technologies. However, as the picking and packaging process evolves, many of these programs fail to scale with the additional needs. For example, batch picking processes can decrease the time it takes to pick products in the warehouse, thereby decreasing costs significantly. But without a fail safe way of validating that each order is correctly assembled, it’s a cost saving mechanism that a warehouse cannot implement. 3PLs that have their eyes on performance and high quality results are continually pressing for new and better ways to increase picking and shipping success rates and decrease their costs for clients. Therefore, in order to implement new picking methods, or to tweak existing processes to better the performance for a single customer, a warehouse management program must offer great flexibility with regard to scanning technologies and order picking and packing modules.
So, after trying out a few types of software you may narrow it down to a few you really like. But you’re not done. Now you need to see how well the software providers can help you if you have any problems. Find out the kind of customer service offered. For example, see if they offer online chat, phone service and email support. Next, ask them how quickly they will respond to requests, since in the warehouse, problems dictate immediate answers. If they cannot give you a timeframe, they may have poor customer service.
Also, upgrades to software keep your business on top of technological advances. Investigate how quickly the software provider will be able to implement new changes in the future or if this is even a possibility.
There are quite a few other important factors that most 3PL firms will use in the vetting process when choosing a warehouse management software program. But in terms of some of the most important factors to consider, two of the final check points that should be on each and every 3PL’s list are both the ability to evolve the system to meet future needs and the ability of the software provider to meet the service requirements of ongoing support. Many a fulfillment company have moved to new warehouse software simply because either the software didn’t allow for any customization or the software support team didn’t react to their needs quick enough.
Because warehousing companies have so many clients with unique needs, they have an enormous need for customization of certain components of the software program. If they can’t build these custom features into the program, bottlenecks will result. And nothing is more of a recipe for disaster than a warehouse software provider not giving its customers adequate customer support. When looking at various 3PL software programs, it’s vitally important that they include some level of flexibility and stellar customer service support. There’s nothing worse that having an end of day warehouse crisis for a key client and not receiving timely support to remedy the issue and process all orders on time.
We mentioned this above, but multiple client infrastructure is a must have for your business. As a 3PL, you’ll want to extend your great tech to your clients.
Customers want 24/7 access to their business information. As a trusted partner, you want to grant them that access, but you have to make sure that they can only access the right data. Having customer portals is a great way to allow your clients to get a bird’s eye view of their inventory, while securing the data they shouldn’t have access to.
You also operate using many different sets of credentials in order to integrate seamlessly with your clients’ operations. Managing all of their marketplaces, shopping carts, and carrier credentials can easily get out of hand.
You want to present a custom solution, which means taking all of the various channels in stride. You can give your customers the ability to access their information in real-time, and view whatever data they need to make business decisions.
Many businesses struggle to turn over the management of such a critical part of their business. With a client portal, they should be able to view things like receiving, inventory, orders, and reports.
So client portals are wonderful and help foster great relationships between you and your clients. But a great dashboard will help your warehouse run smoothly. When you log into your WMS, you should immediately be able to gain a sense of warehouse operations.
As their service-provider, seeing all of the data in one easy to use dashboard will save you from trying to compile it yourself.
Your employees shouldn’t need to spend weeks training on your WMS in order to use it effectively. During your 3PL WMS search, look for interfaces that are clean and simple. If it’s easy to use, then you’ll have no problem implementing the system across your warehouse operations.
When you bring in temporary warehouse employees during an operations surge (like the holidays), they should be able to easily grasp your WMS as well. Minimizing their lead time increases their effectiveness during their time working for you.
You want your 3PL WMS to help you build better operations processes. That means your software should guide your employees in executing advanced picking methods and tools such as:
Picking can account for as much as 60% of your warehouse labor costs. Using advanced fulfillment techniques in a non-3PL warehouse can be tricky without the best technology. Handling orders for multiple clients’ customers adds a whole new layer of complexity.
This complexity is why you should use a WMS that has multiple client architecture.
Once you have covered all of these steps, you will be able to choose the best software provider for your company, making your warehouse fulfillment operation run much more smoothly.
There’s one more important thing to consider when choosing an Inventory Software for your business. Do you want to purchase the Inventory Software program outright, or would you prefer using a SAAS (software as a service). When you purchase Inventory Software outright, there is usually a one-time lump sum fee that can be sizeable and range from $5,000- $50,000+. Of course, once you purchase it, you own it. You simply install it on your computers or servers, and then use the Inventory Software like any other program. The other option is to use a SAAS provider. With this option, you “lease” the software from a company, paying much smaller monthly payments. Oftentimes, the Inventory Software is accessible via the web and remote hosted. The advantage here is that you’d be able to get the Inventory Software for much lower Inventory Software Costs and Inventory Software Prices. And we can help provide you with Inventory Software Quotes for both types of software. Simply fill out one of our Inventory Software Quotes forms and we’ll get you matched with the Best Inventory Software firms and help you save with your Inventory Software Costs and Inventory Software Pricing.
It’s a big deal to switch to a new inventory management solution. You need to train key staff members on how to use the software in their daily work and get everything set up and transferred from your old solution. Here are four things you can do to make this process as smooth and simple as possible.
You should assign one or more individuals to be present at each training session for the new software and to be the most familiar with its various functions. These individuals could be your warehouse manager, in-house accountant, chief financial officer, and/or anyone else who is qualified to be a system administrator.
Why do this? Because you need someone to be an expert while recognizing that not everyone in the company has to know everything about the software. For example, salespeople just need to know how to generate sales orders, warehouse workers need to know how to generate purchase orders, pick items, and receive inventory, and chief information officers need to be able to check order statuses, inventory turnover ratios, projected sales, and other big-picture information. They have specialized roles to play, which don’t necessitate access to the full software.
If you have a handful of individuals who are familiar with all aspects of the software, they will be able to train others on those parts of the software that they will use in their jobs. And if one expert goes on vacation, takes sick leave, or even permanently leaves the company, you still have others who possess the knowledge to keep things running in their absence.
You should expect training on the software to take several days. If you opt to have an expert come to your facility to train your staff in person and help them set up a new inventory database, you will likely spend several hours on the phone with them to prepare. The more information you’re able to gather ahead of time, the better off you will be when the main training session begins.
The amount of time it takes to get fully trained will vary from software to software, but a good rule of thumb is to expect to work with a software expert for two days at a minimum. That’s not including all of the prep time, but if you sign up for an on-site training, it’s safe to assume you will need to spend more than one day with them to get everything you require from them. Try not to rush the process.
In addition to getting trained, the most important thing to do is to set up your database. To do that, you’ll need to add every one of your parts, products, vendor pricing, and locations, among other things. An inventory management solution is only as good as the information entered into it. Start yourself on the right foot by making sure the information you add to your database is accurate and complete. You can do this by making extensive use of spreadsheets.
If you’re moving information from another inventory solution to another or even from an accounting solution like QuickBooks, the way to do it is by first exporting it into Excel spreadsheets. Once everything is in a spreadsheet, you can go in and do all sorts of things to prepare it for importing into the new solution. You’ll likely want to reformat the column headers to match new requirements, clean up errors in the data, and add missing items so that they’re ready to be entered into your new database.
A trainer can help you with this, or you might even be able to find spreadsheet templates, how-to videos, and documentation provided by the inventory solution provider.
After our review, the following are 3PL software solutions that we recommend that you consider in your search for a new software for your warehouse company.
Logiwa is a cloud-based new age fulfillment software serving 3PL businesses for over a decade. Its solutions are geared towards helping 3PLs manage multiple clients who have multiple sales channels.
Two of the most common problems that Logiwa 3PL WMS solutions help 3PL businesses overcome include:
With Logiwa, there’s no limit to the number of warehouses and customers that can be managed. Features include:
Logiwa 3PL WMS is a groundbreaking software helps 3PLs reduce operational costs, provide visibility across the entire supply chain, and increases profit margins. Logiwa customers get up to 100% inventory accuracy and double the number of orders shipped thanks to improved efficiency.
Shipedge is a cloud-based SaaS that has been offering a Warehouse Management System (WMS) and Order Management System (OMS) for over 10 years. Their main focus is providing service for 3PLs and eCommerce warehouses, ranging from startup companies to worldwide enterprises.
Because of their focus on 3PLs and eCommerce warehousing, Shipedge offers many features themselves that you won’t find with a single software system elsewhere. These include:
These are just a few of their most popular modules, and can easily be added or removed from your monthly subscription, making plans highly customizable and scalable.
Shipedge has over 75 Channel Integrations and 50+ Shipping Carriers, making it likely that whatever services you’re currently using will be able to seamlessly integrate with their software.
One of the more unique aspects of Shipedge is its automated billing feature, which is set up in a way that requires 3PL customers to pre-pay for services. This allows 3PL warehouses to reduce cash flow issues and enables them to spend money where they need to. The billing functionality keeps track of pre-paid balances and makes billing a worry-free scenario. This is an all-in-one solution that is visible to customers in real time.
When you sign on with Shipedge, you’re connected through an online communication platform to a team of implementers whose job it is to get you set up in the most efficient way possible. Part of implementing their system includes video tutorials to help you get familiar with the system along with dedicated customer support.
Pros of Shipedge: They offer a monthly subscription plan so you’re not stuck in a contract for a year at a time with hefty cancellation fees. However, they do require a 90-day notice of any changes you’d like to make in your subscription, whether that be a cancellation or an addition of a module.
As Shipedge is web-based, as long as you have internet access and can open a browser, you can use their software.
Cons of Shipedge: There is no iOS app, which may be a hindrance to Apple-based companies.
Shipedge’s system can take quite a bit of time to get used to, it’s not something you’ll be able to hit the ground running with.
Infoplus is a web-based system that offers a lot of communication if so desired by a 3PL. There are alerts for almost everything, including low stock alerts, shipping alerts, etc. These alerts come in per email, which makes it easier for employees to catch. The dashboard is customizable and is very easy to navigate as well as having a quick search which can make it even easier to find the necessary transactions. There are smart filters, which again can be customized to the individual warehouse process. They allow access to all data in real-time, which makes reporting a breeze. As well as giving the warehouse the ability to choose which information they share with their end-customers.
The system also can create processes out of exceptions which can significantly control any errors should they occur. It also has the capability to let an employee know how best to stack a pallet with the materials that are requested in an order. All of these options make it much easier to prevent errors and is so user friendly that every employee can process almost any order. As they say on their website it “eliminates the warehouse hero” and can give all of your employees the same capabilities. Besides all of the customization we discussed above it also gives you the ability to customize billing and their customer support has some great reviews. Of course, because they offer extensive customization, they may not be as willing to perform small changes and force them onto other clients, as some warehouse software program companies prefer.
In terms of downside, the only potentials are relative newness to the market (which isn’t necessarily a negative but simply something to consider), and the price point. Smaller or start-up 3PLs may not have the budget for Infoplus, but certainly the more established 3PLs that desire to control every aspect of the warehouse programmatically will find the software to be well worth the cost. Finally, Infoplus doesn’t provide in-software billing, but with all of the customizations allowed within the software and reporting, you can easily prepare any report for import into your billing systems.
VeraCore is a leading SaaS company dedicated to helping top fulfillment companies and 3PLs be faster, leaner and smarter about how they do fulfillment for over 40 years. Veracore is also a widely used option among our 3PL warehouse companies in our annual surveys. Veracore specializes in fulfillment companies, commercial printers, 3PL’s and e-retailers to manage their fulfillment operations.
The VeraCore Smart Fulfillment software goes beyond the traditional features offered by WMS, OMS and TMS to cover everything in the four walls of your warehouse and beyond – from warehouse and inventory maintenance, order management and shipping to account management and billing. It also includes built-in integrations for all major fulfillment companies.
Some of its features include:
Warehouse management
Order management
Account management and billing
In terms of “cons” of using Veracore, the most common issues that users had was that it is a massive and intimidating software. Many users mentioned that the learning curve and training are steep. But after full set up and once a certain degree of familiarity is experienced, users tend to rate Veracore very highly.
VeraCore is a smart fulfillment solution, an all-in-on service that includes aspects of an OMS, WMS and TMS. The chart below compares the features offered by VeraCore compared to other types of 3PL software.
Below are some of the other programs that you might want to consider.
Ramp Systems is an Enterprise software company dedicated to providing superior WMS and EDI software to the Logistics Industry, specifically 3PL, PRW and Fulfillment operations.
Founded in 2006 and staffed exclusively by industry veterans with extensive operations, services and software backgrounds, Ramp Systems was created with the primary goal of dramatically reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of software solutions required by our customers to operate their business while simultaneously providing innovative, modern and superior solutions that do more than the competition “out of the box”. Key components of value proposition include perpetual licenses, customer driven updates and upgrades always provided at no cost, reasonable services rates and rapid turnaround times
The Ramp Mission: Provide superior, modern and innovative software solutions that align with the increasing demands of our clients’ business. We strive to minimize our customers’ total cost of ownership (TCO), while maximizing productivity and profitability.
Conveyorware is a business distribution software built by a warehousing and fulfillment pioneer specifically for fulfillment and logistics firms. It offers a unique set of features developed through years of experiences and truly offers an all in one package for 3pl firms. It is a pay as you go software that makes it truly affordable to have best in class fulfillment software at your fingertips – starting at $100 per month.
Netsuite is yet another popular system. While Netsuite doesn’t specialize in the 3PL warehouse industry, it does offer enterprise level capabilities. NetSuite is a comprehensive cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution designed to serve the needs of diverse businesses. It integrates various business processes such as finance, CRM, eCommerce, and supply chain, providing a unified platform to manage and optimize these operations efficiently.
Key Features and Benefits of NetSuite:
Potential Limitations of NetSuite:
Fulcrum is a cloud-based ecommerce fulfillment, warehouse management and multi-carrier shipping software provider. Each component works together to provide a comprehensive solution for the third-party logistics and warehousing industries. With Fulcrum you can batch orders, rate shop across multiple carriers and print integrated labels in a single click. We also integrate with ecommerce platforms to provide omni-channel retailing and fulfillment.
Pros
Cons
SmartTurn focuses on the 3PL warehouse industry and offers a solid alternative for 3PLs to consider.
And below are companies that we have received the worst reviews from users over our history.
Extensiv has pitched itself as an easy-to-use on-demand warehouse management software (WMS) exclusively for third-party logistics companies helping them run more efficiently, grow their business and satisfy customers. But of all of the 3PL WMS companies we’ve had interactions with, this is the company that has consistently received the worst reviews. From lack of support to lack of flexibility of features, numerous companies in our network have switched away from Extensiv to a better option.
Extensiv is a cloud-based 3PL order and warehouse management software aimed at transforming traditional, error-prone businesses into service leaders centered on customer satisfaction, efficient operations, and growth. It provides comprehensive visibility and control from the shopping cart to the doorstep, making it a substantial technology backbone for warehouse operations.
Key Features and Benefits of Extensiv:
What are the Potential Negative Aspects of Extensiv?
Fishbowl is the leading manufacturing and warehouse inventory management software designed to cater to the needs of small to midsize businesses. It functions as a powerful inventory control system, providing tools necessary for businesses to transform their inventory management and scale efficiently. It integrates seamlessly with popular business solutions like QuickBooks, Amazon, Adobe, Shopify, and Salesforce, offering capabilities such as real-time inventory updates, material requirements planning (MRP), job shop floor control, work order management, barcoding, manufacturer orders and bills of materials (BOM).
Pros of Fishbowl:
Cons of Fishbowl:
User Feedback and Ratings of Fishbowl:
Fishbowl has received a rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, reflecting a generally positive response from users. Users appreciate its ease of integration with various platforms, rational order flow, and the ability to build estimates and bills easily. The real-time tracking of different orders and the extensive functionality it offers make it a preferred choice for many businesses.
Excalibur WMS by Camelot 3PL is a specialized warehouse management solution (WMS) developed for third-party logistics (3PL) warehouses and fulfillment operations, allowing either cloud-based or on-premise deployment. Crafted to meet diverse business needs, it is versatile enough to manage operations in dry storage, retail fulfillment, cold storage, hazmat, bulk materials, and e-commerce environments. It also grants 24/7 client visibility of inventory and order information from any browser-enabled device through WebLink View and supports a variety of data collection and integration options.
Pros of Excalibur WMS:
Cons of Excalibur WMS:
User Feedback and Ratings of Excalibur WMS:
Excalibur WMS holds a notable rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars, indicating substantial satisfaction among its users. Users recommend Excalibur WMS for its functionality, configurability, and supportive customer service, especially appreciating its value at reasonable rates. The overall positive reception suggests that the benefits of Excalibur WMS outweigh the identified drawbacks, making it a commendable choice for 3PL providers.
Cadence WMS by Cadre Technologies is an advanced warehouse management system integrating logistics, fulfillment, and warehouse operations. Targeting medium to large enterprises in 3PL, 4PL, distribution, and manufacturing sectors, it offers a unified solution combining supply chain visibility, order and transportation management, and activity billing, operating in real-time via mobile RF units and desktop workstations. It can be installed on-premise or in the cloud, providing multifunctionality, including diverse picking methods, shipping, kitting, and more, and can integrate with various EDI, ERP, and eCommerce platforms.
Pros of Cadence WMS
Cons of Cadence WMS:
User Feedback and Ratings of Cadence WMS:
With a commendable rating of 4.4 out of 5, Cadence WMS receives recognition for its functionality, feature-richness, and supportive management. Users appreciate its dynamic web portal interface, solid integration options, and logical inventory management. However, the software’s dynamic nature requires extensive configurations and an experienced administrator to manage the tables. Some users find the system somewhat clunky, experiencing limitations in flexibility and in resolving larger issues through customer support, despite its availability for small issue resolutions. Nonetheless, the overall user sentiment is positive, valuing its extensive features and integrative capabilities.
Softeon is a USA-based company offering innovative, cloud-based supply chain solutions, notably a Warehouse Management System. This web-native system is renowned for handling complex inventory and order management tasks, offering scalable architecture, productivity tracking, and seamless integration to automate material handling systems, providing a transformative approach to supply chain management.
Pros of Softeon:
Cons of Softeon:
User Feedback and Ratings of Softeon:
With a high rating of 4.8/5.0, Softeon is appreciated for contributing significantly to supply chain transformations, enabling the delivery of flexible, cost-effective services to meet dynamic customer needs. Users commend the excellent customer support and the system’s ability to process high volumes of orders while also highlighting some limitations in implementation processes and compatibility. It earned the “Market Leader” award in Supply Chain Management Software in Winter 2023, reflecting its efficiency and superiority in offering innovative supply chain solutions.
Manhattan SCALE, by Manhattan Associates, is a comprehensive warehouse management solution launched in 1990. It empowers distributors and suppliers, allowing seamless management of warehouses, deliveries, and distribution channels through a unified portal. The solution provides an array of modules like WES, WMS, Communication Module(s), Financials Modules, and more, enabling streamlined operations across the supply chain. With over 1200 customers and numerous awards, it has established itself as a significant player in supply chain solutions, operating from its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, US.
Pros of Manhattan Scale:
Cons of Manhattan Scale:
User Feedback and Ratings of Manhattan Scale:
Manhattan SCALE has received a rating of 4.0 out of 5, emphasizing its effectiveness and user-friendly nature. Users have appreciated its ability to streamline and automate order processes to the distribution center and its contribution to learning different aspects of warehouse logistics. However, there have been mentions of issues related to report generation and the expensive nature of customizations and modifications, especially during software updates. Despite these, its overall functionality, ease of use, and its role in facilitating inventory control in both inbound and outbound environments are highlighted positively by its extensive user base.
For various reasons, 3PL companies themselves are beginning to create their own “home grown” WMS software and license the use to businesses without having to necessarily utilize their 3PL services. At first glance, this seems rather intriguing – being able to piggy back off of a WMS that is custom built and still be able to do in-house fulfillment. Some of the companies offering this services are Shipbob and Shipmonk.
However, be careful and use your judgement when looking into these options. First, they are prone to bias. These companies are eager to ultimately win your business, and so there may be an ulterior motive of getting your business to someday switch to their 3PL services. Second, they will have all of your data, which can be used to further market to you. Third, WMS software is their secondary business – they are primarily in business to offer fulfillment services. Therefore, less time and effort is devoted to their WMS segment, which could end up hurting you in the end.
Sometimes, systems need further programming to ‘connect’. For example, not every 3PL software program has the “out-of-the-box” capability to integrate with every shopping cart. In these case, your warehouse is left with manually coding a new integration, which takes time. Companies like Dropstream take some of the pain out of this process by helping your warehouse system integrate without having to perform the programming in-house.
Dropstream provides an on-demand solution to help third-party logistics companies reach more customers with an order fulfillment workflow integration using todays most popular shopping cart platforms. Using Dropstream you’ll be able to automatically receive orders from your customers using any one of our supported eCommerce platforms, including 3dcart, Magento, Magento Go, Shopify, BigCommerce, Amazon, and more.
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We were named one of only 5 top “2016 Best Fulfillment Service” by Fit Small Business. As a part of their review process, they conduct “undercover” surveys, interview customers, and speak with industry experts, factoring in the service level of each provider.
In 2017, we were named the Best Fulfillment Warehouse Matchmaker Service by Fit Small Business. It was noted that our company understands the many factors that make up a successful logistics partnership (from warehouse locations to price to shipping specialties).
In 2017, WarehousingAndFulfillment.com was awarded top 25 status for best Warehouse and Fulfillment blogs on the Web by Feed Spot. This particular list of blogs is the most comprehensive list of warehouse blogs on the Internet.
In 2018, WarehousingAndFulfillment.com was awarded top 50 status for best Warehousing and Fulfillment blogs on the Web by 6 River Systems.
We just wanted to thank you for your innovation in business leads. We had a close ratio of 35% in 2015 which equated to a 60% increase in our warehouse division. We closed the biggest deal from the website with a customer and now need a bigger facility!
WarehousingAndFulfillment.com has helped grow our business through their qualified leads. We use several different sources for leads but the highest percentage of closings come from WarehousingAndFulfillment.com.
Merlin Logistics values our partnership with Warehousing and Fulfillment. They are so vital to growth of our company. The difference is an astounding 98.5% increase in sales from Warehousing and Fulfillment. They provide the best service, great product, and a great partner to grow your business.
I have been a client of warehousingandfulfillment.com since August of 2010. I love them! I started out by limiting them to $250 per month, however as time went on, I increased it. Our capture rate for turning their leads into clients is about 18%. The response rate to my initial inquiry is 90%. The leads are real.
We have really grown with your program…You have a great program!
WarehousingAndFulfillment.com has helped us grow our business dramatically and is well worth the investment.
Our four largest clients all came from WarehousingAndFulfillment.com and we have actually had to stop taking leads for the next several months as we need to add space. Over the years I have been extremely impressed with the quality of leads that truly are searching for a fulfillment solution.
I want to say thank you for your help in finding a warehouse so quickly. Your service was amazing. I received replies the same day and have selected a company that will work well for us. I definitely recommend your services.
I wanted to express my gratitude for your services and let you know that it was a very enjoyable experience! We have selected one of the companies and they are awesome!
You are doing such a great job and this service that you provide is a life saver for people especially startups like me....We cannot spend budgets on researching as much as the big firms can...and you provide us one stop solution which will answer all our questions.
I just wanted to let you know that I selected one of your vendors as our fulfillment house. They can do what we need and we’re looking forward to working with them. They can handle our “special projects” fulfillment, which was key to our decision in bringing them onboard. I appreciate this service. It was great for our company.
I didn’t know there was so much difference in fulfillment companies — this was my first time in need of this sort of service. After a Google search I luckily stumbled upon WarehousingAndFulfillment.com. They saved me an incredible amount of time and money. Within minutes I had a couple of emails from good companies that fit my situation. I am very appreciative of their help.
Warehousing and Fulfillment was the perfect matchmaker in finding us a fulfillment partner. They provided several great options, all of whom were very responsive and willing to take the time to talk through our needs. We ended up going with W&F’s top match and we couldn’t be happier. I highly recommend W&F, particularly to anyone whose business relies on a strong fulfillment partner.
We were having multiple issues with our 3PL fulfilling warranty replacement parts. Our company needed to make a change and make one fast. I reached out to WarehousingAndFulfillment.com to facilitate my search for a reputable, service oriented 3PL that can handle the demands of a highly seasonal business to pick, pack and ship parts quickly. I received several qualified 3PL leads that matched what we were looking for and we found a great partner.
We found the perfect third-party fulfillment vendor through insightQuote. We never would have found them on our own. We can’t thank you enough and our customers thank you too.
Thanks for all of your help. This was a huge undertaking for us and your guidance was extremely helpful!
Thank you so much for your excellent service. We have chosen one to go forward with. This has saved us a great deal of time.
They really listened to our requirements and then matched us with great vendors that could meet our specific challenges.
I just wanted to say thank you so much for setting me up with these vendors. I have found pricing better than I ever expected to find.
Legit, this was such a good experience ... I was shocked how fast the vendors contacted me and got the ball rolling. This was such a pleasant experience
What an awesome service. A problem I fought with daily for over 3 weeks, solved in less than 24 hours.
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