Nowadays, the internet makes almost everything available to us with just a few clicks. We can buy things online, pay for them from anywhere, and even return products if we’re not happy.
When we buy something and want to return it, it’s really important that the information gets updated right away. Businesses need this to happen quickly. To make it possible, they use special software to keep track of everything happening in their warehouses, like sending out items, tracking shipments, and dealing with returns.
Warehouse Management System
Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) are like helpful assistants that make sure everything runs smoothly. Using WMS helps businesses stay ahead of their competitors. It also helps them save money by reducing the need for lots of workers and makes customers even happier.
With cloud-based WMS, we can see real-time updates about what’s in the warehouse. All we need is an internet connection and we can use computers, phones, tablets, or other devices to check it.
When materials, things, or products arrive at the warehouse, the WMS starts watching over them. It keeps an eye on them until they reach the people who ordered them. If someone returns an item, the WMS takes charge of tracking it again until someone else gets it. The WMS has many important jobs, like getting the goods, packing them up, sending them out, tracking them, and keeping everything updated. These jobs together are called the supply chain.
Using a reliable and efficient WMS helps businesses work better, keep track of things, and give customers really great service.
Types of WMS:
For businesses that help with getting things from one place to another (like a delivery service), there are three different types of Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) to choose from.
The first type is called Standalone Warehouse Management. The second type is called Supply Chain Execution Modules. And the third type is called Integrated ERP.
When picking a WMS, there are some important things to think about:
Function: Each WMS does different things. Some are made for specific types of businesses. It’s important to know what you need and pick the right one.
Cost: The price of a WMS is important too. Once you know what you need it to do, you can see how much it costs.
Customer Needs: If you’re already using a WMS, it’s good to know where it could be better. This way, you can understand what your customers need and choose a WMS with the right features.
Warehouse Size: The bigger the warehouse, the more complicated the WMS needs to be. That’s because big warehouses have more things to keep track of. So it’s important to pick a WMS that fits the size of your warehouse.
By thinking about all these things, you can find the perfect WMS for your business. It will help you do a great job, make your customers happy, and work well with the size of your warehouse.
Top 7 Warehouse Management Systems
1. Striven
Striven is a helpful tool that small and medium-sized businesses can use to keep their stocks organized all the time. This software makes managing a warehouse easy, from creating products to handling orders. Whenever you add a new item, Striven automatically updates your inventory on its special dashboard.
With Striven, you get a detailed report of all your stock. This helps you know exactly when to order more. The software also helps you find exactly where each item is in your inventory. You can add items by typing their names or scanning their barcode.
Special Features:
- Custom Inventory Management: You can personalize how you manage your inventory.
- Inventory Valuation: It helps you figure out the value of your stock.
- Order Management: You can keep track of all your orders.
- Low Stock Alerts: It notifies you when your stock is running low.
Pros:
- Your inventory gets updated in real-time, so you always know what you have.
- Striven can connect with your accounting and customer management systems, making things even easier.
- You can keep track of all your orders, so nothing gets lost.
Cons:
- It may not work well for really big companies with lots of stock.
Price: There are two subscription options, and the cost depends on how many people will use it. The standard plan starts at $20 per user per month, while the enterprise plan starts at $40 per user per month. You can even try it for free for 7 days to see if you like it.
2. NetSuite WMS
NetSuite WMS is a helpful tool that makes managing warehouses and manufacturing operations easier. It’s like having a special helper to take care of important tasks, such as receiving, storing, and shipping goods. NetSuite is made by a trusted company called Oracle.
Features of the Tool:
- Mobile RF barcode scanning: You can use your phone or tablet to scan barcodes and keep track of all the things in your warehouse.
- Strategy definition for putting away and picking up: This feature has three special powers: Mobile Receiving, Mobile Picking, and Mobile Cycle Counting.
- Task Management: You can be super organized and manage all your tasks efficiently.
- Returns authorization receipt: It helps you deal with items that people return.
- Cycle count plans: You can make plans to count and keep track of your inventory regularly.
- And there are even more features like Real-time data, Order management, barcode tracking, billing, inventory management, shipping management, workforce and load management, warehouse map, purchasing, and lots of other cool things!
Pros:
- It’s simple and easy to use, so you don’t have to be a computer genius to understand it.
- The company promises to stand by their product and offers a guarantee, which means they really believe in it.
- If you need help, the contact information is easy to find, so you can ask questions or get support.
- You can make it even cooler by adding extra features with third-party plugins. It’s like adding special powers to your tool!
- It also supports wireless warehousing, which means everything can run smoothly without messy wires.
Cons:
- It’s not the best at being an ERP (that stands for Enterprise Resource Planning) system. It has some ERP features, but it might not have everything you expect.
Price: If you’re curious about the cost and different plans, you can reach out to the company directly. They’ll be happy to give you all the details!
3. Maropost
Maropost is a special tool that makes it really easy to manage your inventory and orders. What’s so great about it is that you can control many online stores all in one place.
Imagine having a super cool control panel where you can see and take care of all your stores at the same time. You can keep track of all your products, orders, and info about your customers right from this awesome tool.
Features:
- Manage Multiple Sales Channels: You can handle all your different stores in just one spot.
- Build Your Own Online Store: You can create a unique store that’s just for you.
- Organize Your Customers: It helps you keep all your customer info nice and tidy.
- Set Your Own Prices: You get to decide how much your products should cost.
- Keep Track of Orders: It shows you where your orders are and keeps you updated.
Pros:
- It’s super easy to use, so you don’t have to be a computer whiz to figure it out.
- You can do lots of different things for your online stores all in this one tool.
- You get lots of detailed info about your sales and all the stuff you have in stock.
- You can choose from different pricing options that work best for you.
Cons:
- It might not be the best choice if you have a small business.
Price: If you’re wondering about the cost, Maropost lets you try it out for free for 14 days. After that, they have different plans you can choose from. The essential plan costs $71 per month, the essential plus plan costs $179 per month, and the professional plan costs $224 per month. They even have a special plan for big companies called the custom enterprise plan.
With Maropost, you’ll have the power to manage all your online stores like a real pro!
4. Sortly
Sortly is definitely one of the best warehouse management software options out there for small businesses. It uses photos and visuals to help you keep track of everything in your warehouse. With this software, you can create a system that works just the way you want it to and keep track of items in different locations.
When you use Sortly, you can add special information, like receipts and pictures, to each item. This makes it easier to keep track of your stuff, no matter where it is in the warehouse. You can even make and print special codes, called QR labels and barcodes, that can be scanned using Sortly’s own QR code scanner on your phone.
Features:
- Use QR labels and barcodes to scan and update items.
- Set up automatic alerts to keep track of how much stuff you have.
- Give different people different roles and control who can see what.
- Keep track of your inventory and see what everyone is doing.
- Create special reports in CSV and PDF formats.
Pros:
- It’s really easy to use, and you don’t need to know a lot about computers.
- It works on all kinds of devices, so you can use it on your phone or tablet.
- The screen you see when you use Sortly is clean and easy to understand.
- You can make your own special QR labels and barcodes that are just for you.
- There’s even a free version you can try!
Cons:
- Sortly doesn’t work with other software.
- If you need help, you can only get it by looking at their help center or sending an email, unless you choose their special plan.
Price: If you’re wondering about the cost, Sortly has different plans to choose from. The free plan lets you have up to 100 entries. The Advanced plan costs $25 per month and lets you have up to 1000 entries. The Ultra plan costs $59 per month and lets you have as many entries as you want. If you have special needs, you can contact Sortly to make a custom plan just for you.
5. Fishbowl Inventory
Fishbowl Inventory is a company that makes special software. It was started by David K Williams, and their main office is in Orem, Utah, in the United States. This software can be used by all kinds of organizations, no matter how big or small. Fishbowl helps with managing inventory and manufacturing, and it works together with QuickBooks.
Features:
- It can connect with QuickBooks to make things easier.
- You can make reports to see important information.
- It helps with buying and selling products.
- You can keep track of orders and manage them.
- It works with different locations.
- You can use different currencies for buying and selling.
- It helps with shipping.
- It can also help with keeping track of time and labor.
Pros:
- You can try it out for free before deciding to buy.
- You can make sales orders and purchase orders in any currency you want.
- Fishbowl has other special products you can add to make it even better.
Cons:
- The software is only available in English.
- It doesn’t have a special feature for shipping and e-commerce.
- You can’t install it on your own computer.
Price: If you’re wondering about the cost, Fishbowl Inventory starts at $4,395 per user per year.
6. 3PL Warehouse Manager
3PL Central offers a special system that works on the cloud. It has a modern and easy-to-use interface, and it can do smart things to make warehouse management better. The founders of 3PL Central, John Watkins and Nancy Rohman, started the company in 2006 when they had their own warehouse. This means they know a lot about how to manage warehouses well.
Features:
- It’s easy to make the system bigger or upgrade the software.
- It can work together with other systems smoothly.
- It can make sure the billing is accurate.
- You can use your mobile device to scan barcodes.
- It helps with managing customers, multiple locations, and multiple warehouses all in one place.
- It makes sure that scanning, packing, and checking shipments is done correctly.
- You can manage your inventory and orders from anywhere and at any time.
- It can connect with special providers that help with electronic data exchange.
Pros:
- You can easily make the system grow or make it better with upgrades.
- It’s not difficult to use.
- You can access and work with your data from anywhere and at any time.
Cons:
- You will need some training to use the system, especially for the billing part, which can be confusing.
- This system is best for small warehouses or organizations.
Price: If you want to know about the cost, you can contact the company to find out how much it is.
7. Softeon
Softeon is a company that comes up with smart ideas to help with the supply chain. Their main office is in the USA. Softeon Warehouse Management System is a special system that works on the cloud.
Features:
- It works well on the web, which means you can use it on the internet.
- It can handle difficult tasks for managing inventory.
- It can grow with your needs because it has a flexible structure.
- It helps with managing orders.
- It keeps track of how productive you are.
- It helps with organizing tasks.
- It can connect with other systems to make things easier for moving materials around.
Pros:
- Softeon provides really good support to their customers.
- It can handle a lot of orders at once.
- This system is made in a way that it doesn’t need a lot of ongoing help.
- It has also made things cheaper.
Cons:
- The way they put the system in place may not meet your expectations.
- The system doesn’t have features to help with billing.
- It doesn’t work on computers with Mac OS or Linux OS.
Price: If you want to know about the cost, you can contact the company to find out how much it is.
Read Also : Top 10 Management Tools for Small Businesses
Conclusion
In conclusion, when it comes to Warehouse Management Software Systems, there are a few choices to think about. Oracle’s NetSuite WMS is a great pick because it has all the important features you need, like wireless warehousing, and it even comes with a guarantee. If keeping your information safe is really important to you, then Manhattan Associates is the best recommendation.
If you want a system that can be changed to fit your own special way of doing things, TECSYS WMS is the best option. On the other hand, if you need certain special things added to your system, Astro WMS is the perfect choice.
To sum it all up, each of these software systems has its own strengths depending on what you need. It’s important to think about what you want and choose the one that fits your business the best.