Best 3PL WMS system features

Growing 3PLs need the right software to take their business to the next level. Often called ‘mission critical’ systems, WMS/TMS software provide seamless end-to-end management over stock, incoming orders, outgoing freight, rates and charge calculations, invoicing, and other admin. The right system can completely revolutionize your business, so what are some of the best WMS features to look out for? 

The best 3PL WMS software has features designed for day-to-day operations, to streamline, boost accuracy, and allow you to do more with the resources you have. Let’s take a look at what best-of-breed 3PL WMS systems look like. 

Seamless software integrations

Direct integrations were named one of the top 5 trends for 3PLs in 2023. Allowing the system you’re running day-to-day operations on, to integrate and share data with your customer’s online stores, between your warehouse and transport operations, with your own accounting software —and more— gives growing 3PLs the ability to scale up with accuracy and speed. 

Pick and Pack workflows 

Optimizing your order pick and pack provides a range of benefits, from the obvious boost in accuracy resulting in fewer mis-picks or returns for incorrect orders, as well as more efficient order fulfillment through wave pick, or FIFO/ FEFO workflows. 

Using barcode scanning or picking directly from mobile apps also ensures your stock levels and tracking for orders and inventory remains up to date at all times. What’s more, this also means your rates and charges can be automatically calculated to generate invoicing while you sleep — saving hours of admin and reducing revenue leakage for missed charges. 

Fast and efficient cross-docking 

Combine speed and accuracy for fast-moving freight with cross-docking. Cross-docking gives you the ability to accept and assign freight to allocate the most efficient dispatch options, based on delivery runs and available vehicles. Simply scan incoming freight into your system and assigning to a holding zone to allow for swift unloading, and then based on final destinations and outgoing delivery runs, assign the freight to the most efficient option, for faster dispatch. 

Using your WMS/TMS system for cross-docking gives you more control over stock management, and greater oversight over incoming and outgoing routes, to assign the most efficient route for faster turnarounds. The stock can be accepted, handled, sorted and dispatched without ever hitting the warehouse racking — giving you the ability to fulfil more orders, without the constraints of warehouse space.

Multi-warehouse management 

For the very best 3PL WMS software, you want to know your system can grow with your business. Growing 3PLs may have already, or need to consider having multiple warehouses — especially to manage stock across multiple geographical locations. 

Delivery consignment allocation 

The best 3PL WMS system will put efficiency and ease of use first. Your mission-critical software should make your life easier, with better accuracy, more efficient workflows, automated data entry, and automated workflows. Automatically assigning delivery consignments to a driver or vehicle is key in building an efficient transport management workflow, giving you smarter insights and easier oversight of your fleet and deliveries. 

Automated data and invoicing 

One of the biggest time-savers and game-changers in TMS and WMS software is automated invoicing. Having your system automatically capture and calculate rates based on stock storage and handling, order fulfillment, dispatch, ad hoc and other charges. All charges can be captured directly into the system, to automatically generate the invoice based on a completion trigger (such as an order ready for dispatch, or delivery). 

Liquex Logistics are saving over 40 hours a week, while fulfilling more orders and bringing in more revenue, simply by choosing the best WMS software for their business. 

Applications to manage your operations on the move 

Get the most from your warehouse system and transport management with mobility and flexibility. The best 3PL WMS systems need to suit the way you work — and that means usability across where you work. 

Fast-moving 3PLs will benefit from a WMS with tablet-friendly design and custom-built mobile app that allows you to easily integrate the system with your day-to-day operations. 

The CartonCloud WMS/TMS has a warehouse and driver mobile application designed specifically to simplify each role and workflow, capture and automate data entry, ensure accuracy and allow your team to do more with fewer resources. 

Industry Insight

At CartonCloud, we are constantly asking ourselves how we can improve to continue to be the best 3PL WMS and TMS for our customers. We believe in learning from others to ensure our software continues to not only fulfill the needs of our customers today, but also to keep them ahead of the curve for the future.

Our product design and development is built from a combination of customer feedback, industry trend awareness, technological advancement and industry expertise — drawn together to design our powerful and intuitive software, designed specifically for the day-to-day needs of our customers today and into the future. 

Want to know more? 

When searching for the best-performing WMS/TMS, it’s important to see what other are saying about the software. Review how other small-medium enterprise 3PLs have found the software features, onboarding process, and support — before making your decision. 

Explore our library of customer case studies to see how CartonCloud has helped shape and enhance over 400 companies from all over the world. Or see our powerful software in action by contacting our friendly team for a free demo of our software.