Finding the best Warehouse Management System (WMS) software for small businesses

Find the best warehouse management software for small business with this helpful guide. 

First, what features does a small 3PL warehouse need to thrive? Small warehouse businesses are unlike their big competitors in the logistics industry — not only can they cater for smaller customer volumes, or provide more speciliased services, they can be nimble, fast acting, and adopt new technology with ease. 

 Tip: Searching for the best WMS software? Check out user software reviews and Google ratings.

Small 3PL warehouse businesses benefit from the ability to be flexible in the services offered and the customers they take on board. They can offer top customer service and support — a strength that can help win new business. However, to unlock the strengths of a small business 3PL warehouse to scale and grow — you need to have the right systems and tools in place. 

Get the best Warehouse Mangement System (WMS) software for your small business! 

To unlock your small 3PL warehouse potential, you need to retain flexibility and your ability to scale, while maintaining fast ROI on services and keeping your bottom line strong. Don’t worry— it’s easier than you think! 

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Top features of WMS software to unlock growth

The top features of WMS software for small business enable you to unlock growth potential through scalability and diversity of revenue streams. First of all, you should be looking for a cloud-based 3PL WMS software system. The best 3PL cloud software for small and growing warehouses will have features, integration capacity, and intuitive usability to allow you to implement flexible warehouse workflows. 

You want to find a WMS with the ability to apply customer-specific settings if needed, secure integrations for online ordering and other software systems, automated workflows adn data entry, and flexibility to offer new services so you can say yes to new business! 

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Unlocking Small Business 3PL Warehousing Growth 

Growing 3PLs need the best software for small business to grow with them, and finding the best warehouse management software for your small and growing business can be your secret weapon to unlock growth and take on the competition. 

• Scalability: The right cloud-based WMS for your 3PL will scale with you. Keep ahead of the curve, and unlock new opportunities with ease, with WMS features built for growth. 
• Accuracy on point: Say goodbye to frantic inventory searches, or costly is-picks and hello to crystal-clear data. Unlock real-time order tracking, stock reports and more — and keep eyes on you operations at every moment. 
• Unlock speed for higher daily fulfilment: Access everything you need at your fingertips — from easy pick, pack and put away direct from the mobile app — with barcode scanning for greater accuracy.
• Automate for accuracy: Let the software do the heavy lifting! Automated workflows for order fulfilment and data entry not only boost accuracy — but also save you hours of admin hours each day!

Now that you have the features to make your life easier and scale your business — let’s look at how you can use the breadth of 3PL warehouse management system features to open up new services and diversify revenue. 

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Growing your 3PL Warehouse with diversified revenue streams 

Say ‘yes’ to new business! The best WMS for small business not only let’s you remove the manual workload — but should also offer a range of features to allow you to offer new services and workflows with ease, so you can bring in new business. 

• Offer new services: Automated workflows make adding exciting new services like kitting or custom packing a breeze.
• Customer love unlocked! Tailor your services to each customer’s unique needs, with customer-specific rate cards, and ad-hoc service options to make tracking you services a breeze. 
• Secure Integrations: From seamless integrations with online ordering for ecommerce — to plugging into your existing invoicing software, with integrations you can build the tech stack you need, for your business. 

Now you know what you’re looking for, one tip to find the ​​Best warehouse management software for small business is to seek out reviews from real world customers! Let's go! 

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Top rated 3PL WMS software for small business

One of the top ways to find the best warehouse management software for small business is to check out real-world customer reviews from businesses who are using the software. This will show you inside the features they use, usability and onboarding, and of course, their experiences in dealing with the provider. 

CartonCloud is top-rated by users who love our features, easy to use application and intuitive workflows — and who loev dealing with our world class customer support team. Our customer success is what drives us, and we love to see them grow and expand their businesses with the help of CartonCloud. 

Step inside Lexington Logistics' 3PL Warehouse and hear from founder Deanne Luke, about how they selected the right WMS system for their business, to ensure they could give more to their customers.

Top WMS features for growing 3PLs

Each warehouse is different, and each warehouse customers bring their own unique needs. The best 3PL warehouse software for small business needs to be scalable. After all, the ultimate goal for your business is growth. 

You want to ensure your new warehouse software system allows you to implement scalable workflows that can easily scale up in busy times, and allow you to take on more business as you grow.

For this, your 3PL cloud software needs to be built for the workflows of a fast-paced and flexible 3PL warehouse — with automated workflows and data, so you can do more, with the resources you have. 

This may be the ability to handle different SKUs, storage requirements, pick preferences, custom packaging, preferred couriers, etc. It's important to ensure your WMS software has the right features for your needs — and you have the support to set up your operations correctly.

At CartonCloud, we have designed our WMS software to easily scale up, allowing you to select the features you need, as you need them — or add on additional warehouses as needed, all within one system. The best part? You only pay for what you use, so you can easily grow your business. 

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How to choose the right WMS for your logistics business

It can be challenging to choose the right Warehouse Management System software for your small business, which is why we’ve broken it down here:

• First, consider the WMS software features you need for your specific operations. This might include cross-docking capability, wave picking, temperature zones, handling multiple SKUs, barcode scanning, order tracking, online ordering, or any other features you need to have for the services you provide. 
• Next, make sure the system suits your team and your workflows. It should be easy to learn and use, for you and your entire team — and allow you to securely integrate with your customer and partner software. When comparing WMS software ease of use, be sure to consider if it is tablet-friendly, if there is a mobile app for use on the go, and if the onboarding process is supported by a local team of experts who are able to help you with set up to ensure you get the most from your software.     
• Consider your future growth plans, and how your new WMS system will support this. Scalability is important. You should be looking for a WMS system that can grow with you, allowing you to achieve ROI now, and into the future. 
• Finally, it needs to be affordable right now. Lastly, you need to consider pricing and your budget. Keep in mind the time it takes to onboard your new system, and how fast you can start to see the benefits. CartonCloud has simplified onboarding, providing expert support from industry experts, to get you up and running in days, not months! 

Easy-to-use WMS software design makes a big difference

Your warehouse management system software can revolutionize your business, reducing overheads, boosting accuracy, simplifying charges and invoicing, and more — but only if you use it! Which is why your system must be easy to operate.

The right WMS system has to be easy-to-use for you and your entire team, and feel intuitive within your operations. Cloud-based warehouse management can provide end-to-end data capture, workflow automation, and simplify your warehouse operations by integrating into each touchpoint.

This means every incoming order is captured, order items can be scanned directly into the system as they are picked (or immediately notify the picker if an error is made), stock reports are automatically updated when inventory is moved or picked, and all charges can be captured automatically as you work. Easy. 

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Is the price right for your business? 

A key consideration in any investment; is the price right? Of course, with the benefits of a WMS you can grow your business and increase profits but it also needs to be affordable to begin with. 

At CartonCloud, our cloud-based warehouse management software is designed with scalable features and plans from $599/month. With fast and supported onboarding, you can set up your new WMS software and start seeing the benefits faster. 

At CartonCloud, we pride ourselves on providing the best WMS software for small and medium businesses, helping them grow and optimize their business, with ease. Our feature-rich and easy-to-use software is designed specifically for the smaller players, with functions designed to simplify everyday operations, integrations for online ordering and automated data flow, and local support to make sure you’re getting the most for your system and business. 

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Want to know more? 

We want to make sure you choose the system that is right for you. Get in touch with our friendly team to discuss your warehouse business, customers and growth plans, and walk through the WMS features that are best suited to you. If we’re not the right fit, we’ll be the first to tell you.

Afterall, our customer’s success is our success!

Updated May 2024

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