The ten best warehouse technology vendors to work for

Workplace culture has an undeniable impact on the quality of a product a company creates. To state the obvious, engaged, well-compensated and happy employees are willing to put more into their jobs than those that are stressed, or bored, or treated poorly.

The correlation we see below - that market-leading WMS and SCM vendors are rated highly on Glassdoor by current and former employees - is therefore no surprise. Based on four key criteria available on the site - overall rank, culture and values rating, work/life balance rating and recommend to a friend rating. This is designed to give a broader view of what it is like to work at these companies, and where their particular strengths are as an employer. 

We have profiled the vendors ranked in the ‘overall’ top ten and highlight what makes them so well-regarded by their workers. You can view the raw data in the tables below, or skip straight to the profiles.

The results

Overall rating (out of five stars)

Culture and values rating (out of five stars)

Work/life balance rating (out of five stars)

% of reviewers who would recommend company to a friend

Netsuite

• #1 overall
• #1 in culture and values
• #3 in work/life balance
• #3 in recommend to a friend

Specialist cloud software providers Netsuite finished first both overall and in the culture and values criteria, with solid third place finishes across work/life balance and recommend to a friend rankings.

Netsuite provides a single, fully-integrated system to help companies streamline a range of key business processes. Included in these are supply chain and inventory functionalities. These are embedded in the company’s ERP solution, which, with more than 40,000 customers across 160 countries, is the world’s most deployed cloud ERP solution.

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Notably, Netsuite was recognized for four years in a row (2012 - 2015) in the Bay Area News Group’s Top Workplaces awards. On the topic of workplace culture, and how Netsuite stands out in this regard, CEO Zach Nelson says “One core value we have at Netsuite is about blazing a trail, and about doing new things. It’s difficult to create something this year that will solve a customer’s problem five years from now. We always have to be on the cutting edge of what we’re building.”

“One core value we have at Netsuite is about blazing a trail, and about doing new things. It’s difficult to create something this year that will solve a customer’s problem five years from now. We always have to be on the cutting edge of what we’re building.”

This entrepreneurial culture is reflected in Netsuite’s Glassdoor reviews - reviewers mentioned Netsuite’s emphasis on innovation and “work hard play hard” attitude as one of the best things about working there. Employees enjoy a generous health cover plan, flexible work schedules and twelve days paid time off, and enthusiasm for the company’s products runs extremely high. There is currently some uncertainty over how things will progress after Netsuite’s acquisition by software giants Oracle, though as yet there seems to be no overt complaints about how this has been handled.

IQMS

• #2 overall
• #2 in culture and values
• #2 in work/life balance
• #1 in recommend to a friend

Manufacturing software specialists IQMS ranked second overall, with consistent second place finishes across the culture and values and work/life balance ratings. Their highest position was in the recommend to a friend criteria, for which it finished first place with a ranking of 95%.

Founded in 1989, IQMS has been profitable since day one, and were named as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the US every year between 2008 and 2015. IQMS provides a range of products designed specifically for the needs of manufacturers, including WMS, supply chain management, ERP and MES. Products are in use across a range of verticals, including medical manufacturing, food and beverage, plastics and aerospace and defense.

The company provides WMS and supply chain solutions as fully-integrated modules for their end-to-end ERP solution, EnterpriseIQ, complete with real-time interfaces and mobile accessibility to minimize handling costs and optimize warehouse and supply chain efficiency.

Working environment was often cited as one of the biggest advantages of working at IQMS, with Glassdoor contributors citing the their paid 90 day training program as a particular highlight. Reviews mentioned an initial concern about whether the ‘family’ aspect of the company would be lost after a period of management changes, but on the whole were very positive about how the transition had been handled.

Iptor

• #3 overall
• #3 in culture and values
• #4 in work/life balance
• #5 in recommend to a friend

Supply chain and ERP specialist Iptor is another consistent top five finisher, finishing inside the top half of the table for all of our key criteria.

Iptor focuses on helping distributors manage ‘non standard’ complex fulfillment challenges, and provides supply chain solutions which allows users to ‘rule the exception’. This is built around the 90/10 rule - that 90% of processes and orders are predictable for most distributors, and that the real value of SCM comes from handling the 10% of non-standard services, which have the power to differentiate a company from its competitors.

Iptor Supply Chain systems rebranded from International Business Solutions to their current moniker in September 2016. Centered around their 90/10 ideology, CEO Jayne Archbold stated that the name “ signals a fresh, refined approach to how we focus our experience and expertise to better serve our existing and future customers.”

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Reviewers were very positive about Iptor’s both the rebrand and the change of leadership team that preceded it, citing a “clear vision and strategy” and “significant potential for the next years given a strong global customer base”. Enthusiasm for the products offered was high, though ‘advice to management’ included ideas around stepping up product marketing efforts and making internal communications smoother.

Manhattan Associates

• #4 overall
• #4 in culture and values
• #4 in recommend to a friend

Supply chain and omni-channel retail software providers Manhattan Associates finished third in three out of the four tables above. Their software is used across a range of industries including retail, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and 3PL.

Employees enjoy working together and rate opportunities for advancement and benefits packages highly, and reviews signalled a high level of enthusiasm for Manhattan Associates’ product offerings. Consistent with the ratings above, work/life balance was flagged as one area in which the company could improve.

Exact

• #5 overall
• #9 in culture and values
• #7 in work/life balance
• #6 in recommend to a friend

Enterprise solutions providers Exact achieved a solid top ten finish across all four ratings categories. Their Macola platform offers a range of functionalities including CRM, ERP and warehouse management, with an emphasis on flexibility and 24/7 access.

Reviews mention the hardworking-yet-relaxed company atmosphere as a positive, with flexible hours, smart casual attire, and induction and team building activities all identified as contributing to a pleasant working environment. Employees’ outlook on the company varied widely across different office locations.

Fishbowl Inventory

• #6 overall
• #7 in culture and values
• #1 in work/life balance
• #9 in recommend to a friend

Fishbowl provides specialized manufacturing, inventory and warehouse solutions tailored to small to mid-sized businesses. They scored top ten finishes across all four categories, coming in at first place for work/life balance rating.

A well-stocked games room with free cereal was mentioned by several employees as a particular highlight

Consistent with this, employees praised the fun atmosphere, benefits package and salary level (though note that this is, in many cases, dependent on commission). A well-stocked games room with free cereal was mentioned by several employees as a particular highlight. Reviewers were enthusiastic about Fishbowl’s upward trajectory, though advised management to “not forget what it feels like to be small”.

Infor

• #7 overall
• #10 in culture and values
• #5 in work/life balance
• #7 in recommend to a friend

Global enterprise solutions provider Infor emphasizes ease of use and good design across its portfolio of software products, and offers distribution and SCM software to suit companies of all sizes. They finished in the top ten in all four categories, with their highest ranking being at fourth place for work/life balance rating.  

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Employees identified Infor’s vision and adaptation to new technology as one of the highlights of working there. The work environment was described as “exciting”, “flexible” and “energetic”, and the company’s focus on innovation was also identified as a major positive. Employees felt that more performance reviews would be a good thing.

Upp Technology

• #8 overall
• #6 in culture and values
• #8 in work/life balance
• #10 in recommend to a friend

Upp Technology encompasses three branches. Irms|360, its supply chain solutions branch, provides cloud warehouse management and asset management systems to companies of all sizes, and has just been acquired by Aptean. The closing terms of the deal are still under negotiation - this page will be updated as more information becomes available.

Reviews praised the “entrepreneurial” spirit Upp Technology encourages, and the opportunities available for hard workers to progress. Meanwhile, reviews by employees from Aptean were generally positive about the lack of micro management and abundance of learning opportunities.

TECSYS

• #9 overall
• #5 in culture and values
• #9 in work/life balance
• #2 in recommend to a friend

Supply chain specialist TECSYS provides distribution, transportation and warehouse management solutions to import-to-retail and distribution companies across the healthcare and industrial sectors. TECSYS was rated highly on the recommend to a friend criteria, coming in second with a rating of 88%.

TECSYS employees like their working conditions and say good things about their co-workers. Reviewers were on the whole satisfied with their salary, with pay on-par for industry average and a good work-life balance. A top-heavy management structure is cited as making it harder for lower-band workers to progress, but doesn’t seem to contribute to an unpleasant environment.

Epicor

• #10 overall
• #8 in culture and values
• #6 in work/life balance
• #8 in recommend to a friend

Epicor provides ERP and SCM solutions to clients across the manufacturing, distribution, retail and service industries.Epicor maintains consistent top ten finishes across work/life balance and culture values, and in overall ranking.   

Reviewers feel supported by their managers and liked the “open and transparent” company structure, and stated that they felt the company was open to new ideas. Flexible working hours and a good work/life balance were also mentioned as a positive about working at Epicor.

Data analyzed in this article was gathered from public reviews on Glassdoor, one of the fastest growing jobs and recruiting sites. Tier one software vendors including Microsoft, Oracle and SAP have been removed from the analysis as their Glassdoor data was not solely representative of their warehouse software operations. Software vendors with fewer than 10 reviews were removed due to the small sample size.