Four vendors to add to your small business WMS shortlist

Your small business needs to get its software decision right the first time because you might not get a second chance.

As a small business, you’ve got less money to work with and need to maximize your returns on every investment. The cost of a WMS can make that decision scary because you’ve got a lot less of a cushion in case things go wrong. So, get the right team in place and look over your technology stack right away.

The smart place to start building your small business WMS shortlist is to determine what you need and what you don’t. You’ve got a lot of functionality to consider, and final decisions should create a clearer path for you to meet major objectives, whether that’s using existing software, speeding up your delivery, or improving service by getting more orders correct as they head out the door.

Think about what your customers want from you and then look for a small business WMS designed to address that challenge.

Fishbowl Warehouse: SMB-first

Fishbowl will be on most small business WMS shortlists because the company made its name with SMB support. Many of its inventory tools started with a focus on smaller businesses, and they still integrate with many of the products SMBs use, such as QuickBooks, Dropbox, and Salesforce. It has some of the best labor management tools of companies on our list and has a reliable payment processing tools.

Even if you think you might not want to use the system, it does have a useful small business WMS ROI calculation tool that can help you think about your overall purchase decision.

Blue Link:  eCommerce considerations

Blue Link offers an ERP solution that includes a warehouse and inventory support for multiple business models, including wholesale, distribution, and eCommerce options. It’s a fully-integrated tool and prioritizes warehouse tools that speed up your operations while increasing order accuracy. One standout feature is the simplicity of its selection tool allowing you to pick a container size and allocate products to specific boxes inside the platform.

It’s a smart option for online stores as well as retail locations with small stock rooms — especially if you’ve got more than one small location.

Tecsys: Outbound focused

While Tecsys made its name on healthcare warehousing and logistics support, the company has happy customers in the SMB space too. They give it the most credit for robust outbound operational support and system-directed task interleaving that is actually usable by smaller companies. If you think you might want advanced features soon, then Tecsys should be on your WMS shortlist thanks to its voice, kitting, and custom solutions.

Savant ADC: Simple and easy

Savant rounds out our list because of its ADC offering. This is a scaled-down version of its larger WMS solution that might be right if you need baseline support. It has smart security tools and is designed to integrate with most ERPs, while giving you standard inventory management, picking, receiving, and packing functionality.

If you think you might scale over time, look at the company’s other supply chain and data tools. ADC can integrate with or be upgraded to those packages easily, which can support long-term growth.