Inventory glossary
What is Warehouse management system?
A warehouse management system is software that tracks inventory location, movement, and tasks inside one or more warehouses, covering put-away, picking, packing and shipping.
For a small Shopify store, a full warehouse management system is usually overkill. If you store inventory in one room or a small back-of-store space, you can track bin locations and pick lists in a spreadsheet or in Shopify itself without buying separate software.
A warehouse management system becomes worth considering once you have multiple staff picking orders at the same time, a warehouse large enough that staff waste time searching for items, or a third-party logistics provider who requires one to process your orders. Below that size, the cost and setup time rarely pay off.
Example
A candle store with 40 SKUs stores everything on five shelves in a back room. The owner knows each shelf by sight, so she tracks stock counts in a spreadsheet and never needs a warehouse management system. Once she opens a second storage unit and hires two part-time packers, she starts looking at WMS software to assign bin locations and pick lists so staff do not duplicate work.
Common mistakes
- Buying a warehouse management system before the business has enough order volume or staff to need one.
- Confusing a warehouse management system with basic inventory tracking, which is simpler and often enough for one person.
- Not training staff on bin locations and pick processes, which wastes the system's main benefit.
Warehouse management system and SteadyShelf
SteadyShelf does not manage warehouse operations like bin locations or picking, it focuses on forecasting demand, generating purchase orders, and receiving stock into Shopify once it arrives.
SteadyShelf is launching on the Shopify App Store. Join early access to get the install link first.
Related terms
Receiving · Bin location · Put-away · Pick list · Third-party logistics
FAQ
Does a small Shopify store need a warehouse management system?
Usually not. Most small stores with one storage space and one or two people packing orders can track inventory with a spreadsheet or basic inventory tools. A warehouse management system makes sense once you have multiple pickers, a larger space, or a 3PL partner that requires one.
What is the difference between a warehouse management system and inventory management software?
Inventory management software tracks how much stock you have and where to reorder it from. A warehouse management system goes further, tracking exact bin locations, staff picking tasks, and the physical movement of goods inside the warehouse.
Let SteadyShelf do this math for every SKU
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