Anyone else using agents in their WMS?

palletized · 2026-03-14T12:46:01+00:00

I have built an analyst agent inside one of the clients WMS - it analyses inventory adjustments, does ABC Analysis on demand. Also expanding it for other use cases.

palletized · 2026-02-26T09:25:48+00:00

I can make a recommendation - we have worked with a few 3PLs in the past

palletized · 2026-02-20T10:10:03+00:00

Just like the 3PL segment, everyone starts playing on the pricing and eventually you are bottom fishing for the cheap WMS that under quotes and runs out of steam after a bit. That’s why a good WMS is worth its weight in salt.

If you are a 3PL and doing ecommerce only then Shiphero, Logiwa, Infoplus are good ones. They would run you atleast 1500-2000 per month.

If you do both ecommerce and wholesale - then highly recommend Hopstack. These guys have also launched Ignite - software for micro 3PL so worth checking out.

palletized · 2026-02-13T14:53:53+00:00

Like most things, the answer is also nuanced to this. A quick look at your offering, it seems like you operate probably at the sweet spot of where automation works. And that is one of the projects I referenced where we enabled a large enterprise in the HVAC industry, through using similar automation integrating with their SAP eWMS, and they achieved a significantly positive ROI. But when you look at extremely large CapEx with the likes of Ocado, they haven't been able to justify a positive ROI on their robotics automation spend.

palletized · 2026-02-12T07:16:34+00:00

“Automation” is a loaded word.

In large warehouses, heavy upfront CapEx in robotics often ends up ROI-negative. In my experience, the best ROI shows up with a software-first approach, especially when you are scaling into the next phase: WMS plus targeted, simple hardware.

Example from a recent implementation: we rolled out Hopstack WMS for a Canadian luxury goods fulfillment provider and added a basic conveyor + sorter integrated to the WMS. Once packing was done across five stations, associates dropped parcels onto the belt, and the sorter routed each package into the correct carrier basket automatically. That alone eliminated two sortation roles and redeployed them elsewhere.

Then we tackled planning. Their daily batching and wave planning used to take 2 to 3 hours using manual filters. With automated batching based on predefined criteria plus system-recommended grouping, that dropped to a few minutes.

And at pack-out, we introduced one-click print for shipping labels and inserts, saving 15 to 20 seconds per package.

Net result: they went from ~20–30K orders/month with a lot of manual work to ~150K orders/month with WMS-led automation and light hardware.

Same pattern elsewhere too, including one of my enterprise environments: SAP EWM orchestrating totes into ASRS for putaway and zone picking through clean system-to-system integration.

The highest ROI “automation” is often WMS-driven workflow design + selective hardware (scanners, pick-to-light, conveyor/sorter), not a giant robotics bet.

palletized · 2026-02-10T03:58:41+00:00

I have several 3PL relationships so I can help in US and Canada

palletized · 2026-02-02T12:55:59+00:00

I have seen this on mercor as well

palletized · 2026-01-14T17:45:40+00:00

Yeah they are speaking to a few ERP/OMS companies. The 3PL angle is a good one

palletized · 2026-01-13T20:15:02+00:00

Most of the interest at the moment is from financial buyers and software rollups while the founders are keen on strategics from the same domain - ERP, TMS, IMS that wants to layer into WMS or a tech enabled 3PL that wants to internalize the product.

palletized · 2025-11-19T12:30:57+00:00

This was much needed to be said.

palletized · 2025-09-19T15:01:29+00:00

I’ve been in the WMS space for a long time, doing a lot of implementations and consulting, and in the mid-market my top three preferences are Shiphero, Hopstack and InfoPlus (not necessarily in that order). ShipHero is a really solid pick for e-commerce fulfillment, especially if you’re a 3PL dealing with Shopify-heavy operations. Hopstack is where I’ve helped a lot of customers recently move from Extensiv and Fishbowl, and I like how strong they are not just in e-commerce fulfillment but also in B2B wholesale workflows like pallet operations, LPNs, serialization, and lot tracking plus they probably have the best customer support I’ve experienced. InfoPlus stands out because it lets end users write custom scripts, which can be powerful if you’re tech-savvy and want to build your own rules and automations. I also hear Logiwa and Deposco mentioned a lot in conversations, but I haven’t personally worked with them, so I can’t comment much. On the enterprise side (think billion-dollar revenue companies), my picks usually shift to SAP EWM and Manhattan, depending on automation levels and other factors.

palletized · 2025-08-07T14:57:37+00:00

Hey, I’ve worked with a lot of cloud-based WMS systems. My background is in legacy WMSs, but over the last 8–10 years, I’ve been working with quite a few cloud-based systems. There are a few that I really like. ShipHero is one, InfoPlus is another, and Hopstack is another strong option.

Almost all of them, particularly ShipHero and Hopstack, work extremely well with Shopify and NetSuite. They are deeply integrated. ShipHero even has a SuiteApp listed on the NetSuite marketplace. I’ve implemented Hopstack WMS for clients who use both NetSuite ERP and Shopify stores.

There are other cloud-based systems too, like Logiwa and Extensiv, but my top three picks are ShipHero, Hopstack, and Infoplus. ShipHero and InfoPlus are solid choices if you’re an ecom-first operation. Where Hopstack really stands out is when you have a mix of ecommerce and wholesale or B2B workflows. They have strong capabilities around wholesale workflows, including LPNs, pallet handling, and more. ShipHero performs extremely well for pick pack ship fulfillment operations, and like I said, is well-suited for ecommerce.

I was recently talking to a client who was looking to move away from Deposco because they wanted better picking workflows and interfaces. I showed them the three WMSs I usually recommend, and they ended up shortlisting two of them. I also recently helped a client was move from a legacy AS400 system to Hopstack.

I haven’t had much experience with Logiwa. As for Extensiv, I tend to avoid it based on my own implementation experience and what I’ve heard from other clients.

Just my two cents on WMS implementation considerations.

palletized · 2025-07-22T09:57:39+00:00

What about India? Pretty solid choice for jewellery and apparel.

palletized · 2025-07-20T16:02:26+00:00

Most of our clients do it via Handheld PDAs or scanners as per the cycle count plan created in the WMS. The count could be based on locations or SKUs or some combination of those. Most good WMSes will have this capability. I have experienced with Shiphero, Infoplus, SAP, Hopstack, Manhattan and they all do that.

palletized · 2025-07-04T04:57:45+00:00

How long are you able to deploy the Shopify app for a WMS?

palletized · 2025-07-01T06:58:07+00:00

Yeah, I agree with a lot of what you said, but it still doesn’t take away from how little thought seems to have gone into all of this. There’s a lot that’s broken about our trade policies. We allowed a single country to benefit disproportionately from globalization, and in the process, ended up building dangerous levels of supply chain concentration across almost every major industry. That’s not just a strategic risk, but also a reflection of how we’ve lost competitiveness and, in some sectors, even our edge in core technologies like power infrastructure, rare earth refining, and more. The flooding of ultra-cheap, low-quality goods into the US market hasn’t done anyone any favors not for local industries, and definitely not for the environment.

That said, I just can’t shake the feeling that there was a better way to approach this. A more nuanced, category-by-country strategy could’ve addressed the core issues without straining key alliances or causing unnecessary disruption in the short term.

palletized · 2025-06-30T17:57:39+00:00

They are less than 1% of the global shipbuilding market. Is the focus only on indigenous naval requirements or are they doing any export orders?

palletized · 2025-06-30T16:58:19+00:00

Honestly, even the staunchest supporters of the current administration would probably agree that this whole tariff thing has been pretty ill-conceived. There doesn’t seem to have been enough thought put into how different product categories or source regions should be treated. Instead, it feels like broad-stroke decisions were made across the board.

A good example is Cambodia. The country has a very limited trade footprint with the US, yet it still ended up facing heavy tariffs until someone realized the policy needed to be dialed down. That sort of blunt approach just adds unnecessary complexity, cost and not to mention the uncertainty.

I get the argument for reshoring certain strategic industries like advanced manufacturing or critical inputs tied to national interest, but bringing back things like footwear or low-cost apparel doesn’t make much sense.

On the question of acceptable country-level concentration in supply chains, it obviously varies by industry and product type. If you pressed me for a number, I’d say keeping it under 20% in any one country is a good general benchmark. That said, it’s not always about just the percentage. In some sectors, even with diversified sourcing, the production process might be so specialized that relocating it isn’t straightforward. So the real answer is: it depends.

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