Choosing a system
A step-by-step way to compare options without getting lost in feature lists.
3PL warehouse management software
How to choose software to run a 3PL warehouse
A working guide for 3PL owners who need one system for receiving, storage, picking, client billing and a client portal, and want to know what to ask before they buy.
What you will find here
- How to pick between buying a subscription and building your own
- What a 3PL needs that a normal warehouse does not
- How billing and client portals fit in
- Questions to put to every vendor
Why this site exists
Picking software for a 3PL is harder than picking it for a single-company warehouse. You hold stock for many clients, you bill in several ways, and each client wants to see their own numbers. Most software pages are written to win the sale. We would rather lay out the decision so you can run it yourself.
Each guide here takes one question, such as what to look for in billing or what a client portal should show, and answers it in plain words with the date we last checked it.
Guides by topic
Features that matter
The capabilities a 3PL actually uses day to day, and the ones that sound good but rarely matter.
Billing and invoicing
How storage, handling and special-service charges flow from the floor into an invoice.
Pages in this section are being written.
Client portal
What your customers should be able to see and do without calling you.
Pages in this section are being written.