E-commerce warehouses, 3PL operators, and distribution centers processing hundreds of orders a day lose significant revenue to picking errors, inaccurate inventory counts, and floor staff walking inefficient routes. When your current WMS or spreadsheet-based operation can no longer keep pace with order volume, SKU complexity, or multi-site demands, the gap between what your floor can handle and what your customers expect widens every month.
Receiving and putaway workflows with barcode and RFID scan confirmation, directed location assignment, and dock-to-shelf tracking
Picking route optimisation using shortest-path algorithms across single-order, batch, zone, and wave picking modes
Real-time inventory tracking with cycle count scheduling, shrinkage alerting, and multi-location bin management
Robotics and conveyor integration via AMR, AGV, and conveyor control APIs including Locus Robotics, Fetch Robotics, and Honeywell Intelligrated
Recognition
Your pickers walking the same inefficient routes every shift because no one has mapped an optimised path through the floor?
Inventory records in your system never matching what is physically on the shelves, leading to oversells and emergency cycle counts?
Order errors sent to customers because there is no scan-verification step between pick and ship?
The short answer
RaftLabs builds custom warehouse management software for e-commerce businesses, 3PL operators, distribution centers, and manufacturers. We ship receiving and putaway workflows, order picking route optimisation, real-time inventory tracking, robotics and conveyor integration, and shipping and returns management. Most warehouse management software development projects deliver in 10 to 16 weeks at a fixed, agreed cost.
Warehouse management software (WMS) is a system that controls and tracks every movement of inventory through a facility, from the moment goods are received at the dock through putaway, picking, packing, and shipping. A custom WMS ties together the specific floor layout, SKU types, picking logic, robotics hardware, and ERP or OMS integrations that define how a particular warehouse operation runs, rather than forcing that operation to fit the configuration options a generic platform offers.
01 Diagnosis
Order accuracy below 99% and no scan-verification step between pick and ship
According to Voxware, 73% of consumers who receive an incorrect order are less likely to return to that business. A 1% mispick rate at a facility processing 2,000 orders a day produces 20 wrong orders daily, each costing $50 to $300 to correct in reshipment, return handling, and customer service time. Paper pick lists and manual data entry are the root cause: there is no moment where the system confirms the picker grabbed the right item from the right bin before the order ships.A WMS with scan-verification at every pick step closes that gap. The scanner rejects the wrong barcode before the item goes into the tote, so errors are caught on the floor in seconds rather than after the parcel reaches a customer three days later.
Inventory records and physical stock never match
When the system says 200 units are available but the shelf holds 140, oversells happen. When the system shows 80 units that no one can find, staff spend an hour on an unplanned cycle count. Both outcomes cost time and erode customer trust. The gap opens when receiving is done by paper, putaway locations aren't scanned, and adjustments are entered retrospectively rather than at the moment of movement.A directed putaway workflow with mandatory location scan at every receipt, combined with perpetual inventory tracking that records each pick and replenishment in real time, brings system and physical stock into alignment. Cycle count scheduling based on ABC velocity analysis means high-turn SKUs are verified weekly without shutting down the whole operation for a full stock take.
Pickers walking inefficient routes across the floor, adding minutes to every order
In a warehouse with 10,000 bin locations, the difference between a random pick path and an optimised one can be 400 to 600 metres per order. At 200 orders a day, that is 80 to 120 kilometres of unnecessary walking per day across the picker team, translating directly into labour cost and order throughput ceiling. Paper pick lists print in SKU order, not floor order, so the picker zigzags across aisles rather than sweeping them in sequence.A WMS with shortest-path pick route generation outputs pick lists in physical aisle sequence, calculated against your actual floor map. Batch picking groups compatible orders so a single walk fulfills four or five orders. Zone picking assigns sections of the floor to specific pickers, cutting travel time further. The combined effect on labour cost and daily order capacity is measurable within the first week.
Returns processing done manually with no grading workflow or restocking logic
Returns land at the dock with no system record until someone manually inspects and re-enters them, often hours or days later. Without a grading workflow, decisions about whether an item goes back to sellable stock, gets quarantined for vendor return, or is written off are made informally and inconsistently. Inventory credit for the return is delayed, creating a blind spot where the item is neither in transit nor available to pick.A returns management module captures the return at inbound scan, routes it through a configurable grading checklist, and writes the disposition decision directly to inventory in real time. Items graded as sellable are directed back to their bin location. Items for vendor return are quarantined with a reference to the purchase order. The whole process takes minutes per item rather than hours per batch, and the inventory record reflects reality as soon as the item crosses the dock.
02 What we ship
Inbound shipments are captured against purchase orders at the dock, with discrepancies flagged before goods move to the floor. Barcode and RFID scan confirmation at each handling step creates a dock-to-shelf audit trail so you know exactly when each SKU entered the facility and where it was placed. Directed putaway assigns a bin location based on your putaway rules: velocity class, product type, temperature zone, or available capacity, so SKUs end up in the right area of the floor without relying on a picker's memory.
Cross-docking logic routes inbound items directly to outbound staging when an open order is waiting, cutting the time between receipt and shipment for fast-moving stock. Licence plate management groups items on pallets or in totes so entire pallet movements are captured with a single scan, rather than item by item.
Built for distribution centers receiving mixed-SKU inbound loads, e-commerce fulfillment operations with high-frequency restocking, and 3PL operators managing inbound on behalf of multiple clients.
Pick routes are calculated against the actual floor map, outputting picks in physical aisle sequence rather than SKU or order entry order. Single-order picking, batch picking across 4 to 12 orders per walk, zone picking with conveyance between zones, and wave picking that releases orders in scheduled groups are all supported and configurable per order type or customer SLA. The system selects the mode automatically based on current order queue and floor staffing, or dispatchers choose manually.
Mobile picker apps run on Android handhelds, wrist scanners, or voice picking headsets via a browser-based PWA or a native app, with scan-to-confirm at each pick step. Pick-to-light and put-to-light integrations are supported via serial or API connection to hardware from Knapp, Bastian Solutions, and Matthews Marking Systems. Scan confirmation rejects wrong items at the moment of pick, before the tote is sealed.
Built for e-commerce warehouses with 500 or more orders per day, 3PL operations managing multiple client pick profiles, and distribution centers with high SKU counts and velocity variation.
Every movement, receipt, pick, replenishment, transfer, and adjustment, is written to inventory in real time with a timestamp and operator ID, so the stock record matches the physical floor at any moment rather than at the end of a shift. Multi-location bin management supports each SKU being held across several bins simultaneously, with the system allocating picks from the optimal location based on your rules: FIFO, FEFO, LIFO, or proximity to the packing station.
Cycle count scheduling generates count tasks by ABC velocity class, location zone, or on a fixed calendar basis without requiring a full warehouse shutdown. Count discrepancies trigger an automated recount request before any adjustment is committed, reducing false adjustments. Shrinkage alerting flags locations where inventory variance exceeds a configurable threshold across consecutive counts. IoT sensor integration via AWS IoT Core and Azure IoT Hub connects shelf weight sensors and RFID readers for ambient inventory monitoring in high-throughput areas.
Built for e-commerce operators whose system stock and physical stock diverge weekly, 3PLs whose inventory accuracy directly affects client SLAs, and manufacturers with raw material and finished goods held across multiple warehouse locations.
The WMS dispatches pick tasks to autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and automated guided vehicles (AGVs) via REST or MQTT interfaces, sending job assignments and receiving completion callbacks with location and status data. Supported hardware includes Locus Robotics, Fetch Robotics, 6 River Systems, and Geek+ AMR fleets. Conveyor and sorter integration connects to warehouse control systems from Honeywell Intelligrated, Dematic, and Vanderlande via their WCS API layer, so sort decisions are driven by live order data rather than pre-programmed rules.
Pick-to-robot workflows route a picker to a robot carrying the active tote rather than to a static cart, reducing aisle congestion at high throughput volumes. Goods-to-person configurations where robotic pods bring inventory to a stationary picker station are supported through the same task dispatch layer. Equipment status monitoring surfaces robot fleet availability, battery levels, and fault codes in the management dashboard, so operations managers see the floor without walking it.
Built for fulfillment operations adding robotics to an existing manual floor, 3PLs evaluating automation ROI before committing to a full goods-to-person system, and distribution centers with conveyor sorters that need WMS-driven sort decisions.
Carrier rate shopping compares live rates across UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, and regional carriers via EasyPost or ShipStation APIs, selecting the lowest-cost option that meets the order's ship date and service level. Shipping label printing connects to Zebra and Honeywell thermal printers via ZPL without a print queue intermediary, so the label is ready before the packer seals the box. Customs documentation for international shipments generates from order data without manual re-entry.
Outbound manifesting groups shipments by carrier end-of-day close, generating the carrier pickup manifest and end-of-day EDI transmission automatically. Proof of delivery sync pulls carrier scan events and delivery confirmation back into the order record, so customer service has tracking status without leaving the WMS. Batch label reprint handles last-minute carrier changes without reprocessing the order from the start.
Built for e-commerce fulfillment operations shipping mixed carrier volumes, 3PLs managing shipping on behalf of multiple clients with different carrier accounts, and distribution centers with high-volume outbound manifesting requirements.
Multi-tenant inventory separates each client's stock, locations, and order data within a single warehouse operation, so pickers, putaway workers, and managers see only the clients relevant to their work. Billing rate cards attach to each client and charge by the activity: storage by pallet position and cubic foot, handling by inbound receipt line and outbound order line, value-added services by SKU or order, and accessorial charges for special handling. Activity is logged at each WMS transaction, so the monthly invoice is generated directly from operational data without a separate billing spreadsheet.
Client portals give each customer read access to their own inventory levels, inbound POs, outbound orders, and billing statements without access to other clients' data. SLA dashboards track on-time shipment percentage, order accuracy, and receipt-to-available time per client, giving account managers the data to have a business review rather than an anecdotal conversation. EDI 944, 945, and 940 transaction support handles clients that communicate via standard logistics EDI rather than a portal.
Built for 3PL operators managing 3 or more clients in a single facility, fulfillment houses that charge clients for individual activities, and logistics businesses whose current billing process is a monthly spreadsheet exercise.
03 How we work
Companies we've built for
04 Track record
06 Client voices
Three-year average engagement. Founders and operators describing the work in their own words. No marketing varnish.
USARaftLabs nailed what other agencies couldn't — they started with our business problem and worked backwards to the right product. We were live in 14 weeks.
07 Why us
The industry changes. The broken process usually looks the same. Across 14+ industries and 100+ products, we recognise your problem fast, and we frame the fix around your margin and your operations.
We measure success the way you do: hours saved, revenue earned, margin recovered. We stay through launch and growth, so the result is ours to own.
Vodafone, T-Mobile, Cisco, Energia, Aldi, Nike. Six years, 100+ products in production, 4.9 on Clutch. Serious businesses keep coming back because we stay accountable long after launch.
08 Questions
Off-the-shelf WMS platforms cover standard receiving, picking, and shipping workflows well. Custom warehouse management software becomes the right choice when your operation has requirements those platforms cannot configure: multi-client billing logic for 3PLs that doesn't fit standard tenancy models, picking algorithms tuned to your specific floor layout and SKU velocity profile, tight integration with proprietary robotics hardware or a conveyor control system without a native connector, returns workflows with grading and restock logic specific to your product categories, or ERP and OMS integration where no standard adapter exists. It also makes sense when per-user SaaS fees at your warehouse headcount exceed the amortised cost of owning your own platform over three to five years.
Yes, if the hardware vendor exposes an API or a standard message protocol. Most established providers including Locus Robotics, Fetch Robotics, Honeywell Intelligrated, Dematic, and Bastian Solutions expose REST or MQTT interfaces for task dispatch and status callbacks. For conveyors and sorters running a warehouse control system, we integrate via the WCS API layer. We confirm integration feasibility for your specific hardware during scoping before the project starts.
A focused build covering receiving, picking, and inventory management typically delivers in 10 to 14 weeks and costs $40,000 to $80,000. A full WMS with robotics integration, multi-site support, 3PL billing, returns management, and carrier label printing typically costs $80,000 to $180,000 depending on the number of integrations and the complexity of picking logic. Fixed cost is agreed before development starts.
Yes. ERP integration with SAP, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, and Odoo via REST or EDI is standard scope. OMS integration with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and custom order systems covers order import and fulfillment status sync. Carrier label printing and shipment booking connects to UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, and EasyPost APIs. We map every integration during discovery so the data flows are agreed before any code is written.
Yes. Extending an existing platform is often the right answer when the core inventory and location model works but specific workflows are missing: a returns grading portal, a mobile picker app that replaces paper pick lists, a management dashboard pulling from the existing database, or a robotics dispatch layer on top of the current system. We assess the existing system during discovery and recommend extension versus replacement based on what it would cost to build onto the existing architecture versus the ongoing maintenance burden of the current platform's limitations.
A custom WMS supports single-order picking, batch picking across multiple orders per walk, zone picking where pickers own specific floor sections, and wave picking where orders are released in scheduled groups. Route optimisation runs a shortest-path algorithm against the actual bin map of your floor, outputting picks in physical aisle sequence. The system selects the mode per order automatically based on order type, priority, and current queue, or dispatchers set it manually per shift. Pick confirmation via barcode scan on Android handhelds, wrist scanners, or voice picking headsets catches wrong items at the moment of pick before the tote is sealed.
Supply chain visibility software
Demand forecasting software
Procurement software development
Supplier management software
Warehouse management software
Route optimisation software
Freight management software
Transport management system
Last-mile delivery software
Multi-carrier shipping software
Tell us your floor layout, order volume, and where your current process creates errors or bottlenecks. We will scope the right WMS for your operation.