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Our co-founder Nicholas Daniel-Richards answered all - or, well, almost 30 - questions about ShipHero, shipping, fulfillment, and nearly everything else ecommerce-related on AMAFeed. Read the adapted text here:
We offer a comprehensive cloud based WMS/OMS solution that's easy to use. If you want to add a 3PL (or 3PLs plural) to extend your existing capability or outsource all fulfllment, use ShipHero Marketplace.Our goal is simple. Make it easier for ecommerce businesses to win at fulfillment.
No qualifications - what is a fit for the business. Goes without saying it should be an ecommerce business (we have a number of customers who sell online and in store as well).If the business needs help with inventory, order management and shipping and wants to do this in-house, then ShipHero SaaS is worth a look.If the business is looking to outsource for ecommerce fulfillment, then ShipHero Marketplace is worth a look.
Brilliant question. My answer may surprise you. It depends on the volume of sales. Our software for managing your own warehouse starts at $500 a month, which will be too much cost for a business shipping a few items a week.If you're an early stage startup, shipping lower volumes, without the complexity of many products (SKUs) and the requirements of a warehouse team etc I would recommend ShipStation - they're a perfect get started solution.ShipHero is designed for businesses that are starting to see 50+ orders per day, the complexities of keeping inventory correct, want an effective method to automate order actions and priorities, keep shipping costs low, offer returns, minimize errors etc.Of course, with ShipHero Marketplace, you also have the option of just outsourcing fulfillment either partly or entirely, which is another perfect solution for when you need to scale.
ShipHero software is used to ship everywhere indeed, infact, we're constantly impressed on where products are being shipped to.While we don't "ship", we enable the process of making sure the order is fulfilled and then the correct shipping label is generated and used. Important to know that international shipping means dealing with customs which means getting all of the customs information correct.ShipHero allows you to set at a product level, the customs value, description or even if it should be included on the invoice (or not), making the international shipping process easier.
ShipHero does indeed support drop shipping. How's that for a simple answer?
We do 2 things.1. ShipHero WMS/OMS software - you can use this to manage your own warehouse.2. ShipHero Marketplace - you can use this to find the perfect outsourced warehouse to handle the goods for you.
Absolute frustration when scaling ecommerce!! Why is it the sales channel has fantastic options (Shopify FTW), but inventory, orders and shipping is such a process? The challenge isn't so much when you're shipping 10-30 orders per day (not to say it's easy, but you can get away with the inefficiencies a lot more), it's more when you grow beyond that. We started ShipHero on the premise of solving the problem of going going paper, and needing to track who did what in the warehouse. There's a huge gap between paper based systems, and various apps being stitched together and a multi-million dollar enterprise platform that takes years to build. Seemed like the perfect opportunity to solve these challenges, while tackling a seemingly stale and stubborn industry.Now we're nearly 6 years in, we're tackling the issue of fulfillment overall. Sure, many ecommerce businesses are looking to manage inventory and orders better, only because they can't find a good outsource solution.3PLs are typically not great. Not great to find, not very easy to integrate with and not very transparent. Thus, ShipHero Marketplace.Our perspective is, make working with oursourced 3PLs easier (think AirBnb for warehouses!) and more ecommerce businesses owners can focus on what they do best - marketing, story telling and selling great products and services. Let someone else deal with all that fulfillment stuff!As you can tell, the passion isn't going away :)
Typically, the root cause of pain around inventory and fulfillment is the inventory software itself. So you want to start with a solid solution that allows you to maintain accurate inventory - which means it needs to be tied into your ecommerce channel(s), recieving, shipping process and as a double bonus - returns restocking. If you were using ShipHero, you would connect to your ecommerce stores, shipping carriers and you're ready to go as far as seeing your inventory and incoming orders (loaded from your store) as well as having the ability to ship them.Some important questions to consider when managing inventory.
Interesting thought. Obviously, factors such as distance, the destination country and product will have huge factors on feasibility. Thinking technically, it's quite possible (although customs clearance may be a bottleneck), however, not sustainable and probably very costly. This is actually a topic we spend a lot of time thinking about at ShipHero, and is one of the reasons why we believe having a mulitple warehouse strategy is the best approach. Basically, keep your product closer to your customers, reducing distance, time and cost for shipping.That said, it's quite a challenge to have your product located near your customers - especially in different regions of the world. We're obsessed with solving that with ShipHero Marketplace - making it easier to put your product around the world.We're also working an inventory forecasting feature that can take sales history, sales campaign information and forecasted demand modelling to recommend where product should be so you don't even need to figure that part out.So, in short - overnight shipping internationally is complicated, expensive and while shipments could be shipped overnight. We're betting the easier approach will be to have product located in warehouses closer to customers.
We see companies who have traditionally been b2b focus in the past (fewer but way larger wholesale orders, typically freight shipping) exploring or shifting to direct to consumer fulfillment. In those cases, they already have a good understanding of running a warehouse, and basically need to transform processes and figure out customer support. In most of these cases, it's about finding the right technology platform.For businesses that have not run a warehouse or dabbled in fulfillment, there's a lot a ground to cover, but it can be summed up in a few categories.
There are a bunch of fantastic write-ups on this topic, most recently Shopify posted The Beginner's Guide to Ecommerce Shipping and Fulfillment which gets into a lot more detail than me - a really great read.
It's interesting. When we first started out, we had less features and were rather scrappy in how we looked at our offering vs the competition. Several years later, with more features and more platform ability I would say, and bear with me - we don't really have a direct competitor. Yeah, there are many apps, plugins, solutions large and small aimed at helping ecommerce businesses with inventory, or printing shipping labels, or printing barcodes - however, try getting all that running on in a single solution. Not so easy. Add on top of that, something that would give you the flexibility to work with 3PLs, not easy at all unless you build something.For inventory management, we are often finding ourselves compared to Cin7 and SkuVault. For Shipping label generation, ShipStation and Shipworks. For 3PL fulfillment, ShipBob, 3PL Central and Flex. Our approach differs from what these companies provide - but everyone has a fit, for example, ShipStation is worth consideration (at least as of writing this answer) for fresh businesses starting out and need to get a few shipments out.So yeah, I guess we have a lot of competition if you looked at the number of companies that have the word "ship" in their name! The problems we are solving for scaling ecommerce businesses who need to be smart about fulfillment and our approach seems to be something a lot of ecommerce businesses prefer, and we're thankful for that while continuing to add more value each and every day.
Because our customers are ecommerce businesses, we don't receive complaints from consumers buying products and wanting shipments! That said, we have seen a few common mistakes ecommerce businesses can make when shipping orders, which are easy to avoid.
Started in my home office in the fall of 2012. It then took another 2 years or so for us to reach that point where we felt this could be a business we could grow out.Ironically, speed of success is something that we're very mindful of - in some ways we've worked hard to make sure we don't grow too fast as we don't want to drown ourselves with too many customers at once, while trying to build a product that's reliable and valuable.Everyday we're learning something new, and we feel like we're just getting started still - all good things to keep the team focused and passionate about our objectives :)
Well, it started when we had just finished the ascent of Mount Everest and we were 2 glasses of scotch in and - oh right, that's fiction :) Ok, the real story. Myself and Aaron were fixated on the problem we were going to solve. "Make ecommerce fulfillment easy for ecommerce businesses". One of the core premises of our solution was, how can you know who in your warehouse team is awesome, and who might be slacking?Thinking about this further, a lot of what helps motivate people to do great work is recognition and to know you're making a difference. On the flip side of that, underperformers in a team can be quite toxic to the rest of the team trying to do a great job. So with this in mind, our focus was quite clear. We're going to help companies discover their best employees, while at the same time, help companies that use ShipHero have happy customers!We needed to have some relevance to our industry in the name, and the word warehouse seemed a tad boring. So after much real scotch and brainstorming, and our fair share of truly horrific ideas, we ended up with what sounded about right.ShipHero!That said, we feel our brand is not about the story of ShipHero. Because we're the software that powers great brands, the best stories about how we're solving problems are the stories of the brands using our software. It's not about us, it's about the ecommerce business owners and empoyees who get up everyday to run successful businesses. We're glad to be a part of this, to make a difference and solve some real problems. So yeah, that's our brand.
If you're using a 3PL from ShipHero Marketplace then yes! There are fantastic 3PLs that offer customer support for your customers.
Couple of recommendations. You could start googling, researching, calling and generally spending a lot of time trying to find a 3PL (anyone who has had to find one will share the stories). Or and forgive the self promotion, you could use a new service the ShipHero team just launched to help you find an outsource fulfillment partner. Think of it as AirBnb for warehouses... https://marketplace.shiphero.com
All reputable ecommerce platforms run very secure platforms. The best companies also invest a lot of resources and time into keeping their platforms secure, and share this information so you can learn more. Here's more on Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/pci-compliantOver $123 billion dollars was spent on ecommerce sites this past quarter alone! Credit Card companies have also improved how fraud is detected and disputes are resolved. My recommendation would be to have a very easy to read policy on your security practices (if you're using Shopify, you can point to the Shopify writeup for example).
We do not have lot tracking or expiration date tracking as of this AMA! These features are in the works and planned for release later this year.
Simply put, you need to be where your customers are - both in the device they use, and the context of their user experience. You don't want to lose out on customers who may see something to buy on instgram using their mobile device, to be forced to then use another device (would they even have a desktop / laptop? prolly not) to then seperately make a purchase.Something we focused on when starting ShipHero was creating a comprehensive set of tools for mobile devices. Designed and built to look and feel like typical smart phone apps. This makes it easy to do things in the warehouse such as fulfil orders, create shipping labels, cycle count inventory, receive purhase orders or even print / scan barcode labels. By making things easier, people are less prone to making mistakes, leading to a better performing warehouse.
It's quite a question. "Better" comes in a few flavours. Probably the toughest area to compete with Amazon on is speed - going up against the amazing machine that is Amazon distribution centres is tough. That said. Couple of ways we are seeing customers create a better customer experience.Lets talk about speed. In order to ship fast, you need to do a couple of things.
Communication. Getting something in 2 days without any communication or tracking link is a worse experience vs having something delivered in 3 - 4 days with great communication. Sending a shipping notification as soon as that order is fulfilled with a tracking link is easy (especially using ShipHero of course. I am ridiculous.).Lastly, here's a big area of advantage you have over Amazon.Branded Experience.Sure, if we're buying light bulbs, general commodity type products, getting something loosely packed in a brown Amazon box is fine, because you wanted it fast and cheap. However, if you're buying something that's not the cheapest or fastest, you're most likely buying into the the brand experience.We wrote some tips on this recently - 4 ways to give your ecommerce customers a memorable unboxing experience.The basic takeway being, you have the opportunity to brand and personalize what your customer receives, make it special and not so generic. That's right, a superior experience vs Amazon, something memorable and more valuable.
Two major topics on this question.1. Marketing & Sales.This is a big big subject, with many great resources out there. I recommend you looking at the Shopify blog for great insight and resources, BigCommerce also has fantastic resources (and we have a few stories on the ShipHero blog as well).2. Fulfillment & Customer SupportThis topic I can talk to with a bit more insight. Though again, check out the ShipHero Blog for some interesting insight.Most typical mistakes we see being made from a fulfillment perspective are:
Intentional or not, you raise a very pointed question in your question. What is shipping? I've been asked if I can help advise on the actual management of ships (the floaty things), of which I can't, though I play a mean game of battleship... The world of "shipping" is large and diverse - otherwise known as logistics, and there are many smart people out there that specialize in many areas.What I can talk to is both shipping as an ecommerce business (managing inventory, prioritizing order flows and of course, printing those shipping labels) or, what I would consider to be more of a Shipping company in the context of ecommerce - a 3PL.. For those interested, the wikipedia definition of 3PL.Hopefully, this is what you're asking about. So, challenges come in all sizes depending on a few factors:
Those being the most typical challenges, it will come down to what you're good at, have assets in, connections etc. That said, even great 3PLs (I've been lucky to work with some brilliant 3PLs while building ShipHero) struggle with finding the right customers. The warehouse space, people and tech while not trivial challenges, are easier to solve than the where do you get new customers challenge. When you're small, you will take smaller customers with lower volume. As you grow and hopefully scale, the smaller customers are harder to maintain if your processes and overheads and not super efficient.To scale, you need to reach larger customers, and you need to be more efficient with the time spent with evaluating customers. Typically, larger customers require integrations with their techology and need transparency of inventory and orders in real-time. What we've seen the smartest 3PLs do is really hone in on process and efficiency of operation. Use a platform that gives their customers access to the data they need in real-time and most importantly, solve the customer aquisition struggle problem. Turns out, that's exactly what the ShipHero team is obsessed about - we're seeing more and more individuals and existing businesses that are building shipping companies (3PLs) to serve ecommerce businesses because of the tools and marketplace created by ShipHero.
That's a difficult question for me to answer, I will need to delegate that. I kid! It can be difficult to delegate if the approach to delegation is more task oriented - at least in my opinion and experience.hat I mean by that is, most of us, me included, do a much better job and feel more invested when we're given objectives or tasks in areas we can own. For me at least, what has worked well is sharing the vision and goals of what you're trying to do. Instead of "can you do x", more, "we need to do x, and this is why. I need your help, can you take this on?".Of course, this also is about personality - but in most cases, giving someone a clear objective with an option to take ownership and work with you to accomplish tasks versus simply telling someone to do tasks will typically result a happier team member, better outcome and more willingness to go beyond what you originally expected.
Fabtastic question. Myself and Aaron (other co-founder and what I like to call big brain) are very involved, we need to be as we still have so much to do. My day to day is mainly focused on answering questions on what we offer, doing demos with new leads, visiting customers warehouses and growing our team. We've built a profitable business, and are 25 people as of this moment - so there's opportunity as you scale to give team members ownership of roles and tasks.For example, this time last year I was working support chat all day. Today we have much smarter people covering support and I can focus on annoying you on #AMA along with other efforts to talk about ShipHero and help customers. ShipHero and providing value to our customers is our absolute focus.
Firstly - "professional" seems a bit rich for me :) I've been all over the place career wise, following what seems to be the randomness of opportunity that comes your way. That said, everything I've done has been centered around technology and an early obsession with solving problems and building products. Over the years, as I've grown up (shudder the thought) that obsession morphed into what looks great and ultimately, what drives a positive customer experience.Talk about randomness though. My last full-time gig before focusing on ShipHero was working at the NBPA (National Basketball Players Association), leading the digital efforts and working with various NBA players who are very passionate and involved in technology startups.I was without a doubt, the worst basketball player around. I'll stick with building things that solve problems and bring value to people I think :)
Something I have honestly struggled with. Startup life, at least in my experience is about freedom to choose what you prioritize, however the struggle is what to prioritize! I start my day by writing out the key objectives I want to get done for that day. I respond to emails and have a quick 10 minute standup meeting with my team. Then, several hours seem to fly by! and before you now it, it's 2pm. I have a stop and reflect for 10 mins around this time, see how I'm doing on my objectives and get back into it. Stop around 7pm. Typically most nights there are calls with customers in other parts of the world (different timezones) and the catchup of emails etc from the day. Most nights I put a hard stop in around 10pm, and will every now and then get a glass of wine in :)One bit of advice I have is this. It's easy to work, and work you will. That said, you need to make sure you're getting some time to yourself. This does wonders for productivity and overall health. Be sure to take care of yourself! I also never bother with wifi (outrageous!) on planes, and use that time to be disconnected and either sleep or read.
It seems like there's so much happening right now that's truly exciting.What I'm excited about:
So many things coming - and I'm barely scatching the surface :)
You can chat with us directly over at shiphero.com or shoot us an email at hello@shiphero.com
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Picture a packer at Peak Season. A box is in front of them, a product in each hand, and somewhere on a cluttered desk there's a mouse they need to find to confirm the order. They look down. They hunt. They click. Then they do it again. Thousands of times a day.
That moment of friction is small. But it is never just one moment. Multiply it across your entire pack line, across an entire shift, and you are looking at a measurable and largely invisible drag on your total throughput.
Tap-to-Pack is a purpose-built hardware controller designed by ShipHero to eliminate digital friction at the packing station. It connects via USB-C, requires no drivers or additional software, and syncs automatically with the ShipHero WMS packing app. This new system is now available at the ShipHero Store.
Instead of navigating a screen with a keyboard and mouse, packers execute every high-frequency command — such as selecting box sizes, printing labels, finalizing orders, flagging exceptions — with a single physical tap on one of eight programmable buttons.
Key specifications:
Most warehouses are running 2026 operations on 1990s peripheral standards. The keyboard and mouse were designed for spreadsheets and emails, not high-volume fulfillment. When used at a packing station, they create three compounding problems:
The problem is not your people. It is the tools you are asking them to use.
Tap-to-Pack introduces a "Rodent-Free" packing standard: a workflow where the packer's hands stay on the product, their eyes stay on the work, and the software fades into the background.
The device guides the packer through two feedback systems:
ShipHero customers running Tap-to-Pack are already seeing a 90% reduction in on-screen interactions and a significant increase in the number of orders packed per hour, without adding headcount or changing their warehouse layout.
One of the hardest challenges in fulfillment is absorbing volume quickly, especially during Peak Season, when temporary staff need to reach target productivity fast.
Because Tap-to-Pack's interface is physical and intuitive, there is almost nothing to teach. Pick up the product, follow the light, tap the button. New packers can reach target productivity in minutes rather than hours.
The system is also modular:
Whether you are a growing DTC brand or a high-volume 3PL, Tap-to-Pack is designed so your hardware never becomes a ceiling on what your team can do.
Tap-to-Pack is a programmable, industrial-grade hardware controller that connects to the ShipHero WMS and allows warehouse packers to execute packing station commands, such as printing labels, selecting boxes, and completing orders. All with a single physical button press, eliminating the need for a keyboard and mouse.
The device connects via USB-C and syncs automatically with the ShipHero WMS packing app. It is a true plug-and-play solution: no drivers, no background software, and no manual configuration required.
Yes. Buttons are configurable for a range of packing actions, including Print Label, Complete Order, Select Box Size, and the Hospital function, which flags a problematic order and keeps the line moving without stopping to resolve it on screen.
The system is fully modular. Connect up to two additional 8-button hubs to the Main Hub for a total of 24 programmable buttons, supporting even the most complex multi-step packing workflows.
Tap-to-Pack devices require ShipHero Packing App v1.0 or higher. The current release is v1.1.0.
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Imagine running a warehouse where orders are picked quickly, inventory is accurate, and all operations run smoothly without any errors or delays. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, this can now become a reality with ease.
AI is transforming warehouse management by enhancing efficiency, intelligence, and the ability to meet the rapid demands of today’s eCommerce-driven market.
ShipHero is pioneering this revolution with its AI-powered warehouse solutions, setting new industry benchmarks. This article explores ShipHero’s AI Picking feature, highlighting how it’s transforming warehouse management and enhancing operational efficiency.
The integration of AI technologies, including machine learning, robotics, and predictive analytics, is revolutionizing warehouse operations, driving significant improvements in efficiency, accuracy, and overall performance. These innovations are optimizing processes across various areas, from inventory management to order fulfillment. Below are the key benefits of AI in warehouse management.
A combination of AI technologies is shaping smarter warehouse systems to help revolutionize warehouse management.
ShipHero has taken AI integration to the next level with its AI Picking feature, designed to significantly improve warehouse efficiency. This feature automates the picking process, reducing the reliance on manual labor and enhancing productivity in ways that were once thought impossible.
Let’s dive deeper into how ShipHero’s AI Picking works and the advantages it offers.
AI Picking optimizes warehouse operations in two key ways:
The AI Picking feature delivers a wide range of benefits:
The transformative power of AI extends far beyond just picking. AI is also revolutionizing other aspects of warehouse management, driving improvements in operational efficiency, inventory management, and safety.
AI automates tasks, reducing errors and increasing speed. Automated sorting and real-time inventory tracking ensure accuracy, while real-time monitoring helps managers adapt and ensure timely deliveries.
AI plays a vital role in maintaining accurate inventory levels. By leveraging predictive analytics, AI can forecast demand and optimize stock levels, helping warehouses avoid both stockouts and overstock situations. This leads to better inventory management and fewer disruptions in supply chains.
AI-driven systems can monitor warehouse conditions to ensure safety and compliance with industry regulations. These systems can analyze warehouse data and predict potential hazards before they occur, proactively reducing risks and ensuring a safer working environment.
AI technologies are playing a transformative role in the supply chain and logistics sectors by improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing decision-making.
These intelligent systems effortlessly manage supply chain processes by using data to optimize operations, predict trends, and automate routine tasks. This ultimately reshapes everything, from how goods are moved to stored and delivered.
The future of warehouse management looks promising with greater automation and efficiency, but future warehouse digitization brings challenges, such as high upfront costs and the need for skilled personnel.
AI-powered drones, autonomous robots, and IoT integration are smart warehouse technologies that are revolutionizing warehouse operations. Drones will deliver goods quickly, while robots automate sorting and transportation, thereby reducing the need for manual labor.
IoT and AI integration will enable real-time monitoring and optimization of operations. Smart technology in warehouses is leading to fully automated systems that are faster, scalable, and need minimal human input.
While AI offers immense benefits, businesses must also consider certain challenges. High initial investments in AI technology, data security concerns, and the need for skilled personnel are just a few of the hurdles that must be addressed.
However, with a strategic approach, companies can eliminate the challenges and embrace AI’s full potential to boost accuracy in picking and improve overall warehouse operations.
AI minimizes error by automating tasks like inventory tracking, order picking, and sorting, ensuring greater accuracy and efficiency.
Yes, AI-driven predictive analytics can predict demand, track inventory levels, and improve supply chain efficiency by forecasting needs with greater accuracy to help businesses stay ahead of trends and market fluctuations.
AI solutions are becoming more cost-effective thanks to cloud-based services and subscription pricing models. These options make AI technology more accessible to small businesses, allowing them to take advantage of its benefits without large upfront costs.
When pallets roll in and loading docks buzz, your warehouse’s receiving process becomes the gatekeeper of inventory accuracy. And if that gate isn’t well-guarded with structure, speed, and oversight, errors slip in.
A mislabeled item here, a damaged shipment there, and suddenly your warehouse faces stock discrepancies, late order fulfillment, or even lost customers.
A warehouse receiving process checklist streamlines receiving operations and ensures compliance across teams, regardless of who’s on shift.
A warehouse receiving process checklist ensures every shipment that enters your facility is properly documented, inspected, and integrated into your inventory system.
Unlike ad hoc or verbal processes, this structured document verifies product condition upon arrival, checks against purchase orders to confirm accuracy, and documents all inspections for future reference.
However, ShipHero’s digital platform already seamlessly integrates this checklist into your system, automating the tracking of goods from the moment they arrive.
Because it captures critical shipment details, a receiving checklist can double as a warehouse audit checklist sample, especially when preparing for performance reviews or inventory audits.
If you’re looking for ways to improve accuracy and accountability, learning how to audit your warehouse with a structured receiving checklist is a great place to start.
A well-structured warehouse receiving process checklist is crucial for ensuring accurate and efficient inventory management. Including the mentioned key components helps streamline the process, reduces errors, and enhances overall warehouse performance.
Here’s what you must include in your checklist to maintain control and accountability:
This anchors the entire inspection. By referencing the purchase order (PO) number, warehouse teams can verify the received goods against the original order, ensuring the correct items and quantities are delivered.
Having the supplier’s full details improves accountability. If there’s a delivery issue, this info helps your team evaluate supplier performance and speed up resolution.
Timestamping each delivery helps you review delivery schedules, track shipment delays, and identify potential gaps in receiving coverage.
Here, staff will assess damage or discrepancies, confirm specifications (e.g., size, color), take photos if needed, and record all inspections in case of claims or audits. An effective inventory audit checklist incorporates these inspection protocols to ensure accuracy from the moment goods arrive.
Listing the material name (e.g., product name, SKU, or description) prevents mix-ups during inventory allocation and ensures all items are accounted for. This also helps your Warehouse Management System (WMS) update stock records correctly.
Identifying who delivered and who received the shipment establishes accountability, helps resolve disputes over damaged or missing items, and ensures proper handoff records.
Maintaining proper documentation, such as packing slips, invoices, and bills of lading, facilitates order reconciliation and supports formal audits and record keeping.
A single receiving error often ripples through the entire warehouse. A structured receiving checklist breaks this cycle by establishing clear protocols that coordinate with supply chain operations and create accountability at every step. It drives big improvements in:
This plays out in real operations. A mid-sized clothing retailer had ongoing issues with stock discrepancies during receipt. However, implementing a standardized receiving checklist significantly reduced the number of missing items and stock inaccuracies.
Employees also appreciated having clear instructions to follow, which reduced confusion and helped maintain a smoother workflow during peak delivery periods.
Before drafting your checklist, take a closer look at your existing receiving workflow. Next, identify any inefficiencies and pinpoint areas that could benefit from more structure and consistency.
Choose the data points you’ll need based on your warehouse flow, system integration, and team size. Include only what’s necessary to document key handoff moments.
You can go with paper, but digital formats (via tablets or mobile apps) are easier to scale. Software-based checklists can instantly update records and integrate with your WMS.
Use inventory management platforms or cloud-based tools to build your checklist. For example, ShipHero’s template system allows you to configure fields, set mandatory requirements, and establish workflow rules that guide staff through the receiving process. This makes sure every receiving action is consistent and auditable.
Train staff to make sure every team member follows standardized procedures. This minimizes human error, especially for new or seasonal workers.
Roll out the checklist during a test period. Assign clear roles (e.g., receiver, inspector), gather feedback, and then launch warehouse-wide. Revisit and refine it quarterly to keep up with operational changes.
Your warehouse receiving checklist works even better when paired with these best practices:
Spacing out deliveries helps reduce bottlenecks and allows teams sufficient time to track inventory levels accurately. It also allows for more accurate inspections.
Keep receiving areas clutter-free and near the entrance. This shortens the time it takes to organize storage locations after goods are received.
Invest in equipment such as barcode scanners, conveyors, or forklifts to speed up receiving operations, especially during peak seasons.
Don’t let broken items enter inventory. Flag them, document the issue, and notify procurement so the issue can be escalated quickly.
By leveraging real-time inventory tracking and barcode scanning, you can eliminate the need for manual checklists, ensuring that every received item is accurately logged. ShipHero automates the entire receiving workflow, reducing human errors and speeding up the process.
Customizable receiving workflows allow you to tailor the system to your warehouse’s specific needs, eliminating the need for paper-based checklists. Improve efficiency, accuracy, and consistency, all with ShipHero’s advanced automation tools.
At least annually, or anytime your business introduces a new product line, supplier, or technology upgrades.
Absolutely. Cross-training builds flexibility, enabling teams to cover for absences and maintain efficiency even during peak periods or periods of high turnover.
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