Overview
The warehouse is where the digital commerce operation meets physical reality. An order placed on a storefront or marketplace is a data record until someone picks it from a shelf, packs it, and hands it to a carrier. The connection between the systems that generate orders and the systems that fulfil them — or the absence of that connection — determines how efficiently the warehouse operates, how accurately orders are fulfilled, and how quickly order status and stock levels are reflected back to the channels that customers are buying from.
Warehouse integration is the software layer that bridges commerce operations and physical fulfilment. It carries orders from order management systems and commerce platforms to the warehouse — or to a third-party logistics provider — in the format and through the workflow that drives accurate, efficient fulfilment. It carries fulfilment confirmations, stock movements, and inventory adjustments back to commerce systems, keeping the data picture current without manual re-entry. And it connects the warehouse's physical processes — receiving, putaway, picking, packing, despatch — to the digital systems that need to know what is happening on the warehouse floor.
We build warehouse integrations for e-commerce businesses operating their own warehouses, for businesses using third-party logistics providers, and for operations that combine own-warehouse fulfilment with 3PL for overflow, seasonal capacity, or specific product categories.
What Warehouse Integration Covers
Order transmission to warehouse. Orders that have been validated and routed for warehouse fulfilment are transmitted to the warehouse management system or 3PL platform in the format and through the mechanism the warehouse uses — API, EDI, file-based transfer, or direct database integration depending on the warehouse system in use. Order transmission includes the pick and pack instructions the warehouse needs: the items to pick, the quantities, the packaging requirements, the carrier and service level, any special handling instructions, and the customer delivery address.
For own-warehouse operations without a dedicated WMS, the integration layer itself can drive the warehouse workflow — generating pick lists, managing batch picking, producing packing slips and shipping labels, and providing the warehouse team with the interface they need to process orders without a separate WMS investment.
Pick list and batch picking management. Efficient warehouse operations group orders into pick batches that minimise travel time across the warehouse floor. Pick list generation logic groups orders by zone, by carrier collection time, by product location, or by other criteria that improve pick efficiency for the specific warehouse layout. Pick lists are generated in the format the warehouse team uses — printed, on handheld devices, or through a warehouse interface — and updated in real time as picks are completed.
Packing and label generation. When picking is complete, packing instructions and shipping labels are generated at the packing station. Label generation integrates directly with the carrier — SendCloud, MyParcel, PostNL, DHL — selecting the carrier and service level according to the order's fulfilment requirements and generating the label without a separate step in the carrier portal. Packing slip generation produces channel-specific documentation — some channels require branded packing slips, others require specific documentation formats.
Despatch confirmation and tracking. When an order is despatched, the fulfilment confirmation — carrier, tracking number, despatch timestamp — is transmitted back to the order management system and to the originating channel. Shopify and WooCommerce fulfilment status is updated. Bol.com and Amazon shipment confirmation is sent via their respective APIs. The customer notification that their order has been despatched is triggered. All of this happens automatically from the despatch scan rather than requiring manual status updates across multiple platforms.
Stock level synchronisation. Physical stock movements in the warehouse — sales, returns, receipts, adjustments, write-offs — are reflected in the digital stock picture in real time. When an order is picked, the reserved stock becomes committed. When it is despatched, committed stock is reduced. When a goods receipt is processed, available stock increases. These movements feed the inventory synchronisation layer that keeps channel stock levels accurate, preventing the overselling that results from a lag between physical stock movements and digital stock records.
Goods receiving and putaway. When supplier deliveries arrive at the warehouse, the receiving process updates the stock picture — verifying the received quantities against purchase orders, recording any discrepancies, and adding received stock to available inventory. For businesses where the ERP manages purchase orders, goods receiving integration connects the warehouse receiving process to the ERP purchase order, triggering the stock and financial updates that receipt confirmation requires.
Returns receipt and processing. Returned items arriving at the warehouse are received against the open return record — confirming items received, recording condition assessment, and updating stock accordingly. Returns that pass quality assessment and are returned to saleable stock are added to available inventory and propagated to sales channels. Returns that are written off or require further processing are recorded and routed appropriately.
3PL Integration
Third-party logistics providers operate their own warehouse management systems and have their own integration interfaces — EDI, proprietary APIs, or file-based exchange. Integrating with a 3PL requires understanding and implementing the specific integration requirements of that provider.
Order transmission to 3PL. Orders routed to a 3PL for fulfilment are transmitted through the 3PL's required interface — typically EDI 850 purchase orders, proprietary API calls, or SFTP file drops in a defined format. The integration handles the format transformation from the internal order model to the 3PL's required format, the transmission to the 3PL system, and the acknowledgement processing that confirms the 3PL has received and accepted the order.
Fulfilment confirmation from 3PL. When the 3PL despatches an order, fulfilment confirmation — carrier, tracking number, despatch timestamp, items shipped — is received from the 3PL and processed into the order management system. For 3PLs that provide real-time API confirmation, this happens immediately on despatch. For 3PLs that provide batch file confirmation, the integration processes the confirmation files on the schedule the 3PL delivers them and catches up any despatches since the last file.
Stock visibility at 3PL. For businesses that hold stock at a 3PL, accurate visibility into 3PL stock levels is essential for channel stock management and replenishment planning. Regular stock level feeds from the 3PL — via API query, via scheduled stock report files, or via change event notifications where the 3PL supports them — keep the central stock picture current.
Replenishment coordination. When 3PL stock levels fall below replenishment thresholds, the integration triggers the replenishment workflow — generating a transfer order or purchase order for the 3PL, transmitting the despatch advice when goods are sent to the 3PL, and reconciling the received confirmation from the 3PL against the expected quantities.
Multi-3PL management. Businesses using multiple 3PL providers — for different product categories, different geographic regions, or overflow capacity — manage all 3PL relationships through the same integration layer, with fulfilment routing logic that determines which 3PL receives each order based on stock availability, location, category, and other configurable criteria.
Warehouse Management System Integrations
We integrate with the range of WMS platforms used by the businesses we work with:
Custom and bespoke WMS. Many businesses operating at scale have WMS systems built specifically for their warehouse operations — custom-built or heavily customised from a base product. Integration with custom WMS systems is built against the specific API or data exchange interface the WMS provides, with the business logic that maps the external data model to the WMS's internal model.
Standard WMS platforms. For businesses using standard WMS platforms, we build integrations against the platform's documented API or EDI interface — handling the authentication, data format requirements, and integration patterns specific to each platform.
Simple warehouse operations without WMS. For businesses that manage warehouse operations through simpler tooling — spreadsheets, basic stock management systems, or manual processes — the integration layer can provide the warehouse workflow interface itself, giving the warehouse team the pick, pack, and despatch tooling they need without requiring a full WMS investment.
Real-Time Visibility
Warehouse integration is not only about moving data between systems — it is about giving operations teams visibility into what is happening across the fulfilment operation in real time.
Order fulfilment status. Every order's current status in the warehouse — received, allocated, in pick, packed, awaiting collection, despatched — visible in real time to the operations team without requiring them to log into the WMS separately.
Warehouse throughput metrics. Orders picked, packed, and despatched per hour, per shift, and per day — compared against targets and historical averages. Throughput metrics surface bottlenecks and capacity issues before they cause SLA failures.
SLA tracking. Orders approaching their despatch SLA deadline — whether that is a same-day despatch commitment, a next-day processing target, or a marketplace-specific despatch window — are surfaced prominently so the warehouse team can prioritise them before the deadline passes.
Stock discrepancy alerting. When the physical stock count from a warehouse scan does not match the expected stock level from the digital record, the discrepancy is flagged for investigation. Discrepancies that are not investigated and resolved accumulate into stock record inaccuracy that affects channel availability signals and fulfilment capability.
Technologies Used
- React / Next.js — warehouse operations interface, pick list display, despatch confirmation, management dashboards
- TypeScript — type-safe frontend and API layer throughout
- Rust / Axum — high-throughput order transmission, real-time stock movement processing, carrier API integration
- C# / ASP.NET Core — WMS integration logic, EDI processing, 3PL connectivity, complex fulfilment routing
- SQL (PostgreSQL, MySQL) — order fulfilment records, stock movement history, warehouse performance data
- Redis — real-time order status, pick batch management, processing coordination
- SendCloud / MyParcel / PostNL / DHL — carrier integration for label generation and tracking
- EDI (850, 856, 940, 945) — 3PL and wholesale partner integration via EDI standards
- SFTP / FTP — file-based integration with 3PL and WMS systems
- Shopify / WooCommerce / Bol.com / Amazon APIs — fulfilment confirmation and stock level feedback to channels
- Exact Online / AFAS — goods receiving and financial integration
- REST / Webhooks — API-based WMS and 3PL connectivity
Own Warehouse vs 3PL vs Hybrid
The architecture of warehouse integration differs depending on whether fulfilment is from an own warehouse, through a 3PL, or a combination of both. Each model has different integration requirements and different operational visibility needs.
Own-warehouse operations benefit from tight, real-time integration that drives the warehouse workflow — pick lists generated automatically, labels printed at the packing station, despatch confirmation processed immediately. The integration layer is close to the physical operation and the feedback loop between digital and physical is fast.
3PL operations require integration that accommodates the 3PL's own systems and processes — the 3PL has its own WMS, its own workflow, and its own integration interface. The integration layer translates between the business's data model and the 3PL's requirements, and manages the asynchrony of a process the business does not directly control.
Hybrid operations — own warehouse for fast-moving products and 3PL for slow-moving, bulky, or seasonal stock — require fulfilment routing logic that determines which operation handles each order, and integration with both, presenting a unified fulfilment picture to the order management and channel systems regardless of which physical operation fulfilled each order.
Connect Commerce to Fulfilment
The gap between a commerce operation and its physical fulfilment infrastructure is where orders get lost, stock records drift, and the manual effort of keeping systems in sync consumes time that should be spent on more valuable work. Warehouse integration closes that gap.