Can you trust your inventory

Monique van der Zwaag, Starshipit: Today we’re looking at a question that sits at the heart of fulfilment growth: can you actually trust your inventory as orders grow? Keeping inventory accurate was the biggest warehouse challenge in the audience poll, followed by too much manual work or rework.

We’ll look at where those issues start, the bottlenecks they create as volumes grow, and what a WMS can change in the day-to-day running of a warehouse. Jordan will then take you through Starshipit WMS in action.

Monique van der Zwaag, Starshipit: Stock moves fast: it is received into the warehouse, put away, picked, packed, returned and adjusted throughout the day. Every time it moves, the inventory record needs to keep up. When updates rely on manual input or information is split across systems, the numbers can stop matching what is on the shelf.

ECR Retail Loss found that more than 60% of inventory records contain an inaccuracy. That does not mean every warehouse has 60% of its stock wrong; it means stock records and physical stock often fall out of sync. The everyday impact is overselling, stockouts, manual checks, delayed orders, missed SLAs and slower fulfilment.

Monique van der Zwaag, Starshipit: The five common bottlenecks are stock-accuracy gaps, manual work and workarounds, slow picking and packing when stock is hard to find, disconnected systems, and growth pressure from more orders, SKUs, locations and channels.

A WMS is not technology for technology’s sake. It gives the warehouse a clearer, more consistent way to work. Instead of checking stock, working from memory or chasing exceptions, people follow a connected process with clearer inventory visibility and faster fulfilment.

Monique van der Zwaag, Starshipit: Starshipit WMS is designed for retailers that need more structure and visibility without taking on a large, complex WMS project. It connects stock, warehouse operations and shipping in one platform, so teams can receive stock, put it away, pick and pack orders, and move them into dispatch without switching between separate systems.

It also works with existing eCommerce platforms and sales channels. The goal is a clean, intuitive workflow that the team can follow every day, from stock arriving through to storage, picking, packing and shipment. With that context, Monique hands over to Jordan for the live walkthrough.

Jordan Andreassen, Starshipit: In the WMS operations dashboard, the team can see an overview of activity: stock that is not available to pick, orders ready to fulfil, purchase orders that are partly received or still outstanding, and any warnings or anomalies.

The WMS supports a simple one-store, one-warehouse setup, multiple locations with separate WMS instances and 3PL setups. In a 3PL setup, client storefronts can remain separate while their orders can be picked in larger batches and clients can be given access to their own inventory and orders.

Jordan Andreassen, Starshipit: The demo shows a warehouse tidying stock with putaway and replenishment jobs before picking. Jobs can be assigned to users, filtered by role and claimed so no one else starts the same work. The mobile app supports device-camera, Bluetooth and built-in scanner barcode scanning, and scanning can be enforced where the warehouse needs it.

Every stock movement is traceable: the system records stock moving from a location to equipment and then to its destination, along with the job and the person who completed it. Teams can also generate barcodes for products and locations, and choose whether location scans are mandatory for their workflow.

Jordan Andreassen, Starshipit: Purchase orders can be received directly into a location, quality-control location, staging location or cross-dock. The demo receives stock into cross-dock so it can be picked quickly, and shows barcode scanning for a unit of measure to speed up receiving.

For outbound work, teams can create batches, configure allocation rules such as first in, first out or first expiry, first out, and use standard or tote picking. Pick routing directs the picker to the required locations, then packing validates the items, produces the shipping label and writes fulfilment and tracking back to the connected storefront.

Monique van der Zwaag, Starshipit: Now that you’ve seen the workflow, this is a useful way to think about whether a WMS can make a difference in your own operation. You don’t need to be experiencing every one of these points, but if a few feel familiar, it can be a sign that your warehouse is relying on workarounds rather than a process the team can repeat confidently.

That could be checking shelves before fulfilling orders, stock that is hard to find, mispicks leading to returns, or time spent fixing exceptions. It’s not a question of whether your team is working hard enough; it’s about visibility and clear workflows. Let’s jump into the questions.

Monique van der Zwaag, Starshipit: The first question is: does this integrate with Cin7 Core?

Yes, Starshipit WMS integrates with Cin7 Core and Cin7 Omni. You can sync products through from Cin7 Core, and stock write-back is connected there as well. Jordan, is there anything else you want to add about the Cin7 Core integration?

Jordan Andreassen, Starshipit: It’s one of our best integrations. Product creation in Cin7 Core comes straight through to WMS, and if you make a stock adjustment in either system, the other is notified almost instantly. If you want to execute in the warehouse while Cin7 Core remains your master, that’s a workflow we support well.

Monique van der Zwaag, Starshipit: Another question is: what systems do you sync with? Jordan showed Shopify today. We also have WooCommerce and BigCommerce for storefronts, where products can be synced across and stock movements can be written back. We also integrate with Unleashed. What else do we have, Jordan?

Jordan Andreassen, Starshipit: We’ve recently added Etsy and NetSuite. We’re also adding support for writing inventory levels back to existing order integrations. If you have Shopify and another storefront, Starshipit WMS can manage inventory across both so you’re not overselling through one sales channel.

Monique van der Zwaag, Starshipit: How long does setup take? We can move as quickly as you can add the data into WMS. If your locations and product data are ready, enabling the system takes minutes and you can be up and running in a couple of days, especially if you already use Starshipit for shipping.

We’ve also had a question about bundles. Yes, WMS supports exploding bundles, where you pick the components during the pick run, and kitted bundles, where the team is directed to pick the right stock, assemble a set number of kits and store them in a location before dispatch.

Jordan Andreassen, Starshipit: For warehouses with different picking zones, the system can create separate jobs. If inventory is allocated to a machine zone and a floor-picking zone, each team member can complete their own work independently. The system then directs them to bring items for the same order to the same packing bench.

Monique van der Zwaag, Starshipit: A good question from teams already using the Starshipit Pick & Pack app is whether they need the WMS app as well. When you use WMS in the warehouse, you would transition to the WMS app for picking and packing, plus replenishment, putaway, stock moves and inventory views.

Jordan Andreassen, Starshipit: You can also transition gradually. If you want to track inventory but keep using Starshipit’s existing packing workflow, enable WMS for inventory tracking and continue to print labels as you do now. Inventory will still decrement in the background as labels print.

Monique van der Zwaag, Starshipit: We also support cycle counting and stocktakes. During the pick flow, the team can report an issue and create a cycle-count job for a product. Reporting shows who completed each action. For bulk storage, you can set up multiple locations and track stock across multiple pallets in each location.

Finally, replenishment can be generated from orders coming into WMS or from low-stock quantities. You can set warning and ideal stock levels against products to guide that work.

Monique van der Zwaag, Starshipit: There’s a question about packing validation for teams already using it in Starshipit shipping. Are you still able to use it when packing in WMS?

Jordan Andreassen, Starshipit: Yes. Packing validation is built into the WMS pack job. The team is prompted to scan or manually validate the right items before the label prints. If you prefer, you can also keep your existing Starshipit packing workflow and use WMS for inventory tracking in the background.

Monique van der Zwaag, Starshipit: Can businesses trial WMS before they are charged? Yes. Existing Starshipit customers can start a WMS trial inside their account. New customers can start a trial of the Starshipit shipping platform, then enable a WMS trial from there.

A retailer also asked about using a point-of-sale system for retail and online inventory. A POS may show how much stock you have, but WMS gives you more control over where it sits in the warehouse and tracks the journey from receiving through to storage, pick, pack and dispatch.

Jordan Andreassen, Starshipit: On SSCC labels during receiving: that is not currently supported in the demonstrated container workflow. It is something the team can explore further for an operation that needs it.

Monique van der Zwaag, Starshipit: To wrap up, new customers can start a 30-day Starshipit trial and activate the warehouse trial from the Warehouse section. Existing customers can start a WMS trial in their account. If you would rather talk through your workflow first, the team can help map your warehouse setup and assess whether WMS is a good fit.