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Logistics · WMS · eCommerce Fulfillment

WarehouseOS — WMS for PrimeShip Fulfillment

WMS for a 200,000 sq ft eCommerce fulfilment centre with barcode/RFID scanning, FIFO picking, automated dock scheduling, 3PL client portals, and labour productivity tracking — achieving 3x faster picking and 99.8% inventory accuracy.

ReactNode.jsPostgreSQLAWSZebra RFIDReact NativeRedisKafka
3x
Faster Order Picking
99.8%
Inventory Accuracy
22%
Labour Cost Reduction
18 Wks
Delivered
Delivered
Logistics
3x
Faster Order Picking
99.8%
Inventory Accuracy
Client
PrimeShip Fulfillment
Industry
3PL & eCommerce Fulfillment
Location
Columbus, Ohio, USA
Duration
18 Weeks · Q2 2024
Project Overview

About This Project

PrimeShip's 200,000 sq ft fulfillment centre ran on paper pick lists. Pickers walked the warehouse floor with printed sheets, located items visually, and manually checked off each pick. Inventory accuracy was 94.2% — an 8% order error rate generating $420K in annual returns processing costs. Their 3PL clients had zero visibility into their inventory or order status between weekly email reports.

We built WarehouseOS in 18 weeks: a mobile barcode/RFID WMS with directed putaway, zone and batch picking, 3PL client self-service portals, AI dock scheduling, labour management dashboards, and ML demand forecasting for peak staffing — transforming PrimeShip's warehouse into a technology-led competitive differentiator.

React + React Native
Node.js
PostgreSQL
AWS
Zebra RFID
Redis
Kafka
3x
Faster order picking with directed mobile workflows vs paper pick lists
99.8%
Inventory accuracy — up from 94.2% — reducing order errors from 8% to 0.3%
$1.4M
Annual labour cost savings from 22% productivity improvement across the fulfilment centre
18 min
Average truck dock wait time — down from 2 hours with AI-optimised dock scheduling
The Problem

Challenges We Solved

Paper Pick Lists with 2-Hour Training

Pickers received 8–12 page printed pick lists and located items using memory and visual scanning. New hires took 2 weeks to reach acceptable productivity. Pick rate for experienced staff was 45 units/hour — below industry benchmark of 90+.

94.2% Inventory Accuracy · 8% Error Rate

Inventory discrepancies between the system and physical stock generated order errors on 8% of shipments. Return processing — label printing, receipt, restock, and customer refund — cost $420K annually and consumed 3 FTEs.

3PL Clients with Zero Visibility

PrimeShip's 8 3PL clients (brands paying for outsourced fulfillment) received weekly inventory emails. Between reports, they had no ability to self-serve inventory queries, order status, or billing transparency — generating a constant stream of support calls.

Manual Dock Scheduling on Whiteboards

Inbound and outbound dock scheduling was managed on a whiteboard by a dock supervisor. Without a digital scheduling system, dock congestion caused average truck waiting times of 2 hours — generating carrier detention charges and damaging vendor relationships.

No Labour Productivity Tracking

Managers had no visibility into individual picker productivity, pick accuracy, or labour utilisation by zone. The bottom 20% of performers couldn't be identified without time-and-motion studies, and coaching conversations lacked data.

Peak Season Overrun

Q4 peak planning was done by adding 30% to the prior year's headcount, then reacting to volumes as they arrived. In the prior Q4, PrimeShip ran at 340% overtime in the final 3 weeks before Christmas — a cost of $380K in overtime premium.

Our Approach

How We Solved It

Mobile Barcode/RFID Directed Picking

React Native mobile app on Zebra handheld scanners providing directed putaway, zone picking, batch picking, and FIFO picking workflows. Each task is pre-calculated by the WMS for optimal path — pickers scan to confirm. New picker productivity target reached in 3 days vs 2 weeks.

RFID Real-Time Inventory Tracking

RFID tags on cartons and pallets with fixed readers at zone boundaries provide continuous inventory location tracking. Cycle count workflows replace quarterly manual counts — a full zone count now completes in 90 minutes rather than a full day.

3PL Client Self-Service Portal

Each 3PL client has a branded portal with live inventory by SKU and location, order status tracking, inbound ASN management, and invoice statements — available 24/7 without contacting PrimeShip operations. Client satisfaction score reached 4.8/5 within 60 days.

AI Dock Scheduling System

AI scheduling engine assigns dock doors to inbound/outbound loads based on shipment type, carrier, timing, and labour availability — fed by advance shipping notices and carrier booking data. Dock congestion eliminated, truck wait time from 2 hours to 18 minutes average.

Labour Management Dashboard

Real-time labour dashboard tracking picks/hour, scan accuracy, and units-per-hour by operator, team, and zone. Managers see underperforming operators and zones in real time. Weekly coaching conversations now data-driven — productivity improvement 22%.

ML Peak Staffing Demand Forecast

ML demand forecasting model analysing historical volume patterns, client order forecasts, and seasonal signals to predict daily pick volume 4 weeks ahead. Staffing recommendations generated weekly, reducing Q4 overtime cost from $380K to $61K.

Results

The Outcomes

Month 4 — Wave Picking Live
2.4x Faster vs Paper Pick

First wave picking live on mobile scanners. Pick rate 2.4x baseline paper picks. New pickers reaching target productivity in 3 days. 3PL client portal live — first week saw 90% of clients self-serving inventory queries that previously required support calls.

Month 9 — Full System Live
99.8% Accuracy · 0.3% Error Rate

All WMS modules live. 99.8% inventory accuracy. Order error rate down from 8% to 0.3%. 3PL client satisfaction score 4.8/5. Dock wait time down from 2 hours to 18 minutes. Labour productivity up 22% — $1.4M annualised saving.

Month 18 — Platform Mature
3x Picking Speed · 40% Capacity Growth

3x pick rate vs paper baseline. Q4 peak handled without overtime crisis — ML forecast was accurate to within 4%. PrimeShip expanded fulfilment capacity by 40% without additional headcount by reclaiming productivity gains. Won 2 new 3PL contracts citing WMS capabilities.

3x Faster Picking. 99.8% Accuracy. $1.4M Labour Savings.
WarehouseOS transformed PrimeShip's manual fulfilment centre into a technology-led competitive advantage.
★★★★★
"WarehouseOS turned our 200,000 sq ft facility from a bottleneck into a competitive differentiator. Picking is 3x faster, our inventory accuracy is essentially perfect, and our 3PL clients are self-serving instead of calling us every hour. The labour savings alone exceed $1.4M per year. Best technology investment we've made."
TB
Tom Bradley
VP Operations, PrimeShip Fulfillment

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