Custom software for warehouses and 3PLs, built around proof of what happened.
Most arguments in a warehouse are lost for lack of evidence. A billing dispute, a retailer chargeback, a return the brand says was fine, a count the client's portal does not agree with. We build custom software for warehouses and 3PLs that captures the proof where the work happens and ties it to the record it belongs to.
Example workflow. Not client work.
The idea behind all of it
A scan, a photo, a timestamp or a reading taken at the moment work is done: a pallet received, a carton packed, a return opened, a billable job finished. Each one is tied to the order, invoice or client record it belongs to, and checked against the rules that apply to that client. When there is an argument weeks later, the record answers it.
That is one idea applied to several problems, which is why these pages describe the same core built six ways rather than six products. We build for one operation at a time and adapt a core we reuse, so the checks, the rate cards and the exception rules are yours.
Six problems we would build for
Each one is a page: why it happens, what we would build, how it fits beside your systems, and what your team still decides.
- Work gets done but never billed. Storage tiers, value-added services, relabels, kitting and accessorials that reach the floor but never reach the invoice. Capturing billable warehouse work.
- The system says one thing, the shelf says another. Portal counts that do not match, damaged stock sitting as available, variances chased in a spreadsheet by whoever has time. Inventory discrepancies at a 3PL.
- Stock goes quiet after it hits the dock. The brand cannot see what is stuck in receiving or why, and nobody has a photo of how it arrived. Inbound receiving visibility.
- The same small chargeback, shipment after shipment. A label on the wrong panel, a late ASN, a pallet over height, a missed appointment. Routing guide compliance.
- Return condition arguments you cannot win. The brand disputes the grade and there is no photo tied to that return. Returns condition disputes.
- Nobody owns the handoff between systems. The WMS says picked, the TMS says booked, the portal says dispatched, and nobody can prove which is true. WMS and TMS integration.
Where this software sits
- Beside your WMS by default. Your warehouse management system keeps being the system of record. We read from it and write to it where it offers an API or a data export, and what is possible depends on that system. We check that before the quote.
- Instead of the spreadsheet. Where the system is a spreadsheet, a shared folder or a whiteboard, that is the part we replace. We replace a real system only when you have already decided to retire it.
- On the devices you already own. Scanners, phones and tablets that are already on your floor. We do not supply devices. Where a fixed station or kiosk is the better tool, we also build custom hardware.
- Yours at the end. You own the code and the repository, the scope and a fixed quote are agreed before work starts, and changes are quoted before they are done. How we work.
Cargohold is Microsive's logistics software for warehouse, transport and fleet operations, built around how your team already works; you own the app and the data, with no per-seat, per-truck or per-client fees. Related Cargohold guides: logistics guides for 3PLs and warehouses.
Where your team decides
None of this decides anything on its own. It captures what happened, applies the rules your team sets and puts anything it cannot decide in front of a named person. Adjustments, credits, write-offs, releases and what a client is told stay with your people, and every one of those decisions is recorded with a reason.
If you move freight as well
The same idea covers detention claims, proof of delivery and carrier checks. See trucking and freight.
Questions
Do we have to replace our WMS?
No, and that is the default answer on every page here. The common case is software that sits beside your WMS and reads what it offers. Replacing a system is a separate decision, and one you make.
What have you built that is like this?
Recruitment software we built and run, which replaced the spreadsheets an agency used to track people, work and invoices; a calling system our own sales team uses every day; and internal tools for workflow and lead work. These pages describe what we would build for a warehouse, not work we have done in one.
How does a project start?
With a call about one problem, usually the one costing you money this month. We agree the scope and a fixed quote before any code is written, and you see working software at regular demos. Start here.
What does a build like this cost?
We do not publish prices, because no two floors need the same build. We look at the one problem you want solved, write down what we would build, and give you a fixed quote before any work starts. Anything you add later is quoted before it is done.
How long does a custom 3PL build take?
The delivery time is written into the scope before you accept the quote, so you have a date in writing rather than a range from a website. It depends on how many systems we have to read from and what those systems offer.
Which argument are you losing most often?
Tell us what your team cannot prove today, and we will tell you what we would build. Someone from our team replies within one business day.