Warehouse automation is needed when a spreadsheet can no longer answer simple questions: how much stock is actually there, which cell it is in and who delivered it. If the warehouse is ordinary and the processes are standard, start with off-the-shelf software built on 1C, the most widely used accounting platform in Russia. If the warehouse has its own rules - fulfilment with rates for each seller, production with raw materials used by a norm, every item tracked by a QR code - your own warehouse software, connected to accounting, orders and money, pays off better.
Below is how we approach this on our own projects: the FullHouse fulfilment operator, the UZOR knitting factory, a B2B marketplace under NDA and the Derzhis Menya workshop.
When the spreadsheet stops coping
A spreadsheet does its job while one person runs the warehouse and there is not much stock. Problems start when data spreads across different places. At the fulfilment operator we work with, leads sat in a CRM, the warehouse in spreadsheets, shipments in marketplace dashboards and invoices in accounting, all reconciled by hand. What the warehouse work cost for each seller was worked out at month end from memory and spreadsheets.
At the Derzhis Menya workshop it was simpler and familiar to many: how much rope, paracord and hardware was left was known only to whoever last looked in the boxes. At the UZOR knitting factory, yarn was estimated by eye and bought with a margin, so the factory overpaid for raw materials.
Signs that it is time to leave the spreadsheet:
- The stock in the file does not match the shelf, and nobody can say at which step it diverged.
- Receiving ends in an argument with a supplier or client over how much was delivered.
- Cost is calculated at an average price, although materials were bought in batches at different prices.
- “Where is the item?” is settled in chats on Telegram.
What warehouse automation consists of
Warehouse software is easiest to understand along the goods’ path: receiving, storage, picking, shipping, returns, stocktaking. Each step has its own detail where a spreadsheet usually breaks.
Receiving with a discrepancy report
At FullHouse, the seller first creates a supply request in their portal. The warehouse receives the goods at the gate and checks them against the request, and anything that does not match goes into a discrepancy report. Receiving without such a report turns into an argument with the seller over how much was delivered; with the report there is nothing to argue about, because the difference is recorded at the moment of receiving.
Off-the-shelf software works the same way. The description of the 1C warehouse product says receiving can follow a planned delivery, and then the system tracks differences between what was planned and what was actually received (product page on the 1C website).
Batches and storage locations
After receiving, goods are placed into cells - addressed storage. A storekeeper does not search for a box from memory; the system shows where it is, and transfers and stocktaking use the same cells.
For production, batches matter more. At Derzhis Menya, materials are kept in batches at purchase price, and the oldest batch is always written off first, so the cost of an item is based on real money. When an order goes into work, materials are written off by recipe; cancel it and they return to stock. At UZOR, yarn, fittings and packaging are also kept in batches, each article has a usage norm, and the system knows how much yarn an order needs and how many items can be made from what is in stock.
Tracking goods by QR codes
On the B2B marketplace we are building under NDA, every item gets a QR code. The code holds only the article number; everything else is in the database. The item’s route is a chain of states: ordered, at incoming inspection, acceptance act received, in the warehouse, on its way to a pick-up point, handed over. Every transition is marked by a scan, and the logistics team, sales and management all see the same thing.
After that, nobody has to ask where the goods are. The marketplace will have many times more pick-up points, so the QR module was designed from the start so it can be split out when the load grows.
Shipping to marketplaces and returns
The fulfilment operator picks orders, packs them and ships them to marketplaces and other platforms. Orders, shipments and stock are exchanged with marketplaces without manual exports. Returns are received with a quality check and also become a warehouse operation.
The key point at FullHouse is that every warehouse operation immediately becomes a charge at the seller’s rate, and invoices and acts are assembled from those charges. Prices live in one place: the calculator on the website and the warehouse charges use the same price list, so a seller never sees one price on the site and another on the invoice.
Stocktaking
Russian accounting law requires stocktaking: the actual stock is compared with the accounting records, and the company sets the cases, timing and procedure itself, except where stocktaking is mandatory (Article 11 of Federal Law No. 402-FZ “On Accounting”). In software it works well in two steps. At Derzhis Menya, staff first enter what is actually on the shelf with a “blind count” tick that hides the system’s figures. Then the system shows the differences, and nothing changes until the “Post” button is pressed. Every movement of material stays in the log.
Warehouse systems: 1C or your own software
The choice is usually between ready-made and custom software. In short, from our experience:
| Option | When it fits | What to keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet | One warehouse, few items, one person in charge | Stock drifts, no history of movements |
| Off-the-shelf 1C software | Standard warehouse operations, accounting already in 1C | Your own processes have to adapt to the software |
| Your own warehouse software | Rates per seller, usage by norm, QR tracking, your own roles | Needs development; exchange with 1C is built separately |
Warehouse automation in 1C is a sound path for many companies. The 1C website says its warehouse product keeps records by warehouse and zone, by expiry date, batch and serial number, works with barcode scanners and label printers, and that tracking by goods owner and calculating third-party storage services are in a separate module bought separately. The same page says the newer 1C:WMS product is now recommended for warehouse logistics.
Custom software is needed when the warehouse is part of a business with its own rules. For fulfilment, that means role portals: seller, receiver, storekeeper, logistics, manager and administrator work in one system, each with their own rights. For UZOR, it is yarn usage by norm and cost per article including yarn, fittings, labour and packaging. For the workshop, it is rights: craftspeople and storekeepers work with orders and stock but never see cost price, margin or tax.
The two can work together. On the B2B marketplace, accounting exchanges data with 1C, while the warehouse, the goods’ route and documents run in our own system.
Warehouse logistics and the processes around it
A warehouse rarely stands alone. Goods come from suppliers, go to buyers, and accounting counts the money. So automating warehouse processes almost always pulls in the neighbouring parts.
On the B2B marketplace, suppliers send product cards in Excel. We built parsing for these files: product cards are created from the file and linked to the catalogue, and nobody retypes them anymore. Telegram stays where people are used to it: a bot and a mini-app send notifications and take simple actions, while the data lives in the system.
At UZOR, a workshop camera sits on top of the warehouse. It connects to the cameras already on site, counts boxes and batches at receiving and shipping, people on shift and idle time. No video is stored; only numbers go into the system.
At FullHouse, the work is split into modules, and each has an agreed contract with its neighbours: what receiving hands to storage, what shipping hands to returns, which events go to billing. The website with CRM and receiving come first, followed by storage, shipping, returns, billing and marketplaces. This order lets the team use the first part while the next one is being built.
How to start warehouse management automation
We start by drawing the goods’ path on paper: where goods come from, where they lie, where they go, who is responsible for what, and where data gets lost today. That shows which warehouse automation solutions fit: whether off-the-shelf software is enough or custom software is needed.
Next come roles and rights. On the B2B marketplace, rights were designed before any business logic: changing them afterwards costs the most, and a new department should be connected by settings.
Then comes a first working version with receiving and stock, and the rest is added module by module. Our warehouse automation work usually goes together with CRM and accounting; examples are in our directions.
Frequently asked questions
What is warehouse automation in simple terms?
It is software that records every movement of goods: receiving, placement in cells, picking, shipping, returns and stocktaking. Stock and location are visible at any moment, not only after a recount.
How does tracking goods by QR codes work?
Every item gets a QR code that holds only the article number, while everything else is stored in the database. That is how our B2B marketplace works: each step of the goods’ route is marked by a scan.
How is custom warehouse software different from automation in 1C?
Off-the-shelf 1C software covers standard warehouse operations, and extra features are bought as modules. Custom software is built around the company’s processes, such as fulfilment rates for each seller, and can still exchange data with 1C.
Does warehouse software suit a small production business?
Yes, if materials go into products by a norm. At the Derzhis Menya workshop and the UZOR factory, materials are kept in batches and written off for each order automatically.
Who this suits
Fulfilment operators and third-party storage warehouses, as at FullHouse. Marketplace sellers with their own warehouse. Production businesses where materials go into products by a norm. B2B marketplaces and distributors with a large catalogue and pick-up points.
If your warehouse no longer fits in a spreadsheet, describe in the form below what comes in, where it is stored and where it goes, and we will look at the goods’ path and tell you whether off-the-shelf software is enough or you need your own.
