WMS ROI calculator
Back-calculate payback months. Inputs: current pick-error %, picker hourly rate, monthly orders, annual software cost. Outputs: annual labor savings, payback months. Anchored to warehousingandfulfillment.com error-rate benchmarks and BLS OEWS picker wages.
Assumes error reduction to 0.2% post-WMS (warehousingandfulfillment.com benchmark), 30 min remediation per error, and 25% pick productivity uplift on RF-directed picking. Labor cost anchored to BLS OEWS picker hourly.
Realistic post-WMS numbers
- Pick error: 1-3% pre-WMS down to 0.1-0.3% post-WMS[s-22].
- RF-directed picking: ~25% productivity uplift vs paper picking (industry-published median).
- Picker hourly: BLS OEWS 53-7062 Stock and Material Movers, May 2024[s-23].
- Remediation cost per error: ~30 min labor + reship + customer-service touch.
ROI questions
What payback should I show the CFO?
SMB cloud WMS (Fishbowl Drive tier) typically pays back in 6-14 months at >20K monthly orders. Mid-market (Korber, Infor, Tecsys) lands at 18-36 months. Tier-1 (Manhattan, Blue Yonder) lands at 30-60 months and is sold on labor + on-time-shipping uplift rather than software ROI alone.
Is the 25% productivity uplift realistic?
Yes for the paper-to-RF transition. Yes more conservatively (10-15%) for the RF-to-pick-to-light transition. No for the RF-to-goods-to-person transition without the matching hardware capex, which is a separate ROI model.