Software for 3PL contract warehousing

AxisIQ runs contract warehousing: ASN to GRN, client SKUs by bin and batch, pick-pack-dispatch, barcode scan stations and billing on each client's rate card.

AxisIQ gives a contract warehousing company — a 3PL storing and shipping goods for brands — one live system for every client's inbound ASNs and GRNs, stock by client SKU, bin and batch, pick-pack-dispatch, and month-end billing on each client's rate card. It starts from the Logistics & Warehousing template, which sets up those records, the flows between them, a ready dispatch scan queue, a printable delivery challan and an operations dashboard at signup; Ask Axis adapts the rest to your warehouses.

How contract warehousing actually runs

A 3PL warehouse is many businesses under one roof. One brand sends FMCG cases with batch and expiry, another electronics counted by serial, a third e-commerce orders in hundreds of single units a day — each with its own SKU codes and ASN format.

The pains are the same everywhere:

• Receiving disputes. The client's invoice says 1,200 units; the dock counted 1,180 and four damaged. If the GRN is a paper register, the argument happens at month end with no line-level proof.
• Lost bins. A pallet was put away "somewhere in rack C". Pickers search, stock is found short, and the client hears about it from their customer.
• Mixed-up stock. Two brands store the same product type; without SKU ownership in the system, one client's units leave against another's order.
• Leaky billing. Storage per pallet-day, handling per unit, pick-pack per order and minimum monthly billing all come from a contract PDF. Rebuilding them from registers misses activity, and every miss is revenue.

How the template covers it

Clients and their rate cards. Each brand is a Client with GSTIN, PAN, services taken and credit days. A Contract holds the term, billing cycle, minimum monthly billing and payment terms; its Rate card lines price each charge type — storage per pallet-day or per sq ft-month, inbound and outbound handling per unit, pick-pack per order, COD handling — with a unit and a minimum charge.

Bins and client SKUs. Storage bins carry a bin code, warehouse, zone (ambient, cold chain, bulk, rack, mezzanine, bonded), bin type and pallet capacity, and can be dedicated to one client. Every Client SKU belongs to exactly one client, with HSN code, unit, units per case, weight, storage zone and barcode. Stock counts a SKU per bin and batch — on hand, allocated, damaged, expiry and last counted on — and computes Available as on hand minus allocated.

Inbound: ASN to putaway. An Inbound ASN records the client's invoice or STN number, the vehicle number and expected date, then moves through arrived, unloading, grn_pending, grn_done and putaway_done. Each ASN line compares expected with received and damaged, computes short, and records the batch and putaway bin — so a receiving dispute is settled line by line. When the GRN is done, the GRN raises the inbound handling charge flow creates a Billable charge for the received units.

Outbound: pick, pack, dispatch. An Outbound order carries consignee, ship-to city and PIN, promised dispatch date, priority and invoice value; Outbound lines hold ordered, picked and packed counts and the pick bin. At the dock, a Dispatch gets an automatic challan number (DC-…) and records the mode (own fleet, PTL partner, courier or client pickup), carrier, LR or AWB and e-way bill number; the Delivery challan layout prints the challan and LR copy that travels with the goods. Mark the dispatch delivered and the order closes itself.

Billing. At month end, the client's Billable charges — each with quantity, rate and a computed amount — go onto an invoice that names the contract and billing period. The dashboard's Billable this month and Billing by service widgets show where the revenue is coming from before the invoice is raised.

Scan stations: the Outbound dock queue

The template ships one ready queue in Work Queues: Outbound dock, with the stages To pick → Picked → Packed & labelled → Staged at dock → Loaded & dispatched (plus Cancelled). An outbound order enters it automatically when its status becomes allocated.

• Pickers claim the next order on a lease, so two people never pick the same one.
• At each station a scan of the order barcode moves it and answers with a verdict — moved, duplicate, unknown or blocked — so a double beep or a wrong label is caught on the spot.
• For a truck load, paste the expected order numbers as a manifest, scan as cartons go on, and the batch summary lists what is missing and what was never expected.

Rename stages, set a WIP limit, or have a stage update the order as it moves, all in the Work Queues app. For inbound, add a second queue: seed the ASN's expected keys, scan on unloading, and the summary is your short and excess report. Barcode workflows for a warehouse walks through one.

What to ask Ask Axis to add

The template is the common core. Tell Ask Axis what your contracts and clients need, in plain words:

• "Every night, create a storage charge for each warehousing client from the pallets they occupy, at their contract's pallet-day rate."
• "Add serial number to ASN lines and outbound lines for electronics clients."
• "When available stock of a client SKU drops below 50, notify that client's account manager."
• "Add a dashboard widget for bin occupancy by zone."

Ask Axis builds these as fields, record types, flows and widgets in your live workspace, under your own permissions. An ASN intake form for clients is one more request.

An honest limit

AxisIQ keeps warehouse records and scan pipelines; it does not plan the warehouse for you. There is no automatic slotting, wave or batch-pick optimisation, or putaway suggestion engine — the bin is chosen by your team and recorded. E-way bills are generated on the government portal and their numbers recorded on the dispatch.

FAQ

Is AxisIQ a WMS for 3PL warehouses in India? It covers the records a 3PL runs on — client SKUs, bins, stock by batch, ASNs and GRNs, outbound orders, dispatches and rate-card billing — with a ready Outbound dock scan queue in Work Queues. It does not do slotting or pick-path optimisation.

Can each client's stock and billing stay separate? Yes. Client SKUs, stock rows and billable charges all carry their client, and bins can be dedicated to one.

Does it handle batch and expiry? Stock is held per SKU, bin and batch with an expiry date, and ASN lines record the batch received, so FEFO picking is a sorted list your pickers work from.

How are storage charges calculated? The template prices storage on the rate card (per pallet-day or sq ft-month) and holds charges as billable charges; the automatic flow covers inbound handling. A scheduled storage-charge flow can be added by asking Ask Axis or in Automation.

Do I need special scanners? No. A scan station is a web page, and any USB or Bluetooth scanner that behaves as a keyboard works with it. There is no camera-scanning phone app.

Start with the Logistics & Warehousing template — or see AxisIQ in action. Back to Logistics & Warehousing.