WMS for B2B: pallets, full boxes and orders to stores and distributors

November 13, 2026 · 7 min read

Much of what is written about warehouse software talks about the online store: one order, three units, one parcel, one carrier label. But many warehouses mostly serve other companies: stores, distributors, chains. There the work is different —pallets, full boxes, batches, labels imposed by the recipient, a truck that signs— and the software has to know how to do it. This article explains what a WMS has to solve for B2B and how it differs from parcel e-commerce.

What a WMS for B2B is

It is a warehouse management system (we explain it in what a WMS is) that handles goods in the units in which they are sold to a company: the pallet and the full box, as well as the loose unit. And that understands that whoever receives is not a private person opening a parcel, but another warehouse with its own receiving rules.

B2B WMS and parcel e-commerce: differences

Swipe the table sideways to see all the columns →

	Parcel e-commerce	B2B
Order	Many, of a few units	Fewer, with many units per line
Picking unit	Loose unit	Full box and pallet
Recipient	A private person	A store, a distributor or a warehouse
Packaging	One parcel per order	Several boxes or pallets per order, with their contents declared
Labels	The carrier's	The carrier's and the one the recipient requires
Batches	They matter in food and cosmetics	Almost always: minimum shelf life and traceability by client
Transport	Parcel carrier	Pallet network, full truckload or own delivery
Delivery	No appointment	Often with an appointment and with paperwork
What is billed (at a 3PL)	Per order and per unit picked	Per pallet received, stored and moved

Pallets and full boxes

The first requirement is for the software to know that an item exists in several presentations: the unit, the box of so many units and the pallet of so many boxes. With that it can receive by pallet, store the whole pallet in the reserve and decide, when an order arrives, whether it is served with a full pallet, with boxes or with loose units.

→Receiving by pallet or by box, counting against what was expected and not unit by unit.
→Reserve up high and picking bin down below, with a replenishment that brings goods down before the bin empties.
→Each outbound box or pallet with its own license plate: a label with a code that is scanned at every step, from picking to the truck.
→Weight and measurements of each parcel, which is what the pallet carrier asks for to give a rate and what the recipient wants declared.

Orders to stores and distributors

A B2B order usually brings conditions that a private buyer's order does not: an agreed delivery date, complete or part delivery, a client order number that must appear on the parcels and, sometimes, a split of the goods by box. The software has to keep those conditions with the order and show them to whoever picks, not leave them in an email.

The way of picking also changes. With few lines and many units per line, the efficient thing is to go to the bin with the pallet truck or the forklift and bring boxes or the pallet; the cart-and-tote route of parcel picking is no use here.

Batches and expiry dates

In B2B the batch stops being a detail. The recipient may demand a minimum shelf life on receipt, and if there is a recall you need to know which batch went to which client. For that the batch and the expiry date are captured at receiving, travel with the stock to each bin and are confirmed at picking. The usual rule is that what expires first leaves first (FEFO); we explain it in FIFO, FEFO and LIFO.

The client's labels

Chains and marketplaces that receive at their own warehouses ask for each box to arrive with its label, generated by them or following their format. That label identifies the box in their system: if it is stuck on the wrong box, what their warehouse counts does not match what was declared and the delivery gets complicated. The way to avoid it is cross-scanning: the box is scanned and the label is scanned, and the software only counts it as applied if it is the one for that box.

Manifest and driver's signature

When a truck leaves with pallets from several clients, you need a piece of paper —or a screen— that says what it is taking: the load manifest, with the orders, the parcels and the kilos. The driver signs it when loading. That signature is the change of custody: from there on, the goods are the carrier's responsibility, and if a pallet is missing at destination there is a document with a name and a time to go back to. How it is done with the PDA is in the PDA at dispatch.

How we do it at Ubika

Ubika is a WMS for non-automated warehouses that handles parcels and also pallets. It works with batches and expiry dates, sending out first what expires first, and with replenishment from the reserve to the picking bin. Each outbound parcel or pallet can carry its license plate, which is scanned at every step: picked, left in the outbound area, labeled and loaded onto the truck.

For shipments to stores (B2B) and to Amazon warehouses (FBA) there is a screen of its own, which is switched on in the warehouses that use it. The client requests the shipment from their portal; in the warehouse what has been picked is split among the boxes, with their weight and measurements, and the client's labels are applied by scanning them: if it is not the one for that box, it is not marked. The client sees the differences, and there is a per-box report in CSV.

On the way out there is one manifest per collection, with its parcels, its kilos and its clients, both for carriers and for own delivery; the driver signs it on the PDA and who collected it and at what time is recorded. And if you are a third-party logistics provider, billing charges receiving per pallet and storage per pallet, per cubic meter or per unit, with each client's rate.

You can ask for the demo with your data or see more in software for 3PLs.

Frequently asked questions

What is a B2B WMS?

It is a warehouse management system (WMS) prepared to serve other companies —stores, distributors, chains, marketplaces that receive at their own warehouses— and not only private buyers. It works with pallets and full boxes, batches, labels required by the recipient and deliveries grouped by truck.

How does B2B differ from parcel e-commerce?

In e-commerce many small orders go out, of a few units, each in its own parcel and by carrier. In B2B fewer but larger orders go out, in full boxes or pallets, to a recipient that sets conditions: batch, label, paperwork and delivery appointment.

Can one WMS handle both B2B and e-commerce?

Yes, and it is the usual case in a warehouse that sells to stores and also online. What it takes is for the stock to be a single one and for the software to know how to pick both ways: loose units for the parcel and boxes or pallets for the large order.

Which labels does a B2B shipment carry?

Besides the carrier label, it usually carries the one the recipient asks for: a label per box or per pallet with its own code, which their warehouse scans on receipt. If the label is not the one for that box, the recipient may reject the delivery.

What is a load manifest?

It is the list of what a truck takes in one collection: the orders, the parcels and their weight. The driver signs it when loading and from then on the goods are the carrier's responsibility.

Why do batches matter so much in B2B?

Because the recipient usually demands a minimum shelf life and does not accept undeclared mixed batches, and because if there is a recall you have to know which client each batch went to. That can only be answered if the batch is recorded at receiving and at picking.

Keep reading

What Ubika does: warehouse management software · software for 3PLs · WMS for e-commerce