Warehouse Management Systems in Africa: Enabling Faster, Smarter, and Scalable Supply Chains

Introduction

The logistics industry in Africa is undergoing a rapid transformation, driven by booming e-commerce, urbanization, and increased regional trade through initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). As the continent embraces the digital age wholeheartedly and demands for faster, reliable, and cost-effective logistics rows, efficient warehousing becomes a strategic necessity.

Modern, technology-driven warehouse operations are critical to managing rising inventory volumes, meeting evolving customer expectations, and reducing operational inefficiencies. However, African businesses still face unique challenges that make investing in a Warehouse Management System (WMS) essential for long-term growth.

What is WMS and How Does it Work?

WMS which stands for Warehouse Management System is a software that helps companies manage day-to-day warehouse operations from the WMS which stands for Warehouse Management System is a software that helps companies manage day-to-day warehouse operations from the time they enter the fulfillment centre until the moment they leave. Warehouse Management Systems play a crucial role in managing various components of supply chain operations, namely- procurement, replenishment, expiry-date management, real-time visibility, returns management and many more. While the core features remain the same, WMS solutions can have diverse offerings, such as reporting and analytics, automated picking and picking, integration with ERP and other systems, etc.

Warehouse Management System is a software solution that automates and optimizes core warehouse operations – including inventory tracking, order processing, stock replenishment, picking, packing, and dispatch.

A modern WMS integrates seamlessly with Transportation Management System (TMS), ERP, and e-commerce marketplaces, providing real-time visibility and control over inventory and workflows. It helps businesses replace error-prone manual processes with digital systems that improve speed, accuracy, and efficiency.

Key Challenges in Warehouse Management Across Africa

1. Manual, Paper Based Operations – Many African warehouses still rely on spreadsheets and physical ledgers, leading to frequent inventory accuracies, stockouts, and delayed order fulfillment. 
   
2. Labor Challenges: There is a limited pool of skilled professionals equipped with the expertise necessary to manage modern supply chain operations. Additionally, Labor costs can comprise nearly 65% of the total warehouse budget. High turnover exacerbates training costs and decreases productivity.
   
3. Inadequate Infrastructure: Only about 25% of sub-Saharan Africa’s roads are paved, causing transport delays. Congested ports and outdated rail systems further worsen the situation. Handling facilities are often outdated, which slows down the loading and unloading process.
   
4. Warehouse Space Efficiency: Storage costs continue to increase and as a burgeoning demand for ecommerce grows, the dilemma of warehouse space takes centre stage. Despite the best of efforts, storage space often remains underutilized. Running out of storage space due to ineffective planning has become an all-too-common pain point.
   
5. Inflexibility in Handling Seasonal Fluctuations: Warehouses often struggle with scaling operations during the peak season, resulting in backorders, delayed shipments, and overwhelmed staff. Rigid systems and processes exacerbate this issue. 
   
6. Complexity in Managing Multiple Channels: Managing inventory across various (e.g. online, offline, third party market place) adds complexity to inventory tracking, order fulfillment, and returns management. Each channel may have different requirements and customer expectations.

Benefits of Adopting Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) in Africa

1. Real-Time Inventory Visibility and Accuracy: Using a warehouse management system, allows the business to keep a track of inventory levels. It provides a centralized view of the inventory across multiple locations. Additionally, it helps in demand forecasting, by sharing precise information about how certain products are performing in the market. Therefore, with this information, planners can make reliable decisions about which products to adjust for the company to increase revenue or mitigate losses. It enhances stock traceability, especially important for industries like pharma, FMCG and food distribution.

A study by McKinsey suggests that inefficient inventory management adds 20–30% in operational costs for African businesses. Digitizing inventory tracking with a WMS can reduce inventory errors by up to 99%.

2. Real-Time Data and Analytics: A WMS provides actionable insights through real time data collection and reporting. With AI-driven analytics, businesses are able to forecast the demand, identify inefficiencies, and optimize operational strategies for better decision making. Using advanced technologies like barcode scanners, RFID tags, and IoT sensors, WMS can ensure visibility of the inventory in the warehouses and reduce the situations where inventory becomes forgotten, lost, or misplaced within the warehouse. 

3. Faster and More Accurate Order Fulfillment: Manual order processing is prone to delays and errors – affecting delivery times, especially for growing African e-commerce and FMCG markets. WMS uses Intelligent routing of operators for putaway and picking operations to minimize travel time and maximize efficiency. It also supports batch and wave planning for high volume, time-sensitive orders. 

According to Statista, Africa’s e-commerce revenue is expected to grow by 14.1% CAGR until 2027, making fast, reliable order fulfillment a competitive differentiator. WMS-enabled businesses typically achieve 20–30% faster order processing times.

4. Scalability for Growing Market: With Africa’s market growing at a tremendous pace- especially in e-commerce, FMCG, agriculture, and healthcare – businesses need scalable, future-ready solutions. That’s where the warehouse management system comes into picture. It helps to easily scale operations without proportionate increase in workforce or infrastructure. It supports multi-location, multi-currency, and multi-lingual operations and facilitates seasonal demand management. 

The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is expected to increase intra-African trade by 52.3% by 2025, amplifying the need for scalable, cross-border logistics capabilities.

5. Seamless Offline Functionality for Low-Connectivity Areas: Internet connection reliability is a genuine concern in various African regions. Cloud-based systems with offline working modes allow warehouses to continue operating during network outages. Moreover, the data syncs automatically when connectivity is restored, ensuring uninterrupted business continuity. 

According to GSMA, 40% of sub-Saharan Africa’s population still lacks stable internet access — making offline-capable WMS a necessity rather than a luxury.

6. Reduced Operational Costs: Africa’s high operational costs – often 30 – 40% higher than the global average – are driven by inefficiencies in warehousing, transportation, and infrastructure. WMS helps in reducing labor dependency through automation and maximizing space utilization by optimizing storage locations and minimizing aisle space to reduce overhead costs.

WMS implementations have been shown to reduce warehousing costs by 15–25% in similar developing market scenarios.

Industry Use Cases: How Leading African Businesses are Leveraging WMS

1. FMCG Distribution: Leading distributors use WMS for real-time stock control, optimized picking routes, and faster order fulfillment to meet growing urban demand.
   
2. Food & Beverage: WMS systems help manage temperature-sensitive inventories, improve batch traceability, and reduce waste.
   
3. Pharma & Healthcare: Pharmaceutical companies leverage WMS to track expiry dates, manage regulatory compliance, and ensure stock accuracy in critical healthcare supply chains.4. E-commerce: E-commerce businesses adopt WMS for inventory accuracy, real-time order status updates, and faster last-mile deliveries, improving customer satisfaction.

Shipsy’s Advanced 3PL Warehouse Management System (WMS) Features

1. Real-time Inventory Tracking: Real time tracking stands as a cornerstone of effective inventory management and is one of the most critical features of Warehouse Management System. With Shipsy’s real time inventory tracking feature, it ensures that every moment of the inventory is recorded and provides up to date information. A WMS equipped with advanced technologies like RFID tags, barcode scanners, IoT sensors enable warehouse managers to make informed decisions, reducing the need for manual check and lowering the risk of human error. Furthermore, it also plays a crucial role in enhancing stock security and traceability, which is especially crucial in pharma, FMCG, and cross-border trade. 

Given the high risks of theft,stock misplacement, and manual errors in African warehouses, barcode and RFID systems can reduce shrinkage by up to 40% and improve order accuracy rates to 99.5%.

2. Smart Putaway and Picking Algorithms: Shipsy’s WMS automatically suggests optimal storage locations based on product size, type, turnover, or temperature needs. Moreover, it implements various picking strategies (Single order, batch, zone, cluster) to reduce picking cycle time and improve overall throughput. Furthermore, Shipsy’s robust WMS is able to orchestrate order fulfillment based on channel-specific priorities, optimizing picking and packing workflows for B2B, B2C, and rapid quick-commerce deliveries. By integrating automation with intelligent workflows, Shipsy is helping businesses to enhance accuracy, minimize labor costs, and ensure faster, more reliable order fulfillment.

With space constraints, workforce limitations, and high operational costs, optimized picking and putaway can improve picking productivity by 30% and reduce order cycle times dramatically.

3. Integration with TMS and other softwares: Shipsy’s AI-powered solution is capable of integrating with existing systems like ERP, OMS, TMS, 3PL’s in order to maintain smooth connectivity and enhance overall supply chain efficiency.

Integrated WMS-TMS platforms enable faster cross-border shipments, better route planning, and real-time delivery tracking — critical in a continent like Africa where transport costs and delays can inflate prices by up to 40%.

4. Intelligent Reporting and Analytics: Shipsy’s WMS provides detailed analytics and reporting capabilities with real-time insights, performance tracking, and predictive analytics. This provides warehouse managers complete visibility into inventory levels, order fulfillment rates, workforce productivity, and operational bottlenecks. Advanced analytics can identify the historical trends and patterns and can predict future demand trends, enabling managers to adjust inventory levels accordingly. Similarly, analytics on picking times can help managers optimize labor allocation, ensuring that resources are used effectively during peak periods. 
   
5. 3PL Management: Shipsy’s 3PL management feature for WMS automatically tracks warehouse space usage, storage time, and handling operations, generating accurate billing reports for each third party client. Additionally it allows each third party client with access to an intuitive client portal offering real-time visibility of stock levels, order fulfillment status, and warehouse space utilization. In Africa, many FMCG, e-commerce, and retail businesses outsource warehousing, fulfillment, and transport to third-party logistics providers due to the high costs and risks of owning infrastructure.

Choosing the Right WMS for African Markets: What to Look For

When selecting a WMS for African operations, businesses should consider:

1. Offline Functionality and Reliable Syncing: In many parts of Africa, consistent internet connectivity is still a major challenge. A good WMS should be capable enough to offer offline operational capabilities and sync seamlessly when the connectivity returns.
   
2. Advanced 3PL and Vendor Management: A large portion of African businesses rely on third-party logistics providers (3PLs). Choose a WMS that can integrate and manage multiple 3PL partners, track their performance, and maintain real-time visibility of stock across partner-managed warehouses.
   
3. User Friendly Interface: Africa based cloud based Select a WMS that effortlessly blends with your current enterprise systems, including ERP, TMS and CRM. Integration guarantees a seamless flow of data between systems, eliminates isolated data and presents a cohesive overview of your supply chain activities.
   
4. Compliance and Regulatory Support: Make sure the WMS you choose meets all industry regulations and standards that are important for your business, like food safety regulations, labour laws and quality management standards. Guarantee that the WMS makes compliance easy with features like audit trails, reporting capabilities and ready-to-use regulatory templates.
   
5. Easy and quick implementation: The system would easily integrate with the user’s interface and require minimal downtime.
   
6. Cost: Organizations should access both one time and recurring cost associated with the implementation of WMS and analyze the ROI from the integration.
   
7. Ease of Use and Training Requirements: Consider choosing a WMS (Warehouse Management System) that has a user-friendly interface, making it easy for warehouse staff to navigate without much training. Also, take into account the training and support resources offered by the vendor to

With logistics costs rising, customer demands growing, and infrastructure challenges persisting, African businesses cannot afford to rely on outdated, manual warehouse operations. A modern Warehouse Management System (WMS) enables companies to overcome region-specific obstacles, enhance operational efficiency, and unlock new growth opportunities in Africa’s dynamic and fast evolving supply chain ecosystem.

Shipsy is empowering leading brands to make picking 55% faster, boost warehouse productivity by 25%, reduce shrinkage costs by 12%, improve space utilization by 15% and ensure 99.9% inventory accuracy. Book a demo and explore how Shipsy can digitalize, scale, and future-proof African warehousing operations.