Costs of a Warehouse Management System

The most important Facts in Brief

• The total cost of a warehouse management system consists of acquisition costs, setup costs, ongoing operating costs, and optional costs for external consulting.
• Consulting costs from third-party providers (ERP specialists, logistics consultants) can account for 10–30% of the budget for acquisition and setup.
• The implementation period of a WMS influences the total costs: 3–6 months is typical.
• Avoid cost traps: Plan for hidden expenses such as data migration, training, or adjustments early on.

Overview: What does a Warehouse Management System do?

A warehouse management system (WMS) digitizes warehouse processes such as:

• Incoming goods, storage and order picking
• Shipping and inventory management
• Reporting and interfaces (ERP, shop, transport systems)

This is generally intended to make processes faster, error-free, and transparent, but this in turn costs money.

Cost types in Detail

Please note that the costs listed here are only examples and may vary significantly depending on individual requirements and the solution chosen.

1) Initial WMS Costs

a) Costs for Software Licenses

• On-Premise / locally installed: One-time license between 10.000–50.000 €
• For SaaS solutions (Software as a Service) on a monthly basis (see below)

b) Hardware Costs

• Mobile scanner: from approx. 150 €, professional solutions 400–800 € and above
• Label printer: 200–600 €, heavy industrial models can cost well into the four-digit range.
• Server/network infrastructure: variable, usually not necessary with SaaS

c) Implementation and Integration

• Standard integration (ERP, Shop): 5–15 working days à 1.000–1.500 €/Tag
• Individual adaptions: 20–60 working days
• External consultants (logistics or IT): up to 30 % of the WMS budget

d) Training and Change Management

• Onboarding: 2–5 days
• Trainings for employees: 100–200 €/participant
• Internal communication measures  (e.g. workshops)

2. Ongoing WMS costs

• SaaS-license: 300–1.000 €/month (not applicable for on-premise solutios), varies greatly depending on the number of users
• Support & maintenance: 15–25 % of the license price annually
• Cloud-hosting: Included with SaaS, dependent on infrastructure for in-house operation
• Updates & enhancements: Upgrade or customization orders, if applicable
• Consulting package (e.g. change management): fixed monthly retainer possible

Practical Table: Example Costs of a medium-sized SaaS WMS Project

(1 Location, 5 Users)

Important: In-house developments or on-premise projects can significantly increase teh budget.

Third-party consulting costs: What to look out for

External consulting can sometimes significantly increase the required budget:

• IT-Developers (ERP/Interfaces): 800–1.500 €/day
• Logistics consultants (process optimization): 800–1.500 €/day
• Change agent (employee management, training): 300–800 €/day

Recommendation: Define clear goals, roles, and daily rates early on to avoid unwanted budget overruns.

Cost Control Strategies

The following practical tips have proven to be extremely helpful in keeping budgets as manageable as possible and ensuring a correspondingly positive return on investment:

• SaaS instead of On-Premise
  • lower initial costs
  • usually better scalability
• Start a pilot phase
  • test run with minimal scope instead of full rollout
  • reduces risks
• Focus on standard processes
  • minimize individual adjustments
  • check weather individual processes are actually necessary
• Cap consulting budget
  • daily rate caps or retainers
  • agree thresholds through active communication (e.g., 25%, 50%, 75% of the defined consulting budget)
• Plan monthly risk reserves and reporting
  • 10–15 % buffer
  • track monthly budget status

Return on Investment (ROI): Why a WMS is an Investment and not a Cost Factor

Despite all the attention to detail in cost planning, one key question must not be forgotten: What benefits does the WMS offer—and when does it pay off?

A well-implemented warehouse management system ensures:

• fewer errors in order picking and inventory management (error rates often drop by  60–80 %)
• higher process speed, e.g., through optimized walking routes or automatic storage location allocation
• lower personnel costs through digital support of workflows
• less downtime through real-time data & alerts
• better scalability – no need to replan or reconfigure when growing

Depending on the initial situation, the ROI period is typically between 12 and 36 months, often shorter for SaaS models.

Tip: Calculate the ROI realistically before the project starts using process metrics – and not just based on license prices. Here you will find an Excel template for calculating the ROI of WMS. Fill in the light blue fields with your values. The dark gray fields automatically calculate the monthly savings and the payback period.

Conclusion

• Initial costs usually range between 10 000–50 000 € (including hardware & implementation)
• Running costs for SaaS range between 3 600–12 000 €/year
• Consulting costs can be useful, but must be planned and controlled early
• SaaS-models like Bitergo WMS Free enable a low-risk entry
• Transparency and buffer save costs in the long-term, planning is everything

Your next steps

• Calculate your expected WMS costs with the help of the example mentioned above
• Use our Excel template for calculating the ROI of your WMS to estimate your individual budget
• Arrange a free initial consultation for budget planning