A warehouse management system without the warehouse-sized setup
IBIOS Warehouse is a warehouse management system (WMS) for small UK businesses. Book goods in against supplier orders, hold stock across more than one location, and see which jobs are ready to go out. Warehouse staff get a role that shows the warehouse and nothing else.
For: Any business that receives, stores and sends out goods. Use it on its own or alongside the other IBIOS products.
What it does
- LiveGoods in against supplier orders
- LiveStock held across more than one warehouse or location
- LiveOrder sheets per job, with a "fully dispatched" mark
- LiveA Warehouse Manager role limited to warehouse work
- LiveConsignments per job: boxes, box manifests and fitter handover
- LiveConsignment labels and courier manifests
- LiveContainer arrivals and "ready to fit" job arrivals
- LiveStock transfers between locations, stock valuation and a demand plan
- Coming soonBarcode scanning and the scanner app
- Coming soonPutaway and shelf-level locations (aisle, bay, shelf)
Proven in a real business
IBIOS was built inside a working bathroom showroom in Northern Ireland, where it runs the business day to day. That is our proof story, not our limit: each product works on its own for any business that needs it.
Buying guide
Choosing a warehouse management system for a small UK business: a practical guide
Written by the IBIOS team. IBIOS was built inside a working bathroom showroom in Northern Ireland, where it runs the business day to day. Last updated 18 October 2026.
How do you choose a warehouse management system?
Choose a warehouse management system by starting at the loading door. If goods-in is not checked against what was ordered, every stock figure after that is a guess. Get goods-in right, then where stock is kept, then how it leaves for the customer.
- Goods-in against the order. Each delivery checked against the supplier order it belongs to, including part deliveries and wrong items.
- Where stock is held. One unit, two sites, a yard and a van? Decide the level of detail you need before you buy a system built for a distribution centre.
- Batches that matter. Tiles, paint, fabric and anything else where two batches of the same product can look different.
- What is waiting to go out. For each job: what has arrived, what is still due, and whether everything is ready to dispatch.
- How each job leaves the building. Boxes packed per job, a manifest of what is in each box, a label on the outside and a clear handover to the fitter or courier.
- What warehouse staff should see. Stock and orders, not customer payment details or your margins.
- Scanning, now or later. Barcodes help at volume. Decide whether you need them on day one or whether checking by order line will do for now.
Does a small business need a full warehouse management system?
Probably not, if you are a small business holding stock for your own jobs and counter. Full warehouse management systems are built around pick paths, wave picking and high-volume scanning. Most small warehouses need something simpler: goods booked in properly, stock they can trust, and a clear view of what is ready for each customer.
IBIOS is built for that second kind of warehouse. It runs the warehouse of our own bathroom showroom. For stock levels across the business, see Inventory; for the orders that goods arrive against, see Order management.
What does IBIOS do at goods-in today?
You book goods in against the supplier order, line by line, so part deliveries and missing items show up straight away. Stock can be held across more than one warehouse or location, and shade lots are recorded so the batch you hold is the batch you promise.
Barcode scanning and a scanner app are coming soon, as are putaway and shop-floor locations down to aisle, bay and shelf. Today stock is tracked by location, not by individual shelf.
Can you see containers and job goods arriving?
Yes. Container arrivals are tracked against the supplier orders they carry, so you can see what is on its way and what has landed. For each customer job, IBIOS shows when its goods have arrived and the job is ready to fit, so the office can book the fitter with confidence instead of ringing the warehouse.
How do you track a consignment per job?
Each job can have its own consignment: the boxes packed for it, and a box manifest listing what is in each box. When the goods go out, the handover to the fitter is recorded against the job, so there is a clear point where responsibility passes from the warehouse to the person fitting.
Consignment labels are printed from rules you set, and courier manifests are built from templates for the couriers you use, so the paperwork matches what is physically on the van. Scanning boxes with a barcode scanner is coming soon; today consignments are checked against the box manifest.
Moving stock, valuing it and planning what to buy
Stock transfers move goods between your warehouses or locations with a record of what went where. IBIOS Warehouse also includes stock valuation and a demand plan.
Low-stock alerts are coming soon, not live yet.
Getting it ready to go out
Each job has an order sheet showing what has been ordered for it and what has arrived, with a mark for when it is fully dispatched. Delivery notes per job are available today. Delivery planning (which day, which van) and customer delivery updates and alerts are coming soon in IBIOS Delivery, not live yet.
Who should the warehouse system let in?
Your warehouse team needs stock, orders and what is going out today. IBIOS has a Warehouse Manager role limited to warehouse work, so you can give the warehouse a login without opening up customer payments or margins.
Spreadsheet, stock app, full WMS or IBIOS?
How the options tend to work out for a small business that stores goods for its own customers.
| Option | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet and clipboard | A single small store with one person in charge. | Only accurate when that person is in, and nobody else can see what is waiting for which job. |
| Standalone stock app | Counting stock and scanning barcodes. | Usually blind to the customer job, so it knows what you hold but not who it is for. |
| Full warehouse management system | High-volume distribution with dedicated warehouse staff. | Long setup, location labelling across the whole site, and costs sized for a much bigger operation. |
| IBIOS | Goods-in against supplier orders, stock across locations and shade lots, and a consignment per customer job with box manifests, labels and fitter handover. | Early access by waiting list. Barcode scanning, putaway, shelf-level locations and delivery planning are coming soon, not live yet. |
What you need in place before you start
- A list of your warehouses or stock locations, and what is kept in each.
- Your product list, with the products where batch or shade lot matters marked.
- A starting stock count you trust, taken close to go-live.
- Your open supplier orders, so goods-in has something to check against from day one.
- Who works in the warehouse, and what they should and should not see.
- The couriers you use and what their manifests need to show.
What it costs
The expensive mistakes are a wrong item delivered to a customer, a mismatched batch found after fitting, and staff time spent looking for stock the system says you have.
Founding prices for waiting-list members are explained on the pricing page. Warehouse can be used on its own or with Orders and Inventory.
Last reviewed October 2026.
What people get wrong
- Signing for deliveries without checking them against the order.
- Buying a distribution-centre system for a single unit and a yard.
- Going live on an old stock count.
- Ignoring batches until a customer notices two shades on one wall.
- Giving warehouse logins full access to customer and payment data.
- Planning around a scanner feature that has not shipped. Ask to see it on a real delivery.
Related reading
- Inventory buying guide
- Order management buying guide
- Stock control and shade lots
- Supplier orders
- Purchase order template
Warehouse management software for small businesses in the UK FAQs
Is the IBIOS warehouse management system available now?
Yes, Warehouse is live and runs our own showroom’s warehouse. Barcode scanning and shelf-level locations are coming soon.
Can I hold stock in more than one location?
Yes. IBIOS tracks stock across more than one warehouse or location.
Does IBIOS support barcode scanning?
Not yet. Barcode scanning and a scanner app are coming soon; today goods are booked in against the order line by line.
Can I track a consignment per job?
Yes. Each job can have a consignment with its boxes, a box manifest for each box, consignment labels and a recorded handover to the fitter.
Can I stop warehouse staff seeing payments?
Yes. The Warehouse Manager role is limited to warehouse work, and payment information is for managers and owners.
Does IBIOS plan deliveries?
Not yet. Delivery planning in IBIOS Delivery is coming soon; today you can mark each job’s order sheet as fully dispatched and keep delivery notes per job.
Not sure IBIOS fits your warehouse?
Tell us how many locations you run, how goods arrive and how they leave, and we will tell you honestly whether IBIOS fits now or whether you should wait for scanning.
IBIOS Limited · company no. NI743167 · 10 Ballyclare Road, Doagh, Ballyclare BT39 0PE · Production is hosted in the UK.
Use Warehouse (WMS) in your business
IBIOS is in early access. Join the waiting list and we will email you when a place is available.