WMS in Packaging Logistics
Plaspac was founded in 2006 as a packaging merchant and reseller, buying and selling plastic packaging such as machine pallet wrap, hand pallet wrap and industrial cling film to industrial customers. For many years, the business model was straightforward: source reliable packaging products and supply them efficiently to a growing base of customers.
Around two years ago, a practical question from a neighbour opened up a new opportunity. Plaspac had some excess space in its warehouse, and a company across the road asked whether they could store pallets on their behalf. At the same time, Plaspac was paying for external storage for some of its own stock. Recognising a chance to offset overheads, the team agreed to store around 250 pallets for this first warehousing customer.
This initial storage arrangement highlighted both the potential and the limitations of Plaspac’s operation. The extra income helped, but everything was tracked manually. A basic spreadsheet recorded pallet quantities and batch references. There were no system-managed locations and no integration with invoicing. When customers asked for stock reports, Plaspac often had to conduct a full physical stock take to feel confident before sending anything out. Even then, figures sometimes failed to match customer records, leading to disputes and repeated checks.
As the end of the lease on their 20,000 square foot warehouse approached, a much larger 50,000 square foot unit became available, conveniently close to the owner’s home. Plaspac realised this building could hold approximately 4,000 pallets for storage customers while their packaging business needed around 1,000 pallet spaces for its own operation, bringing the total capacity to about 5,000 pallets. After creating a business plan and crunching the numbers, they decided that warehousing could become a profitable line of business in its own right.
The team moved into the new site in June 2023, implemented Clarus WMS in September and began ramping up storage for other businesses from around October. At this point, the challenge was clear: Plaspac had the physical space and commercial ambition, but its spreadsheet-based approach was already under strain at 250 pallets. To turn a larger warehouse into a sustainable operation, it needed a robust warehouse management system that could provide visibility, traceability and control at scale.
Overcoming WMS Challenges Holding the Business Back
Manual limits exposed
Before Clarus WMS, Plaspac managed its storage customers entirely via spreadsheets. Each pallet was manually logged with batch references, while invoicing relied on a weekly handwritten tally of stock at the start of the week, deliveries received and stock at the end of the week. These figures were then worked out on a calculator and re-entered into Sage.
David Watkins, Finance Manager, recalls that this approach led to repeated mistakes: overcharging and undercharging customers, stock takes that did not reconcile with the spreadsheet and stock reports that often differed from customer records. This created “constant battles” and eroded confidence in the data on both sides.
The lack of system-driven locations meant that whenever a call-off was received, staff had to physically search for the required pallets among the 250 in store. As David explained, the time spent hunting for pallets and trying to reconcile stock levels made it obvious that the manual system could not support growth. He told his colleague that if they tried to run 5,000 pallets this way, they would “be employing 20 people just to keep it going” and it would effectively be impossible to manage.
Risk to customer trust
The manual process also created a risk to customer relationships. Because there was no real-time, system-based stock view, Plaspac felt uncomfortable sending a spreadsheet without double-checking it against a physical count. When customers questioned figures, the team had limited evidence to support their reports beyond manual notes and visual checks.
Traceability was another concern. For packaging and especially for food-related customers, the ability to trace products quickly back to suppliers is critical. Without a proper WMS, running a traceability test during an audit would mean manually piecing together deliveries, batches and dispatches. David knew this would be slow and prone to error.
Operational and financial drag
From a financial perspective, invoicing was a major pain point. Every week, pallet movements were recorded by hand on an A4 sheet: pallets in store at the start of the week, each delivery received and the closing pallet count. If someone forgot to note a delivery because they were interrupted or busy, that handling and storage charge could easily be missed and never invoiced.
David comments that with this approach, “the amount of error that we used to have… I dread to think how much it would have cost us in the long run,” particularly once volumes began to rise. With some days already seeing up to 200 pallets going out, scaling the business without changing the underlying system would simply amplify the operational and financial risks.
Guiding Plaspac Toward WMS Transformation
Searching for a WMS
Recognising that the existing approach would not scale, David led a structured search for a WMS. He looked at around seven or eight different systems, holding demonstrations with four or five suppliers and reviewing presentations from others.
Many of these systems had individual strengths, but they did not fully match Plaspac’s needs. David felt that several looked dated, “as if you were looking at Windows from 10–15 years ago,” and did not offer the kind of cloud-based, accessible interface he wanted. Some were not cloud based at all, which did not appeal to him because he was keen to have remote access for out-of-hours requests.
During this search he came across Clarus, likely via a web search, and requested a demonstration. Within about a week of first contact he was walked through the system and came away “really impressed” by what he saw.
Why Clarus WMS stood out
Three aspects of Clarus WMS were particularly important for Plaspac. First, Clarus is cloud based and accessible from any web browser. David valued the ability to log in from home if, for example, a customer sent a call-off request at 8 p.m. for a 7 a.m. collection. With Clarus, he can create the pick remotely, email it to the warehouse and ensure the order is ready for processing as soon as staff arrive.
Second, Clarus provided the operational control and traceability that Plaspac lacked. Every pallet movement is tracked from the second it arrives at goods in. The system records when it is transferred to racking, when it is added to a sales order, when it is picked and when it is dispatched. It also records who performed each action. David highlights that “every single thing you do with a pallet, it is tracked from the second it comes through the door,” which means issues can be traced and ownership is clear.
Third, Clarus aligned directly with Plaspac’s commercial model. The billing engine supports flexible charge cards, so each customer can have different weekly storage rates and different charging periods, for example Monday to Sunday or other combinations. As soon as stock is booked in, Clarus calculates the storage and handling charges, giving David a clear breakdown of pallets in store, pallets received and the related charges for each customer.
The customer portal was another major differentiator. Many of the other systems David reviewed did not offer a dedicated portal, but he knew it would be a selling point when approaching new customers, especially as Plaspac was starting with an empty warehouse that needed to be filled. He saw that giving customers real-time access to their stock would make Plaspac’s proposition much more compelling.
Clarus as practical guide
From the outset, Clarus acted not just as technology but as a guide to help Plaspac move from spreadsheets to a scalable WMS-based operation. David’s own training on the system took less than an hour. He recalls that Clarus is so user friendly that “even if you had never used the system before, you could probably have a play around and within 20 minutes you could go by using the system,” and within a day he was confident performing tasks on his own.
This ease of use made it much simpler to roll the system out across the team and to customers. David describes Clarus as “one of those systems that it is difficult to get wrong,” and notes that the updated layout introduced later made it look “a lot more cleaner” and even more intuitive. By lowering the learning curve, Clarus helped Plaspac embed new, software-led processes without creating resistance or complexity.
Implementing the Solution: From Planning to Execution
Planning for scale
Plaspac’s move into the 50,000 square foot warehouse in June 2023 was underpinned by a clear plan. The new building could accommodate roughly 4,000 pallet spaces for storage customers and 1,000 for Plaspac’s packaging operation. Clarus WMS was implemented in September 2023 so that modern warehouse processes would be in place before the storage side ramped up around October.
By implementing the WMS early, Plaspac avoided the trap of scaling manual processes and then trying to retrofit technology later. Instead, Clarus became the backbone of the new operation from the beginning.
Onboarding and training
Training internal staff and customers proved straightforward. David reports that when he trains warehouse operatives or customers, it often takes less than an hour before they are comfortable doing tasks themselves. For one storage customer, he scheduled a one-hour session to demonstrate the portal. After about 15 minutes of explanation, they spent the rest of the time exploring the system and trying different actions on their own because it was so intuitive.
This confidence has changed how Plaspac sells its services. David is enthusiastic about showing the system to potential customers and describes it as something you are “comfortable that it is going to be everything they want to see,” turning the software itself into a sales asset.
Embedding new processes
Clarus WMS allowed Plaspac to redesign its daily processes around automation and traceability. Every pallet that arrives at goods in is labelled with a Clarus barcode. The rule is simple: once a barcode label is on a pallet, it has been booked into the system and will be included in invoicing. This closes the gap that previously existed when deliveries were occasionally missed on handwritten logs.
For order fulfilment, customers who use the portal can raise their own call-offs. Once a customer has placed a sales order, Plaspac simply selects it in Clarus, clicks to process picks and prints a pick list for the warehouse team. This removes the need to re-key order details from emails and reduces the risk of selecting the wrong pallet, because customers choose specific pallet IDs or batches themselves. If something does go wrong, Plaspac can demonstrate that the order was picked exactly as requested in the system.
Stock reporting has also been transformed. Instead of running a full physical count before sending a report, David can now generate a stock report from Clarus “in seconds,” export it to Excel, filter the information and send it over. Some customers receive automated stock reports at 8 a.m. every morning, providing up to date visibility without any manual intervention.
Enabling compliance and accreditation
When Plaspac pursued BRC accreditation for its warehousing, including the ability to store for food companies, Clarus WMS played a central role. The business secured BRC with a double A grade. During discussions with a potential customer, Plaspac discovered that storing ambient food as well as packaging required the ability to track sell by dates as part of traceability. David already knew Clarus could handle expiry dates, so he was able to confirm that requirement immediately.
The system also made traceability tests straightforward. Auditors typically allow a two-hour window for a traceability exercise, but David completed his in about five minutes by using Clarus to locate the order, batch and supplier details. He explains that this speed and accuracy “always impresses the auditor” and helps secure a smoother audit experience overall.
Results Achieved: WMS Success in Action
Profitable in four months
The financial impact of Clarus WMS became evident quickly. Plaspac’s original business plan suggested that the storage operation would need roughly 2,000 pallets to break even. In practice, with Clarus in place, the business broke even at around 1,500 pallets and became profitable within about four months of starting to store at scale.
David links this directly to the control and efficiency the system delivers. Instead of spending time reconciling spreadsheets, arguing over stock reports or reworking invoices, the team can rely on the system’s data and focus on serving customers and filling the warehouse.
Fast payback and staff savings
Clarus WMS itself achieved a rapid return. David estimates that the system “paid for itself within six months” of implementation. He also believes that without a WMS like Clarus, Plaspac would have needed at least four additional administrative staff to manage bookings, invoicing and stock control at current volumes, representing a minimum of around £100,000 per year in extra staff cost.
By contrast, with Clarus handling calculations, record keeping and reporting, the existing team can manage the operation efficiently. David comments that with the software as it is now, they could probably double their storage capacity without needing to recruit extra admin staff, because “the software does a lot of the work for us”.
Traceability and problem solving
The transaction history feature has become an essential tool for both problem solving and building customer trust. Every action on a pallet is logged, along with the user who performed it. For example, when a pallet unexpectedly appeared as being back in goods in, David checked the transaction history and saw that a colleague had moved it from a location back to goods in. A quick conversation clarified the situation and the issue was resolved. Without this visibility, the team might never have understood what happened.
When customers question whether a pallet has been delivered or query their stock, David can export a full transaction list from Clarus showing when the pallet arrived, where it was stored, when it was picked and when it was dispatched. He notes that customers “cannot argue back” when presented with this level of detailed history, and that it provides reassurance that Plaspac’s records are accurate.
Customer portal as a growth lever
The Clarus portal is now embedded in Plaspac’s commercial offer. The company has around eight storage customers, and David estimates that he demonstrated the software to six of them before they came on board. Two currently use the portal actively to view their stock and raise call-offs, while others integrate via their own systems such as SAP and prefer not to duplicate work.
For those who do use it, the portal delivers clear benefits. Customers can see live stock, search by product, batch reference or sell by date, and view delivery history and quantities. David observes that if every customer used the portal, it would “probably save us 75 percent of our time” on order input, because entering orders is currently the bulk of the administrative workload.
Ready for future expansion
Looking ahead, Plaspac plans to continue building its storage business and is considering the possibility of adding another warehouse. David notes that Clarus can handle multiple warehouse sites and does not impose practical limits on the number of pallets or customers. In his words, “without the software, it just would not be happening,” and while other systems might have been possible, he believes the features and benefits of Clarus have enabled the business to grow much faster and with greater confidence than it otherwise could have.
Client Reflections and Lessons Learned
David’s reflections on the journey from spreadsheets to Clarus WMS are clear. When they were managing only 250 pallets, the manual system was already causing significant problems: invoice errors, stock discrepancies and constant debates with customers about whose figures were correct. Scaling to a 5,000 pallet warehouse without a WMS would not just have been difficult; in his view, it would have been unworkable.
He emphasises the sense of comfort and control that Clarus has brought. The team can now say with confidence that what the system shows in stock is what is physically in the warehouse. When auditors arrive, traceability tests can be completed in minutes rather than hours, impressing them and building trust. When customers raise queries, detailed transaction histories provide objective evidence of what has happened to each pallet.
There has also been a cultural shift in how Plaspac presents itself. Instead of keeping systems behind the scenes, the company now leads with its technology, showing Clarus to potential customers and inviting them to use the portal. David pushed for this approach because he knew the software would stand up to scrutiny and become a key selling point, particularly for new customers evaluating warehousing options.
The lessons for Plaspac are straightforward: invest in a scalable WMS early, design processes around it and use its customer-facing capabilities as a genuine differentiator. Doing so has allowed the business to avoid unnecessary staffing costs, reduce errors and focus on strategic growth rather than firefighting operational problems.
Your Path to WMS Success
Plaspac’s story illustrates how a business can evolve from a traditional packaging merchant into a credible third party storage provider by pairing physical capacity with the right warehouse management system. In less than a year, the company moved into a 50,000 square foot facility, implemented Clarus WMS, secured BRC double A accreditation and built a storage operation that became profitable in around four months and delivered a rapid payback on the WMS investment.
If your operation is still reliant on spreadsheets, manual counts and handwritten notes, you may recognise some of the same challenges: time-consuming call-offs, disputes over stock figures, difficulty tracing products and concern about scaling without adding layers of administration. Plaspac faced these exact issues at a relatively small scale and concluded that growth would be impossible without a robust WMS.
By adopting Clarus WMS, Plaspac gained the tools to manage complexity: cloud access for out-of-hours responsiveness, detailed transaction histories for every pallet, flexible and accurate billing, automated stock reporting and a customer portal that turns transparency into a sales advantage. For David and his colleagues, this has meant fewer errors, fewer invoice queries and a stronger foundation for future expansion.
If you are considering a similar journey, Plaspac’s experience suggests a clear next step: evaluate how a modern WMS could support your own transformation. Discover how Clarus WMS can help your operation achieve similar results, giving you the confidence and control to grow your storage capabilities without losing visibility or profitability.