Warehouse POS System: 5 Must-Have Features & Top Providers

When a warehouse falls behind, your entire business feels it. 

Delayed orders stack up, products go missing, and inventory counts stop matching what’s on the shelves. But a good warehouse point of sale (POS) system can make a real difference — if it’s built for the job.

This blog covers must-have features for your warehouse POS system, plus some of the most popular providers currently on the market.

Let’s get started.

Must-Have Warehouse POS Features

When you’re managing multiple high-value items like smartphones, tablets, and accessories, each one tracked by its own stock-keeping unit (SKU), accuracy becomes even more critical. Mistakes like shipping the wrong device or miscounting inventory can lead to returns, delays, and frustrated customers. 

A warehouse management system (WMS) built into your POS helps prevent order errors, stockouts, and missed sales opportunities by giving complete visibility into inventory across your business.

Here are some essential features your system needs to keep things on track. 

1. Quality Control Before Shipping

Nothing is more upsetting for customers than receiving the wrong products. Even one wrong item — the wrong phone model, missing accessories, or incorrect quantities — can lead to returns, negative reviews, and lost business.

But with a built-in quality control feature, you can verify that orders are correct before they ever leave the warehouse.

Use this feature to:

• Check item quantities and SKUs against the purchase order before shipping.
• Flag mismatches in real time to fix issues before they reach the customer.
• Add verification steps to reduce human error on packed orders.

This is especially valuable for phone retailers dealing with bulk accessories, small boxed items, or mix-and-match product bundles. With a WMS built into your POS, warehouse staff can double-check items quickly and accurately before labeling and shipping.

Related Read: Running A Cell Phone Store: 5 Challenges + Solutions

2. Multi-Warehouse Inventory Visibility

If you’re managing multiple warehouses, backstock locations, or distribution points, knowing where products are and how many are on hand is essential to fill orders correctly. 

A strong warehouse POS system lets you monitor inventory levels across all locations from one dashboard.

Use this feature to:

• See which warehouse has available stock of each product.
• Transfer items between warehouses to avoid out-of-stock delays.
• Allocate inventory based on order volume or shipping zone.

This tool helps keep orders moving without overstocking every location. If one warehouse runs low on a specific phone model, for example, you can reallocate from another without overordering or waiting on new deliveries.

3. Quantity Buffers for Better Stock Management

Running out of top-selling products can cost you sales, but overselling can cause even more issues — especially when customers expect fast fulfillment. Quantity buffers are a safety net, alerting you before your stock hits a low threshold.

Your warehouse management system should allow custom buffer settings for each product, so you can set stock alerts based on real sales patterns and lead times instead of relying on blanket thresholds.

Use this feature to:

• Set reorder alerts based on unit thresholds.
• Hold back a small buffer to avoid selling more than you actually have.
• Use past sales trends to adjust buffer levels seasonally.

Say you’re down to your last 100 units of iPhone 13s. A set buffer can keep those devices off the retail site or flag the item for restock so you don’t have to cancel orders after placing them, keeping your inventory data up to date and reliable. 

4. Faster, More Accurate Inventory Counts

Warehouse inventory counts take time. If inaccurate, they can lead to misshipments and customer service issues. A WMS speeds up the process by giving warehouse staff tools to scan, log, and reconcile items on the go.

Use this feature to:

• Use barcode scanning to count stock by item, SKU, or batch.
• Track differences between expected versus actual inventory.
• Schedule regular cycle counts without halting operations.

If you carry similar products with minor variations, like different storage sizes or accessories, this feature is a must-have. By quickly identifying gaps and mismatches, you can fix problems before they affect customer orders.

Related Read: Inventory Management for Electronics: 5 Digital Inventory Tools

5. Reporting That Supports Real Inventory Decisions

Reports are one of the most practical tools your warehouse POS system can offer. While they help track sales activity, they also provide data to guide warehouse planning, vendor relationships, and purchase decisions.

A strong warehouse management system should include reporting features that pull from real-time inventory movement, not just POS data. That way, you’re working from the full picture of what’s coming in, going out, and sitting too long.

Use this feature to:

• Look at past sales data to prepare for high-traffic seasons.
• Flag items that are moving slowly or taking up space.
• Monitor supplier timelines and recurring stock delays.

Let’s say your reports show that a specific charging cable sells out every December. Instead of reacting at the last minute, you can place larger purchase orders in advance. 

Looking at trends year over year also helps you see which products are consistently worth restocking versus phasing out.

Top 4 Warehouse POS System Providers

Now that you know what to look for in a warehouse POS system, here are some providers that support strong warehouse and inventory features, especially for businesses with extensive product catalogs or multiple locations.

1. CellSmart POS

With a built-in dashboard explicitly designed for electronics retailers, CellSmart POS makes managing serialized inventory, warranty tracking, and bundled products easy. 

This POS solution connects storefronts and warehouses in one system, giving real-time visibility across multiple locations. It stands out by combining inventory tracking with built-in quality control to catch shipping errors before orders leave the warehouse.

This platform offers:

• Real-time inventory tracking across warehouses to prevent stock discrepancies
• Quality control checks that verify item counts and SKUs before shipment
• Custom alerts for low or excess inventory to avoid stock problems
• Easy stock transfers between locations to meet order demand quickly

Ideal for phone and accessory retailers, CellSmart reduces manual inventory checks by integrating warehouse management directly into the POS.

2. Lightspeed

Lightspeed stands out with its various integration capabilities, giving retailers visibility into both warehouse and online stock in one place. This combined view of all operations can help business owners identify historical sales trends to inform purchasing and stocking decisions.

This platform offers:

• Customizable reports to monitor product movement and warehouse performance
• Batch and barcode tracking to keep similar items organized
• Automated reorder triggers based on stock thresholds

Lightspeed is a solid warehouse POS system for retailers looking to reduce manual inventory updates and base restocking decisions on detailed data instead of guesswork.

3. Advantive

Unlike other warehouse POS solutions, Advantive works best for exclusively wholesale distributors, with features to manage bulk pricing tiers and complex order structures.

This system’s strengths lie in its integrated sales processing and quick inventory updates, keeping both front- and back-end operations aligned.

This platform offers:

• Single-screen order entry for rapid, personalized customer transactions
• Up-to-date syncing between sales and warehouse inventory
• Mobile POS terminals and secure payment options for flexible checkout

While applicable to many businesses, Advantive notably works well for wholesalers with B2B accounts and large, recurring orders.

4. NetSuite Warehouse Management

What sets NetSuite WMS apart is its ability to scale with enterprise businesses and support advanced functions like wave picking, lot tracking, and automated putaway rules. 

This warehouse POS solution handles high-volume, multi-warehouse operations with a focus on guided mobile workflows to help reduce mistakes during order fulfillment.

This platform offers:

• Bin-level inventory tracking with mobile barcode scanning
• Step-by-step picking instructions to support multi-order processing
• Integrations with other NetSuite modules to maintain consistent data

NetSuite WMS can manage large SKU counts, making it particularly valuable for companies that need end-to-end visibility across supply chain, finance, and fulfillment systems.

How To Select the Right Warehouse POS System

Managing inventory doesn’t have to feel like a constant scramble. With the right warehouse POS system, you can reduce errors, speed up restocks, and keep better tabs on all of your products. 

CellSmart POS brings together sales, stock, and shipping tools in one system designed specifically for electronics and wireless retailers. Whether you’re managing multiple warehouses, tracking bundled accessories, or logging serial numbers, CellSmart keeps everything synced and accurate.

Schedule a free, personalized demo and see why thousands of repair shops and phone retailers rely on CellSmart for all their daily operations.