Supply chain visibility tools provide insight into inventory, shipments, suppliers, and fulfillment operations, helping you identify potential issues before they lead to delays, stock shortages, or product overselling.
Jean Wu, cofounder of collapsible water bottle brand Que, recalls an inventory management issue in the early days of her company. “We had a pretty big inventory problem in the beginning where we oversold, or we miscounted,” she says on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast. “We essentially sold customers things that we didn’t have—that is the last thing you want to do.” Since adopting business software with inventory management, this issue has greatly improved.
This guide highlights six supply chain visibility software options and how to choose the right platform for your business.
What are supply chain visibility tools?
Supply chain visibility tools are software platforms designed to improve operational efficiency and supply chain performance. They help businesses monitor inventory, orders, shipments, suppliers, and fulfillment operations as products move through the supply chain. These tools provide real-time data on the availability, location, and status of goods, alerting you to supply chain disruptions or delays.
Comprehensive supply chain visibility platforms are generally designed for large enterprises managing global supplier and logistics networks. For smaller ecommerce businesses, however, supply chain visibility often focuses on improving insight from key operational areas such as inventory management, warehousing, order fulfillment, and shipping.
6 supply chain visibility tools for ecommerce
- Ecommerce and inventory tools
- Fulfillment and logistics visibility platforms
- Warehouse management systems
- Supply chain control towers
There are a variety of software tools that help ecommerce businesses improve real-time visibility into inventory, fulfillment, warehousing, and shipping operations. This can help you meet customer expectations, whether your products come from across the world or across town.
Ecommerce and inventory tools
Some tools combine multiple functions to support ecommerce operations, inventory management, fulfillment, and shipping visibility in one platform. These systems can help small and medium businesses manage day-to-day operations without needing separate tools for every part of the supply chain.
Shopify
Shopify combines ecommerce operations, inventory management, fulfillment tracking, and supplier coordination. Businesses can monitor inventory across multiple warehouses, stores, and fulfillment partners while tracking stock states such as available, committed, incoming, and on-hand inventory.
British clothing company Belstaff uses Shopify Plus to centralize inventory across ecommerce and retail operations. “Instead of having a separate system, you now have this single view of stock that your point-of-sale and website platform talk to,” Navid Jilow, Belstaff’s director of technology, says on Shopify Masters. The platform also includes tools for purchase orders, inventory reporting, shipment tracking, and workflow automation through Shopify Flow. Third-party integrations extend visibility into dropshipping operations, shipping logistics, and distributed fulfillment networks.
Pricing: Shopify plans start at $29 per month (billed annually).
Zoho
Zoho Inventory is inventory management software that helps ecommerce businesses track stock, manage orders, and monitor fulfillment operations across multiple sales channels and warehouse locations. It can integrate with Zoho’s broader toolset of ecommerce, accounting, and customer management tools to support day-to-day operations.
With Zoho Inventory, you can receive low stock alerts, create purchase orders, manage supplier information, and send shipment updates to customers from a centralized platform.
Pricing: Zoho Inventory plans start at $29 per month (billed annually).
Fulfilment and logistics visibility platforms
Fulfillment and logistics visibility platforms help ecommerce businesses conduct real-time shipment tracking, coordinate fulfillment workflows, and track orders as products move from warehouses to customers. These tools often integrate with carriers, warehouses, and ecommerce platforms and can be good for businesses managing distributed inventory or growing shipping operations.
ShipBob
ShipBob is a third-party logistics (3PL) provider that gives your business visibility into inventory, fulfillment, and shipping operations. Its dashboard tracks inventory across fulfillment centers and includes metrics like average units sold per day, days of inventory remaining, and expected stockout dates. You can also receive automatic alerts through ShipBob when inventory levels reach a set threshold.
Through its network of fulfillment centers, ecommerce companies can use ShipBob to fulfill orders from locations closer to customers. ShipBob also integrates with Shopify, allowing you to connect your store directly to the platform’s fulfillment and shipping operations.
Pricing: Must request a quote.
Warehouse management systems
Warehouse management systems (WMS) are supply chain visibility tools that specialize in inventory tracking, resource allocation, and warehouse operations. These platforms are good for businesses that need to monitor inventory across multiple warehouse locations while improving fulfillment workflows and warehouse efficiency.
ShipHero
ShipHero is a WMS designed for direct-to-consumer brands, allowing ecommerce companies to track inventory levels across locations. This gives better visibility into what inventory is available at different warehouses and alerts you when stock levels are running low. You can use ShipHero to automate reorders, generate purchase orders, and set rules for how inventory is distributed across warehouses.
ShipHero also integrates with Shopify, so you can connect your store to warehouse workflows. The platform includes an open API for additional customization.
Pricing: Must request a quote.
Softeon
Softeon is an ecommerce-focused WMS with features that help you track inventory levels, monitor employee performance, and improve efficiency across warehouse locations. Softeon includes “micro-tuning” capabilities, where you customize workflows based on your business needs.
The platform’s employee performance features allow you to see how many tasks your employees are completing and set reasonable performance goals.
Pricing: Must request a quote.
Supply chain control towers
A supply chain control tower is a dashboard that provides end-to-end visibility across the entire supply chain, from warehouses and distribution centers to customer delivery. These platforms are often designed for larger businesses or complex or global supply chains.
Outvio
Outvio is a supply chain control tower specializing in ecommerce order fulfillment, shipping workflows, and post-purchase customer communication. It integrates with Shopify to automate processes such as warehouse fulfillment, shipping label creation, and shipment updates after a customer places an order. The platform also includes customer service automation tools to help you manage post-purchase communication and delivery issues.
Outvio supports fulfillment across multiple locations and provides dashboard visibility into warehouse operations and staff performance.
Pricing: Outvio plans start at $4,500 per year.
How to choose the right supply chain visibility tool
- Identify your pain points
- Assess your current technology stack
- Match tools to your operational needs
Whether you need better visibility into inventory, fulfillment, warehousing, or shipping operations, this guide will help you choose the right tool for your business.
Identify your pain points
Start by identifying your supply chain risks and issues slowing your business down, such as time lost to manual processes or a lack of visibility into supplier performance. Gather data on how often they occur and how much they affect your business operations. Understanding whether problems are occasional inconveniences or recurring bottlenecks can help you prioritize the type of software your business most needs.
For example, if manual inventory updates are causing stockouts, you may benefit from choosing an inventory management tool with centralized stock tracking and automated low-stock alerts. If you coordinate shipments or fulfillment across multiple locations, you may need a tool focused on logistics and warehouse operations.
Assess your current technology stack
List and evaluate the tools you’re currently using to manage ecommerce operations, inventory, fulfillment, and shipping. Some platforms may already include supply chain visibility features or integrations you haven’t fully implemented—for example, Shopify’s built-in inventory functionality and third-party integrations.
As you evaluate new supply chain visibility solutions, make sure they integrate well with your existing systems. Consider whether a platform can connect with your ecommerce store, inventory tools, warehouse software, shipping carriers, and reporting systems without creating duplicate or siloed workflows.
Match tools to your operational needs
Smaller ecommerce businesses may need only inventory, fulfillment, and shipping visibility tools, while large businesses with multiple suppliers, warehouses, or international logistics might require more advanced coordination and logistics tools. Be cautious about choosing overly complex software purely based on a long list of features, but consider how the platform can scale as you grow.
As you compare platforms, request product demos to see how each tool fits your existing workflows and operational needs. Also consider ease of use and onboarding requirements since complex software with a steep learning curve can slow adoption across your team.
Supply chain visibility tools FAQ
What are supply chain visibility tools?
Supply chain visibility tools are software solutions that help businesses monitor inventory, shipments, suppliers, fulfillment operations, and other logistics activities across the supply chain. These tools create real-time, actionable insights from raw data such as inventory levels, shipment status, warehouse activity, and carrier performance.
How can I improve visibility in my supply chain?
You can improve visibility in your supply chain operations by using software that centralizes relevant data in a single platform. Many tools also provide automated alerts, shipment tracking, inventory forecasting, and operational reporting to help businesses respond more quickly to delays, shortages, and fulfillment issues.
How can you measure supply chain visibility?
Measure supply chain visibility by monitoring key metrics such as supply chain cycle time, inventory to sales ratio, perfect order rate, and days of inventory left. You may also track fulfillment speed, shipment accuracy, and inventory accuracy across warehouse locations.
