Your roastery's beans land late from overseas and your craft stock ships across Cook Strait on one ferry slot
Custom supply chain software for a Wellington producer or distributor runs NZD 90,000 to 320,000 over 5 to 9 months. Build custom when your supply chain has shape generic SCM can't model: imported inputs with long lead times, freight across Cook Strait and overseas, and perishable craft stock with batch and expiry. SAP and generic SCM suites are built for large, predictable chains. They're heavy and ill-fitting for a Wellington craft operation moving real goods on tight, fragile logistics.
You import green coffee or specialty ingredients into Wellington with weeks of overseas lead time, then ship finished craft product to the South Island and beyond, often dependent on a Cook Strait ferry slot that can be cancelled by weather. Your stock is perishable, batch-tracked, and expiry-sensitive. SAP can model a supply chain like this, but it's enormous, expensive, and assumes a scale and predictability your operation doesn't have. Generic SCM tools assume reliable freight and fungible goods, which is the opposite of perishables on a weather-dependent ferry.
So you manage the real risk, a late import, a cancelled sailing, a batch nearing expiry, in spreadsheets and phone calls, and a disruption you could have seen coming becomes a stockout or a write-off you didn't.
The problems nobody warns you about
- Imported inputs with long overseas lead times aren't tracked against production needs
- Freight across Cook Strait depends on ferry slots that weather can cancel, with no plan-B visibility
- Perishable, batch-tracked stock with expiry isn't modelled by generic fungible-goods SCM
- Disruptions are managed by spreadsheet and phone, so foreseeable stockouts still happen
The case for owning your supply chain
Custom supply chain software models your actual chain: import lead times against production demand, freight options including Cook Strait dependencies, and perishable batch-and-expiry tracking. It surfaces a late import or a cancelled sailing early enough to act, prioritises stock by expiry, and gives a craft producer the right-sized visibility SAP would bury under enterprise weight.
Budgeting a supply chain build in Wellington
| Project scope | Typical cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Lead-time and freight visibility core | $90k to $160k | 5 to 6 months |
| With perishable batch and disruption alerts | $160k to $250k | 6 to 8 months |
| Full build with ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and warehouse integration | $250k to $320k | 7 to 9 months |
What your build should include
Supply Chain services we deliver in Wellington
The engagements Wellington teams bring us most often: transportation management (TMS), supply chain visibility, distribution software, supply chain management software and logistics software.
Exactly what you get
Visibility into the chain that actually threatens you: imports tracked against demand, freight that knows about Cook Strait, and perishable stock prioritised by expiry. Disruptions surface early enough to act, and the system feeds your inventory management software, warehouse management system, and ERP so the warning and the response live in one place. The stockout you used to discover becomes the one you prevented.
How to choose a developer in Wellington
Choose a team that right-sizes the build for a craft operation rather than reaching for an enterprise SCM suite. Ask how they'd model a perishable batch arriving late on a weather-hit ferry. Wellington's craft producers run on fragile, real-world logistics, so the developer must understand perishables and freight dependencies, not just generic supply chain theory.
- !They propose SAP for a craft operation. Ask why an enterprise suite fits your scale.
- !They ignore perishability. Ask how expiry and batch drive stock allocation.
- !No freight-link awareness. Ask how a cancelled Cook Strait sailing surfaces in the system.
- !No carrier integration experience. Ask how freight data actually reaches the tool.
- !They skip lead-time modelling. Ask how a late import warns you before a stockout.
Most Wellington teams pricing supply chain end up comparing notes on project management, helpdesk & ticketing, crm too; the systems share one data spine.
Rohan advises mid-market and enterprise teams on ERP, CRM and custom software, and has led delivery on dozens of business-software builds.
Writes for Digital Heroes, shipping business software for 2,000+ brands across 55+ countries since 2017.
Frequently asked questions
Why not just use SAP for supply chain?
SAP can model complex chains but is enormous, costly, and assumes a scale a Wellington craft producer doesn't have. Custom software right-sizes the visibility for imported inputs, Cook Strait freight, and perishable batch stock without the enterprise weight.
How does it handle perishable stock?
It tracks batch, lot, and expiry and applies first-expiry-first-out logic, so stock nearing its date is prioritised before it's written off. Generic SCM tools assume fungible, non-perishable goods and miss this entirely.
Can it account for Cook Strait freight?
Yes. A custom build models the freight links you actually depend on, including ferry slots that weather can cancel, and surfaces fallback options early instead of leaving you to discover a cancelled sailing by phone.
What does supply chain software cost in Wellington?
NZD 90,000 to 320,000 depending on lead-time modelling, perishable logic, freight integration, and ERP and warehouse connections. A visibility core is at the low end; a full integrated build reaches the top.
How does it integrate with our other systems?
It connects to your inventory management software, warehouse management system, and ERP, so import lead times, freight status, and stock levels feed the tools that run production and fulfilment rather than living in separate spreadsheets.