Your stockroom tracks lots and serials by hand because the ERP add-on only counts boxes: problems and solutions
A custom warehouse management system for a Sunnyvale hardware or biotech operation, serial and lot tracking, kitting, controlled storage, runs $70k to $150k over 4 to 7 months. Manhattan-class WMS targets giant distribution centers; ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) add-ons just count boxes. Neither handles serialized hardware, lot-tracked biotech materials, and kitting for builds the way a deep-tech stockroom needs.
Businesses in Sunnyvale run into very specific operational problems. Across software and technology, semiconductors, hardware engineering, the same Funded startups and hardware teams here outgrow their stack fast, so internal tools, dashboards, and integrations get bolted together by overstretched engineers and break the moment the team scales. keeps surfacing, manual workflows that do not scale, disconnected tools that leak data, and software that fights the team instead of helping it. The right custom build closes those gaps directly, turning the daily friction Sunnyvale companies feel into systems that just work, so the team spends time on customers instead of workarounds.
A Sunnyvale stockroom isn't a big-box distribution center and it isn't a simple parts bin. You're managing serialized units that customers and regulators trace, lot-controlled materials for biotech where expiry and chain-of-custody matter, and kitting where a build pulls 200 components into a single work order. The ERP's inventory add-on counts boxes and calls it a day. Enterprise WMS like Manhattan is built for Amazon-scale fulfillment and priced and scoped accordingly.
So your stockroom team tracks serials and lots in a spreadsheet, builds kits from memory, and reconciles against the ERP at month-end. For a biotech company, a lot-tracking gap is a compliance problem, not just an inconvenience. For a hardware company, a serial-tracking gap means you can't trace a field failure back to its build. The middle ground, a WMS that fits a deep-tech stockroom, doesn't exist off the shelf.
What breaks first in Sunnyvale
- Serial and lot tracking for hardware and biotech materials is done by hand in spreadsheets
- Kitting (pulling 200 components into a build) isn't supported by ERP inventory add-ons
- Biotech lot expiry and chain-of-custody requirements have no off-the-shelf home at this scale
- Manhattan-class WMS is overbuilt and overpriced for a deep-tech stockroom
The fix: warehouse management built for Sunnyvale, not rented
A custom WMS fits the deep-tech middle ground: serial and lot tracking with full traceability, kitting and pick-pack for builds, controlled and expiry-aware storage for biotech, and bin and location management scaled to a stockroom, not a megacenter. It gives you the traceability customers and regulators require without the cost and bloat of enterprise WMS.
What warehouse management costs in Sunnyvale
| Project scope | Typical cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Serial/lot WMS with kitting | $70k to $110k | 4 to 6 months |
| Full WMS with biotech compliance + scanning | $110k to $150k | 6 to 7 months |
| Kitting / pick-pack module on existing inventory | $40k to $70k | 3 to 4 months |
The capability list that earns its budget
What we build under warehouse management in Sunnyvale
The engagements Sunnyvale teams bring us most often: inbound and outbound logistics, fulfillment software, 3PL software, warehouse management system (WMS), WMS development and pick pack ship.
Exactly what you get
You get a WMS sized for a deep-tech stockroom: serial and lot traceability, kitting and pick-pack for builds, expiry-aware controlled storage for biotech, barcode scanning, and a clean ERP sync. The spreadsheet that tracks serials disappears. It connects to your inventory management software, your ERP, and your supply chain software so receiving, allocation, and production planning all share one traceable record from receipt to shipped, serialized unit.
How to choose a developer in Sunnyvale
Ask how they handle serial and lot genealogy and how a build kit pulls its components. A vendor who talks only about bins and box counts hasn't built for serialized hardware or lot-tracked biotech. The right partner has scanning-hardware experience and treats traceability as the core requirement. Scope the WMS alongside your inventory management software and supply chain software so the stockroom isn't an island finance has to reconcile by hand.
- !They treat WMS as box-counting; ask how they handle serial and lot genealogy
- !No kitting plan; ask how a build pulls 200 components in their system
- !Biotech compliance ignored; ask how they handle lot expiry and chain-of-custody
- !No scanning hardware experience; ask how receiving and picking work
- !They propose Manhattan-scale tooling; ask why it fits a stockroom
Most Sunnyvale teams pricing warehouse management end up comparing notes on business intelligence dashboards, lms, internal tools 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 won't an ERP inventory add-on work as a WMS in Sunnyvale?
Because ERP add-ons count boxes, while a deep-tech stockroom needs serial and lot traceability, kitting for builds, and expiry handling for biotech materials. Those gaps push tracking into spreadsheets and create compliance and traceability risks. A custom WMS fills the middle ground between a box-counting add-on and an overbuilt enterprise system.
Can a custom WMS handle biotech lot tracking?
Yes, and it's a key reason biotech teams build one. A custom WMS tracks lot numbers, expiry dates, quarantine status, and chain-of-custody, which are compliance requirements, not conveniences. Off-the-shelf inventory add-ons rarely handle these at a startup's scale, leaving a gap that custom software closes.
What does a custom WMS cost in Sunnyvale?
Between $70k and $150k. A serial-and-lot WMS with kitting runs $70k to $110k; a full system with biotech compliance and scanning hardware runs $110k to $150k. Serial and lot traceability is the biggest cost driver, alongside biotech compliance and scanning integration.
Why not just use Manhattan or another enterprise WMS?
Because enterprise WMS like Manhattan is built and priced for Amazon-scale distribution centers, not a deep-tech stockroom. You'd pay for and maintain capabilities you'll never use while still missing some hardware and biotech-specific needs. A custom WMS gives you exactly the traceability and kitting you need at a fraction of the scope.