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When was the last time you took a close look at your supply chain? If it’s been awhile, you might be costing your business money, as research shows that companies with optimized supply chains spend 15 percent less on related costs. Recognizing that supply chains play a key role in helping companies run smoothly, savvy owners and managers go above and beyond to provide on time delivery of products. However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, shortages and disruptions have proven to be the new normal of supply chains. If you want to stay competitive, it’s crucial to keep abreast of the latest customer spending habits and supply train trends while taking advantage of available tools and technologies.
The forecast for supply chain disruptions in 2022 may seem less dismal than it did in 2020 and 2021. While the country has yet to recover completely from the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation remains at a record high, both consumer spending and employment levels are on the rise. Moreover, companies are no longer facing the pandemic-led supply shortages seen in the last two years. Still, experts anticipate that a new problem may arise in the form of softening consumer demand. As the need for new merchandise drops, businesses may see economic growth slow while inventory piles up in warehouses. In particular, customers may be shifting their spending away from products and toward services, a trend that could pose a problem for a large sector of the business world. Supply chain issues could also be impacted by the Great Resignation, which is seeing workers abandon their jobs in record numbers. Overall 48 million employees quit their jobs in 2021, with another 8.6 million leaving in the first two months of 2022 alone. The issue is particularly prevalent among workers in supply chain-related fields. If you rely on shipping, transportation or warehouse workers to get your products to market, it’s likely you’ll continue to see disruptions in the coming months.
The good news is that companies are getting better at forecasting potential supply chain issues and adjusting their policies accordingly. Here are some ways to navigate US supply chain disruptions to keep your business competitive.
Flexibility is key when it comes to surviving the ups and downs of the supply chain. One of the ways companies can manage supply chain disruptions in 2022 is to adopt elastic logistics practices. The ability to scale operations and resources depending on demand and shortages, elastic logistics is key to surviving the market fluctuations common post COVID. By incorporating new technologies, companies can better manage a range of issues from overstocking to route optimization.
AI is one of the best solutions to the current supply chain issues. In particular, businesses can utilize predictive analysis tools to improve both visibility and operations. Research shows that more than half of businesses would like more supply chain visibility. Along with providing more transparency, artificial intelligence can help with data analysis, predicting demand, shipping routes, fulfillment and more.
Cloud-based software is crucial for businesses hoping to simplify the fulfillment process. By adopting supply chain as a service models and outsourcing logistics and inventory management, companies can get their goods to clients faster and with less disruption. Not only can the cloud give supply chain managers an end-to-end view of the supply chain, but it also lets them access data from anywhere and share it with teammates. Additionally, software programs like the one available through ShipHero make it possible to reduce overhead by minimizing spending associated with infrastructure, maintenance and more.
Between continuing pandemic anxieties and unpredictable customer behavior, forecasting the future of the supply chain can be a challenge. Fortunately, your company can stay competitive by adopting the most up-to-date supply chain shortage solutions. Do your homework to give your business the best shot at success.For more information about how ShipHero Fulfillment can help you manage the strain of supply chain disruptions, schedule a meeting with a member of our sales team today.
Maggie M. Barnett, Esq. COO of ShipHeroShipHeroAbout the author: Maggie M. Barnett, Esq., is the COO of ShipHero. She is responsible for planning and executing the overall operational, legal, managerial and administrative procedures, reporting structures and operational controls of the organization. Barnett’s greatest strengths are leadership, risk mitigation, change management and a passion for business transformation. She is known for her expertise in delivering operational excellence and an ability to provide guidance and mitigating risk. Her leadership of ShipHero is grounded in a servant mentality, always doing the right thing for our stakeholders. Her passion for ShipHero comes from the ability to drive operational excellence throughout the organization impacting the lives of our employees, customers, and partners.Follow Maggie on Twitter&LinkedIn.
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The ShipHero Model Context Protocol (MCP) connects supported AI clients directly to your live ShipHero data, so warehouse teams can ask questions and get specific answers from their own account. It is built for day-to-day operational checks, including inventory levels, open orders, shipment status, holds, returns, purchase orders, and exceptions. For ShipHero customers, it is available at no additional charge and runs on existing API credits.
Every order, shipment, inventory movement, hold, return, and purchase order creates data inside ShipHero. Your warehouse information is right there, but getting to it can be a slow, complex process.
Before the ShipHero MCP, answering a specific operational question often meant logging in, finding the right report, applying the right filters, exporting data, or asking the one person on the team who knew where to look.
Even when the answer was simple, like a quick inventory check, it could turn into a 20 to 45 minute task. A customer question could sit half a day while someone pulled the right numbers. That delay adds friction to the floor. It slows decisions. It keeps teams waiting on data they already own.
The ShipHero MCP gives supported AI clients secure, read-only access to live ShipHero data.
That means operators can ask questions in plain English and get answers from their actual account, not from a generic help article or static knowledge base. A chatbot can tell you where to find a number. The ShipHero MCP can return the number itself.
It works with MCP-enabled AI clients, including Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and Codex. Connect it once, authenticate access, and your team can start asking operational questions from the AI tool they already use.
The workflow is simple:
The MCP does not replace ShipHero. It makes the data inside ShipHero easier to reach when your team needs a fast answer.
The ShipHero MCP is designed for everyday operational questions, such as:
If the data lives in your ShipHero account, the MCP gives your team a faster way to ask for it.
Speed matters, but safety matters too.
The ShipHero MCP is read-only by design. It can retrieve information from your account, but it cannot create orders, modify records, delete data, or change warehouse settings.
That gives teams a practical way to use AI for operational visibility without risking accidental account changes. Operators can ask. Managers can check. 3PL teams can answer client questions faster.
The data becomes easier to use, while the records stay protected.
For founders, the MCP can turn a quick inventory check into a simple question.
For operations leads, it can surface shipment status, holds, exceptions, and low-stock SKUs without digging through reports.
For 3PL operators, it can help answer client questions faster, using live account data instead of manual follow-up.
The result is a faster way to reach the information already inside ShipHero.
The ShipHero MCP is available to all ShipHero customers at no additional charge. It runs on existing API credits, so specific questions help keep usage efficient.
To get started, visit developer.shiphero.com or contact your ShipHero account representative.
ShipHero MCP is a read-only connection between supported AI clients and your live ShipHero data. It lets users ask operational questions in plain English and receive answers from their actual ShipHero account.
A chatbot usually answers from fixed, generic information. ShipHero MCP connects to live account data, so it can return specific answers about your orders, shipments, inventory, holds, returns, and other ShipHero records.
ShipHero MCP works with AI clients that support the Model Context Protocol, including Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and Codex.
No. ShipHero MCP is read-only. It can query data, but it cannot create, update, or delete records in your ShipHero account.
No. The MCP is built for operators and can be connected from a supported AI client in minutes. Developers may use more advanced tools for deeper analysis, but most day-to-day users can work directly with the MCP.
Yes. ShipHero MCP is available to ShipHero customers at no additional charge and runs on existing API credits.
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Transitioning to a new Warehouse Management System (WMS) is a high-stakes decision that often triggers concerns regarding downtime, data integrity, and workforce adaptation. As warehouses prepare for 2026 growth, understanding these common hurdles—and the technical solutions that resolve them—is essential for a successful migration. This guide addresses the five primary barriers to adoption and how a high-velocity infrastructure ensures a seamless transition.
Warehouse operators frequently hesitate to upgrade due to perceived risks that can halt operations. These challenges typically include:
To clear these hurdles, a structured implementation strategy is used to prioritize data density and entity clarity.
In the competitive eCommerce landscape, staying stagnant with manual workarounds is often more costly than the transition itself. Moving to a high-velocity WMS converts your warehouse from a cost center into a growth engine by providing Labor Efficiency and ROI through automated routing and reduced authentication friction.
Because the platform is built for the floor worker, features like Workforce Hero allow seasonal temps and new staff to be authenticated and productive in under an hour.
No. High-velocity infrastructure increases visibility by providing Total Real-Time Control. Managers can monitor exactly what is in the Hospital queue and track replenishment in real-time from a single dashboard.
Before going live, a ground-up audit is performed using cycle counting tools. The system's architecture ensures that every movement on the floor is synchronized with sales channels instantly, maintaining 99.9% accuracy.
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Picture a packer at Peak Season. A box is in front of them, a product in each hand, and somewhere on a cluttered desk there's a mouse they need to find to confirm the order. They look down. They hunt. They click. Then they do it again. Thousands of times a day.
That moment of friction is small. But it is never just one moment. Multiply it across your entire pack line, across an entire shift, and you are looking at a measurable and largely invisible drag on your total throughput.
Tap-to-Pack is a purpose-built hardware controller designed by ShipHero to eliminate digital friction at the packing station. It connects via USB-C, requires no drivers or additional software, and syncs automatically with the ShipHero WMS packing app. This new system is now available at the ShipHero Store.
Instead of navigating a screen with a keyboard and mouse, packers execute every high-frequency command — such as selecting box sizes, printing labels, finalizing orders, flagging exceptions — with a single physical tap on one of eight programmable buttons.
Key specifications:
Most warehouses are running 2026 operations on 1990s peripheral standards. The keyboard and mouse were designed for spreadsheets and emails, not high-volume fulfillment. When used at a packing station, they create three compounding problems:
The problem is not your people. It is the tools you are asking them to use.
Tap-to-Pack introduces a "Rodent-Free" packing standard: a workflow where the packer's hands stay on the product, their eyes stay on the work, and the software fades into the background.
The device guides the packer through two feedback systems:
ShipHero customers running Tap-to-Pack are already seeing a 90% reduction in on-screen interactions and a significant increase in the number of orders packed per hour, without adding headcount or changing their warehouse layout.
One of the hardest challenges in fulfillment is absorbing volume quickly, especially during Peak Season, when temporary staff need to reach target productivity fast.
Because Tap-to-Pack's interface is physical and intuitive, there is almost nothing to teach. Pick up the product, follow the light, tap the button. New packers can reach target productivity in minutes rather than hours.
The system is also modular:
Whether you are a growing DTC brand or a high-volume 3PL, Tap-to-Pack is designed so your hardware never becomes a ceiling on what your team can do.
Tap-to-Pack is a programmable, industrial-grade hardware controller that connects to the ShipHero WMS and allows warehouse packers to execute packing station commands, such as printing labels, selecting boxes, and completing orders. All with a single physical button press, eliminating the need for a keyboard and mouse.
The device connects via USB-C and syncs automatically with the ShipHero WMS packing app. It is a true plug-and-play solution: no drivers, no background software, and no manual configuration required.
Yes. Buttons are configurable for a range of packing actions, including Print Label, Complete Order, Select Box Size, and the Hospital function, which flags a problematic order and keeps the line moving without stopping to resolve it on screen.
The system is fully modular. Connect up to two additional 8-button hubs to the Main Hub for a total of 24 programmable buttons, supporting even the most complex multi-step packing workflows.
Tap-to-Pack devices require ShipHero Packing App v1.0 or higher. The current release is v1.1.0.
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