Start with one complete stock journey
A warehouse pilot should follow a transaction all the way through the floor work and the ERP records. Select one representative receipt, put-away, pick and dispatch. Agree the expected result at each handoff and who confirms it.
This guide is a proposed evaluation plan. It does not claim that every integration or exception flow is already available. Your connector, permissions and workflow requirements need to be scoped.
Write down who owns each record
Decide where products, pack sizes, purchase orders, sales orders and costs originate. Define which system can change each field and when updates should be sent. Document warehouse and location mappings, units, stock statuses and transaction identifiers before importing a test dataset.
- Receipt: does the delivered quantity match the source document, including a partial delivery?
- Put-away: is the physical pallet linked to the location recorded by the operator?
- Pick: are product, unit and pallet checks consistent with the agreed order?
- Dispatch: which confirmation changes the ERP record, and how is it reconciled?
Test what happens when the connection fails
Agree a controlled failure scenario in the test environment. A request might time out after the receiving system has accepted it. Repeating the request must not create a duplicate business transaction. Check the integration's identifiers, retry rules and duplicate protection with the responsible team.
Also test a rejected product mapping, an invalid unit and a record changed in the ERP while work is in progress. Record what the operator sees, what the supervisor can correct and which team investigates a failed handoff. Do not treat a quiet error log as proof that every record reconciled.
Include the people who run the warehouse
Use the devices and network conditions your operators will encounter. Include an unfamiliar operator, a supervisor and the person who owns reconciliation. Time the whole task, including finding stock and resolving exceptions. Record training and assistance so the results are interpreted fairly.
Make the go-live decision reviewable
Keep an acceptance register with the scenario, expected record, actual result, evidence, owner and decision. Open defects should have an agreed impact and resolution plan. Identify cutover, backup and recovery responsibilities, access requirements and support contacts before planning a wider rollout.
Start with a bounded workflow and agreed volumes. Expansion to more warehouses should follow evidence from the pilot, rather than assumptions based on a polished demonstration. Plan a pilot around your ERP.