Logistics errors: the nightmares to avoid

At Halloween, we often talk about ghosts, zombies and haunted houses. But for logistics professionals, the real nightmares can be much more tangible: stock that has mysteriously disappeared, an order that comes back from the dead, or hundreds of containers lost at sea…



	En résumé In 2025, 1,478 containers were lost at sea worldwide. Poor traceability can create discrepancies between physical and system stock. Poorly synchronised data between the ERP and the warehouse can disrupt operations. Data quality and reliability are essential to ensure effective traceability. A WMS helps businesses manage warehouse flows and stock more effectively on a day-to-day basis.

Containers overboard: when logistics goes under

Let’s start with a story that sounds like a disaster movie… except it actually happened.

According to the World Shipping Council, around 1,478 containers were lost at sea in 2025, out of more than 280 million transported worldwide. This represents only around 0.0005% of global container movements, but there is one striking detail: a single incident accounted for the loss of 640 containers, around 43% of the annual total.

Now imagine being one of the businesses waiting for the goods inside one of those containers… You don’t need a ghost to make your supplies disappear.

128 recovered, but 1,350 still lost

Of the 1,478 containers lost at sea in 2025, 128 were recovered, a record since the World Shipping Council began collecting this data. A quick calculation therefore tells us that 1,350 containers were not recovered.

For the businesses affected, the potential consequences are very real: unavailable goods, disrupted supplies, longer lead times and potentially affected customer orders.

Of course, a WMS cannot stop a container from falling off a ship. However, well-structured logistics processes and reliable information can help businesses identify the goods concerned more effectively, understand what stock is actually available and adapt operations when an unexpected event occurs.

The cargo you definitely don’t want to open

Our second nightmare: a container that looks perfectly ordinary… until you discover that its contents are anything but.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) warns specifically about the risks associated with undeclared or incorrectly declared cargo, particularly when dangerous goods are involved.

Incorrect declarations can lead to poor stowage decisions, delays and, in the most serious cases, contribute to fires or containers being lost overboard.

When a data error becomes a safety issue

For dangerous goods transported by sea in packaged form, the IMDG Code sets out requirements covering areas such as classification, packaging, marking, documentation and stowage. The version incorporating Amendment 42-24 became mandatory on 1 January 2026.

In other words, in logistics, incorrect data is not always “just” incorrect data.

Depending on the circumstances, an identification or information transmission error can have operational, regulatory and even safety consequences. And this principle does not only apply to maritime transport.

In the warehouse too, knowing exactly which product is located where, in what quantity and with which characteristics is the foundation of reliable logistics operations.

Zombie stock: available in the ERP, missing from the warehouse

Now let’s move on to a nightmare that warehouse and logistics managers may find a little more familiar.

The ERP says 37 units available. The picker reaches the location: 0 units. Yet the orders keep coming in.

The product exists in the system… but not in the warehouse.

Welcome to zombie stock.

What causes stock discrepancies?

There can be several reasons: an incorrectly recorded goods receipt, an untracked stock movement, a picking error, stocktakes that are too infrequent or information that is not correctly transferred between different systems.

Little by little, system stock starts to drift away from physical stock.

And the consequences quickly become apparent: time wasted looking for goods that are not there, orders that cannot be prepared, delays and, ultimately, potentially disappointed customers.

Data quality is a key part of traceability. The international GS1 standard highlights four important dimensions: completeness, accuracy, consistency across systems and validity of information.

How can a WMS improve stock accuracy?

This is precisely where a Warehouse Management System (WMS) comes into its own.

With Satelix WMS, warehouse operations can be recorded as goods move through each stage of the process: receiving, stock movements, picking, dispatch…

The objective is simple: to keep the information in your systems as closely aligned as possible with what is actually happening on the warehouse floor.

Automatic identification and data capture also play an important role. GS1 points out, for example, that barcodes can be used to identify and track products throughout the supply chain.

👉 Less approximate manual data entry, greater traceability and, above all, more reliable information for your teams.

Discover Satelix WMS

The immortal order: when your ERP and warehouse stop communicating

Another classic from the logistics horror film: an order appears as “to be picked”.

It is picked.

Then it reappears as “to be picked”.

It simply refuses to die.

But behind this “immortal order” lies a much more serious issue: the consistency of information across the company’s different systems.

ERP and WMS: two systems that need to communicate

The ERP centralises a large proportion of a company’s management data. The WMS, meanwhile, manages operations on the warehouse floor.

When the two communicate properly, information can follow the physical flow of goods: order to be processed, picking completed, stock updated, goods dispatched…

However, when different systems hold conflicting information about the same operation, teams can quickly find themselves asking one simple question: which data can we actually trust?

This need for interoperability extends beyond the ERP-WMS relationship. GS1 standards are based on three key principles — identify, capture and share — enabling information about products, locations and events to circulate consistently throughout the supply chain.

This is why Satelix WMS is designed to connect warehouse operations with your ERP, with connectors for a range of environments including Sage 100C, Sage X3, EBP Elite, Cegid XRP Flex, Everwin and Nextlane, depending on the project.

The aim is not to add yet another piece of software to your business. It is to connect management systems with what is actually happening on the warehouse floor.

Behind these logistics errors lies the same issue: data

Containers lost at sea, incorrectly declared goods, phantom stock, inconsistent orders…

These situations may be very different. Yet when it comes to logistics management, the same challenges appear time and again:

traceability of goods and stock movements;
data quality and structure;
the flow of information between systems;
visibility of stock and operations;
ensuring teams have access to the right information at the right time.

GS1 defines traceability as the ability to trace the history, application or location of an object. To achieve this, key events throughout the supply chain — such as receiving, packing, dispatch or transport — need to be associated with reliable data.

The WMS: your warehouse’s anti-nightmare solution?

We promise, Satelix WMS won’t retrieve your containers from the bottom of the ocean.

In the warehouse, however, a WMS can help structure and track the operations that directly affect stock accuracy.

With Satelix WMS, the aim is to provide SMEs with a practical, warehouse-focused solution that helps them:

track stock and stock movements;
improve the reliability of warehouse operations;
optimise order picking;
connect logistics operations with the ERP;
provide warehouse operators with a simple interface for their day-to-day work.

Because ultimately, there is nothing supernatural about good logistics.

It mainly comes down to clear processes, reliable data and the right tools to make use of it.

Don’t let your logistics turn into a horror film

Major maritime disasters are fortunately rare. Small everyday errors, on the other hand, can be far more discreet: a forgotten stock movement, incorrect data, inaccurate stock levels or an order that has not been properly synchronised.

To prevent these small anomalies from becoming real operational problems, businesses need to make their flows more reliable, track stock movements and connect warehouse operations with their management systems.

With Satelix WMS, SMEs can take back control of their warehouse and gain a more reliable view of their logistics operations.