Pickware — ERP and warehouse-management for Shopware-centric e-commerce

Pickware is the ERP and warehouse-management product built directly on top of Shopware, the German e-commerce platform. Founded in 2014 in Darmstadt and now part of the Shopware AG group, Pickware extends Shopware with ERP-grade inventory management, order processing, warehouse and shipping workflows and point-of-sale capabilities, while keeping the operational data inside the Shopware backend rather than in a separate ERP database. That architectural decision is the product's defining feature: for businesses where Shopware is the operational backbone, Pickware avoids the integration friction of running Shopware plus a separate ERP and synchronising data between them. Target customers are German SMB e-commerce sellers operating primarily through Shopware.

Overview

Pickware's positioning is deliberate: instead of building a generalist multichannel ERP, the vendor extends Shopware to the point where it functions as a full SMB ERP for businesses where Shopware is the centre of operations. Pickware ERP, Pickware WMS (warehouse management) and Pickware POS are the three main product lines, each available as Shopware plugins. The acquisition by Shopware AG in 2023 deepened the strategic alignment — Pickware is now part of Shopware's commercial offering rather than a third-party add-on. Architecturally the product runs inside the Shopware Plugin framework on customer-hosted Shopware infrastructure, with cloud-managed Shopware (Shopware 6 Cloud) supporting compatible Pickware editions. Customer profiles concentrate in German SMB e-commerce sellers, particularly fashion, home goods, specialty retail and product categories where Shopware is the dominant e-commerce platform.

Functional sweet spot

Pickware ERP delivers inventory management, supplier management, purchase orders, stocktaking and product cost tracking directly inside the Shopware backend. Pickware WMS adds warehouse and picking workflows: scanner-based picking, packing-station logic, multi-warehouse-light scenarios and shipping-provider integration (DHL, DPD, GLS, UPS, Hermes). Pickware POS extends Shopware into in-store and pop-up retail with point-of-sale software running on iPad and Windows tablet hardware, sharing customer, product and inventory data with the online store. Multichannel integration through Shopware itself covers Amazon, eBay and similar marketplaces — Pickware extends Shopware rather than replacing its native channel-management capabilities. ZUGFeRD and XRechnung outbound invoicing are supported. Financial accounting integration is via DATEV export, Lexware export or partner connectors to small-business accounting products. What Pickware does not do: deep manufacturing or production functionality — this is not the target market.

DACH positioning

Pickware has strong DACH presence wherever Shopware itself is widely used — which is broadly across German SMB e-commerce, particularly in fashion, home goods, specialty retail and B2B distribution that runs through Shopware B2B. Customer size concentrates in 1 to 30 employees with annual revenue from one to thirty million euros. GoBD compliance is delivered through the combined Pickware-plus-Shopware stack, with audit trail, journal export and GDPdU support that German tax advisers are familiar with. DATEV connectivity is mature via export functionality, alongside Lexware and other small-business-accounting exports. ZUGFeRD and XRechnung outbound invoicing are supported. The partner ecosystem is shared with Shopware's broader network of agencies, integrators and developers — one of the larger e-commerce-vendor ecosystems in DACH, which is a meaningful selection advantage for Pickware customers.

Pricing and implementation

Pickware is priced as monthly subscription per Shopware instance with tiered plans based on order volume, user count and module footprint (Pickware ERP, WMS, POS). Entry plans for small Shopware shops start at low monthly rates; active SMB e-commerce configurations with WMS and multichannel typically land in the mid-to-high three figures per month. Total annual cost for a typical Pickware-on-Shopware setup with WMS is several thousand euros, on top of Shopware's own licensing and hosting. This is competitive with VARIO 8 or microtech extended with Shopware integration, and substantially below plentyOne for similar functional scope. Implementation is short: weeks to a few months for typical greenfield setups, often delivered by a Shopware-and-Pickware-experienced agency. Customisation through Shopware plugins and Pickware extension points is the supported path; the dependence on the Shopware plugin framework constrains architectural choices.

Selection considerations

Choose Pickware if your business runs on Shopware, you want to extend Shopware into an SMB ERP without operating a separate ERP database, and you value the integration-friction-free architecture of having ERP and e-commerce in the same product. Choose it especially if you have warehouse-and-picking operations where Pickware WMS adds meaningful value, or in-store retail where Pickware POS shares data with the online store. Choose it for businesses where Shopware is and will remain the strategic e-commerce platform. Skip Pickware if you are not on Shopware or planning to leave Shopware — the product's value depends entirely on the Shopware coupling. Skip it for serious manufacturing requirements. Skip it for businesses where the operational complexity has outgrown Shopware as a centre — plentyOne or mid-market multichannel ERPs with Shopware integration become more sensible at higher scales.

Related Topics

• plentyOne
• ERP consultants

Vendor homepage of Pickware

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