By Clarus Content Team · Published 20 agosto 2026

If you’re searching for “3PL Central”, you’re looking for Extensiv. The platform rebranded on 23 May 2022, and the core product is now called Extensiv 3PL Warehouse Manager. For UK 3PLs evaluating their options, you have more choices than you did a decade ago. This article compares the leading alternatives, including Clarus WMS, Extensiv, Mintsoft, and others designed specifically for third-party logistics operations. We’ll help you understand what each platform does, where it’s a strong fit, and what hidden gaps might surprise you during implementation.

Clarus WMS: Purpose-built for UK 3PLs

Clarus is a cloud-native WMS designed from the ground up for third-party logistics operations. Every feature starts with the question: “What do 3PLs actually need?” The result is a system that doesn’t force you to adapt the way you work, it adapts to fit.

Where Clarus excels

• Automated billing that catches missed revenue. Most WMS platforms record what you charge. Clarus’s AI warehouse assistant surfaces what you haven’t charged. It identifies every billable event in real time: storage, handling, pick, pack, despatch, returns, value-added services. It flags charges that didn’t make it into your invoice. St John’s Hall Storage cut their invoicing time by 90%, eliminating the four-day month-end re-keying that previously ate two staff members’ time. How to automate 3PL billing goes into this in detail.
• UK-based support, UK compliance, no time zone translation. Clarus is run from the UK, staffed by people who understand UK labour laws, GDPR, BRC standards, and the way UK 3PLs operate. Extensiv is US-centric, which matters when you’re running 24/7 shifts and your question lands in US working hours.
• Fast, predictable implementation. A standard Clarus project goes live in around 12 weeks. As Mathew Buttar, Solutions Consultant, noted during an implementation review: “A standard project with the correct support on both sides, we’d aim to get live within 12 weeks. Twelve weeks is a good standard because you need to allow people time” (14 Jan 2026). This is a sourced, repeated figure, not a best-case scenario. Complex multi-feature projects can take longer, but big-bang cutover implementations are rare and not recommended.
• Published pricing. Clarus publishes its prices, which most WMS vendors don’t. The pricing page lists three tiers from a £1,000 per month base, with tiered user licensing on top and a one-off implementation fee. The Enterprise tier includes 24/7 dedicated support and an uptime guarantee. You can work out roughly what it costs before you speak to anyone.
• 200+ integrations, no ERP lock-in. Clarus connects to Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon, eBay, Sage, Microsoft Dynamics, Brightpearl, and 200+ others. It’s API-first, so if your integration isn’t in the list, you can build it. You’re not locked into a single vendor’s ecosystem.

Where Clarus is not the right fit

• Single-client operations with simple billing. Clarus is built for complexity: multiple clients, different SLAs, sophisticated billing rules, compliance requirements. For a single-client operation, you might over-specify.
• Yard management and 4PL networks. Clarus doesn’t have a dedicated yard module or a fully built-out network management layer. If you’re running shared-asset yards across multiple client sites, Körber or Extensiv might be more complete.
• Temperature mapping and heat-mapped warehouse analytics. Clarus has temperature-zone management for bonded stock, chilled, and frozen, but it doesn’t produce heat maps or analytics dashboards for racking optimisation. If heat mapping is essential to your pitch, look elsewhere.

Key Clarus features for 3PLs

• Multi-client stock segregation, each client’s inventory completely isolated
• Directed putaway and replenishment, configured per client or per product
• Real-time scan verification, the barcode must match the order or the system stops
• Wave picking with automatic batching and optimised walking paths
• FEFO / FIFO / LIFO rotation, configurable per client or product, with manual switch function for bulk storage
• Batch and lot control, expiry and best-before date management, full recall readiness
• Client self-service portal, white-labelable, real-time stock view, billing summaries
• Handheld workflows, fully customisable scanning flows on Android (Zebra, Honeywell)
• Dock scheduling, cross-docking with multi-destination splits, automations to despatch immediately
• Automations and triggers, cutting the manual admin that sits around picking, despatch and stock moves
• AI warehouse assistant, executes tasks on the floor (quarantine, batch orders, stock transfer queues) and on the commercial layer (missed charge detection, faster invoicing)
• Full audit trail, every action timestamped, all stock movements recorded
• Task-based system, everything tracked in real time, no paper pick lists

Extensiv 3PL Warehouse Manager: The US-centric incumbent

What it is

Extensiv is the rebranded version of 3PL Central, a US-built WMS that has been serving 3PLs since the early 2000s. The company acquired multiple platforms (3PL Central, Skubana, Scout, and CartRover) and unified them under the Extensiv brand in 2022. Extensiv 3PL Warehouse Manager is the core WMS product, now paired with Extensiv Order Manager (formerly Skubana), Extensiv Integration Manager (formerly CartRover), and Extensiv AI.

Where Extensiv wins

• Mature multi-warehouse / 4PL capability. If you’re running multiple warehouses across a region or managing a 4PL network where you’re also handling inventory for other 3PLs, Extensiv’s breadth is proven. They’ve been at this for two decades, and the platform has depth in network management.
• Proven track record with large 3PLs. Extensiv serves many of the bigger household names in US 3PL logistics. That reputation is earned, though most of their case studies are US-focused.
• Integration ecosystem. Via Integration Manager (formerly CartRover), Extensiv connects to hundreds of systems. The platform positions itself as a hub, and the integration library is extensive.
• Billing module. Extensiv has a dedicated Billing Manager. It’s a proper billing engine designed for 3PL complexity, supporting multi-tier pricing, activity-based billing, and dispute workflows.

Real limitations and tradeoffs

• Pricing is not published. Ever. Extensiv does not have a public price list. You cannot comparison-shop without a sales conversation. We’re not going to guess at their figures: there are none in public, and anything you read that quotes a monthly Extensiv price is somebody’s estimate. If you want a number, you have to ask them for a quote. That’s fine for large operations and frustrating for small 3PLs.
• US-centric support and product design. Extensiv is built and run from the US. Support hours are US time, which means your 24/7 shift’s emergency ticket lands in the queue at night-time US time. UK compliance features like GDPR data residency, UK-specific user roles, or BRC documentation aren’t as tightly built in because the primary market is US-based.
• Billing requires manual recording. The Billing Manager is excellent, but like most WMS billing systems, it depends on you recording the billable event. If you run complex handling (kitting, re-bagging, rework), those charges need to be captured upfront. If you miss recording a charge, the system won’t flag it. Clarus’s approach is different: the AI assistant surfaces what you haven’t charged, so revenue doesn’t slip silently away.
• Implementation timelines aren’t published. Extensiv doesn’t publish a standard go-live timeline, so ask for one in writing, with the assumptions behind it. What you can reasonably expect is that breadth costs time: more modules means more configuration, more integrations and more testing. Clarus does publish a figure, around 12 weeks for a standard project, and it comes from the people who run the go-lives.
• Extensiv AI answers questions, it doesn’t execute. Extensiv AI is a conversational assistant. You can ask it “Which clients are running low on inventory?” or “What was yesterday’s throughput?”, and it returns data. It’s a powerful lookup and reporting tool. But it doesn’t execute warehouse operations, execute billing rules, or detect missed charges. It answers, but someone else has to do the work.

Is Extensiv suitable for a UK 3PL?

Yes, if you have the resources to manage a US vendor relationship and the scale to justify longer implementation timelines. You’ll need to handle UK compliance separately (GDPR data residency, BRC requirements), manage support across time zones, and accept that the product roadmap is primarily driven by US demand. For a UK 3PL with 5 to 10 warehouse users, these frictions add cost and complexity. For a 50+ user operation, Extensiv’s depth might be worth it.

Other strong alternatives for UK 3PLs

Mintsoft

Mintsoft is best for high-volume ecommerce 3PLs handling B2C parcel and small item picks. Strong ecommerce integrations, fast deployment, and good for Shopify and Amazon-first operations. Limitations: billing is simpler than purpose-built 3PL systems, ERP connectivity is weaker, and multi-client segregation shares more infrastructure than 3PL-specific systems prefer. Our Deposco alternative comparison covers the same ecommerce-first ground in more depth.

Körber

Körber is the enterprise choice for very large 3PLs and 4PL networks. Highly customisable, on-premise or cloud, with dedicated modules for yard management, network optimisation, and complex labour planning. Trade-off: Körber publishes neither prices nor implementation timelines, the platform is aimed at enterprise scale, and you often need deep ERP integration to unlock it. If you’re already on SAP or Infor, Körber feels natural. If you’re running standalone, the complexity is overkill.

Deposco

Deposco is the small-to-mid 3PL choice, especially if you’re Shopify-first or Amazon-centric. Quick deployment, easy to learn, and good value for single-warehouse operations. Limitations: multi-client support is basic (shared environment rather than isolated), billing is ecommerce-focused not 3PL-focused, and ERP or TMS integration is limited.

The 3PL Central rebrand: What changed and why

3PL Central officially rebranded to Extensiv on 23 May 2022. The company had acquired Skubana (commerce management), Scout (reporting), and CartRover (integration hub) in 2021, and unified them all under one brand. The rebrand wasn’t just cosmetic: it signalled a strategic shift from “we’re a WMS” to “we’re the operating system for 3PLs and brands”. The product 3PL Central is now called Extensiv 3PL Warehouse Manager, and it sits inside a broader platform.

For searchers looking for “3PL Central”, the rebrand matters because the product still exists, the company still operates it, and the 3PL Central API documentation is still live. If you’re evaluating 3PL Central today, you’re evaluating Extensiv, just under the old name.

How to choose: decision framework

Start with three questions:

How many clients do you manage, and how isolated do they need to be?

If you have 2 to 3 major clients and they accept some operational overlap (shared picking staff, shared inbound scheduling), Mintsoft or Deposco might be sufficient. If you have 10 or more clients with strict SLA separation, different billing rules per client, and different product control requirements, you need purpose-built multi-client architecture. Both Clarus and Extensiv do this; most others cut corners here.

What does your billing complexity look like?

If billing is simple (storage per pallet, fixed pick fee, standard handling), any system will work. If billing is complex (variable storage rates per client, activity-based charges, penalty fees, value-added services, dispute tracking), you need a billing system that was designed for that complexity and a platform that doesn’t miss capturing the events that trigger the charges. This is where Clarus’s real-time charge detection (via AI assistant) is a structural advantage over manual-entry systems.

Can you handle a US vendor relationship, or do you need UK-based support?

If you have a procurement team comfortable with vendor management, international support ticketing, and compliance workarounds, Extensiv and Körber are fine. If you want support in your timezone, UK compliance pre-built, and no vendor relationship friction, Clarus is purpose-built for that.

Implementation: What you need to know

WMS implementation is not data migration. It’s mapping how your warehouse actually moves stock, not how the process was designed on paper. The most successful implementations follow a phased approach: basics first (super-user training, master data, testing), then go live one customer account at a time. Manual UAT is standard practice, and your own team needs to be confident that every workflow works before you cut over.

A WMS implementation guide walks through the phases. The common failure points are: underestimating data cleanup, assuming all customers can go live on the same day, and not building training time in for staff who have never used a barcode scanner. Implementation success depends more on your internal readiness than on the vendor’s speed.

Habla con un experto en almacenes

If you’re evaluating your options and want to see how a purpose-built WMS works in practice, Clarus is worth a conversation. We work with 3PLs and distributors across the UK to implement warehouse management software that fits the way you operate, not the other way around.

Ponte en contacto con nuestro equipo para discutir tus requisitos.