Yes, it can: "Ну что ж, пошли! = Ну что ж, пойдём!"
In colloquial speech, past tense forms of verbs of motion are often used to express an invitation to go together (like пошли! поехали! побежали! полетели! поплыли! etc.) or a command (note - if a command, it sounds rude): пошёл вон отсюда! (go away from here!) etc.I've only learned "пошли" as a past tense form so far. How does that work as "let's go"?
Usage of past tense intensifies the imperative sentense (as if we are half a way already to get something done).
Note. Although it can be used with other verbs sometimes, the most typical usage of this form is verbs of motion.