Multi-marketplace ERP, EDI and logistics automation for a US consumer electronics brand
A multi-brand consumer electronics company selling through Amazon, Walmart, HSN, QVC, Costco, Shopify and eBay ran on bookkeeping software with everything else done by hand. We migrated it off Sage onto a custom ERP with native EDI, multi-warehouse inventory, landed cost, live carrier rate shopping and reporting, and we continue to develop it.
- CLIENT
- A US consumer electronics and camera brand
- INDUSTRY
- Consumer electronics and imaging, multi-channel retail and distribution
- ENGAGEMENT
- Custom ERP architecture, development and long-term support, in continuous development since go-live
- STACK
- ASP.NET, C#, SQL Server, MVC, jQuery, ANSI X12 EDI, Amazon SP-API, Shopify API, eBay API, FedEx API, UPS API, USPS API, ShipStation, SQL Server Agent, OCR processing
COREorders + inventory
Amazon, Walmart, Shopify, eBay and more than a dozen retail trading partners, several warehouses and imported inventory, run from bookkeeping software and manual work.
- Sage handled bookkeeping, but orders, inventory and shipping decisions were all managed manually alongside it
- Each marketplace had to be checked and processed separately, with no central order view
- No real-time inventory position across the owned warehouse, third-party logistics partners and marketplace fulfillment programs
- Shipping labels and carrier selection were manual, with no way to compare live rates
- No systematic tracking of duty, tariff, freight and landed cost on inventory sourced from overseas manufacturers
- Retail partner deductions on remittances were reconciled by hand
- No centralized management reporting, and no way to check whether resellers honored minimum advertised pricing
One system, built around how the work actually happens.
Off Sage, with the operating history intact
Customers, vendors, items and transaction history were migrated from Sage into a browser-based ERP covering order-to-cash and procure-to-pay, with a full general ledger, receivables and payables, so the business changed systems without losing its records.
Native EDI inside the ERP
Every X12 document, including 850, 855, 856, 810, 846 and 997, is read and generated inside the ERP using the EdiFabric .NET library, with the mapping in its own code and no external translation service. Amazon Vendor Central (Wholesale and Direct Fulfillment) and Adorama connect directly over SFTP. Best Buy Optics, Costco Wholesale and Colony Brands run through SPS Commerce. Best Buy Purchasing, Bluestem Brands, QVC, Staples Advantage and Staples the Office Superstore run through CommerceHub (Rithum). BI Worldwide and Mason Companies run through Radial. The ERP uploads its own files to each network's FTP and reads the files the network delivers, and the network validates them and delivers them to the retailer. HSN, Harco Industries, Knocking and Verdi Commerce run on automated file exchange over FTP. Scheduled EDI jobs poll FTP on schedules as short as every ten minutes. Walmart runs through its API. The Walmart API integration imports WFS and seller-fulfilled orders, sends shipment confirmation and tracking back for seller-fulfilled orders, marks WFS orders shipped and invoices them automatically, turns returns into credit memos, and creates WFS inbound shipments. Every job is tracked on a monitoring dashboard.
Every channel in one order queue
Amazon Vendor Central and Seller Central (SP-API), Walmart, HSN, QVC, Costco, several Shopify storefronts, eBay and direct wholesale accounts land in one system. Vendor Central purchase orders are accepted or rejected back to Amazon from the same screen that shows system, 3PL and allocated stock.
Multi-warehouse and multi-3PL stock
Real-time inventory across an owned warehouse operated with a logistics partner, a second third-party warehouse and Amazon fulfillment locations, with warehouse transfer orders and an Amazon inbound shipment request action for FBA.
FBA inbound shipment automation
End-to-end FBA inbound automation via SP-API: shipment creation, selection of the lowest-cost shipping plan, packing slip generation, label download and routing to the warehouse.
International purchasing and landed cost
Ocean and air freight purchase orders carry ETD, bill of lading, ETA and vessel details, and the ERP calculates landed cost at receiving from tariff classification, duty, tariff, harbor surcharge and freight per item.
Live rate shopping and label automation
FedEx, UPS and USPS are called live on each order across every configured service, using the client's negotiated carrier accounts. The lowest-cost option is selected and every carrier response is logged, with cartonization logic and a guaranteed-delivery engine for time-sensitive channels.
Documents and deductions reconciled
Packing slips received over FTP are OCR-processed and matched to their sales order, with an exception queue for anything that does not match, and tracking numbers are read from marketplace-sourced labels. Retail deductions such as freight, returns, co-op advertising and allowances are reconciled against invoices.
Reporting, royalties and MAP monitoring
A self-service reporting engine with saved templates, exports and scheduled email covers sales, inventory, purchasing and royalty or commission reporting for licensed brands. An automated monitoring process checks reseller listings for MAP violations and flags them.
What it runs on.
What changed.
- The business moved from bookkeeping-only software to one ERP running orders, inventory, purchasing, shipping and accounting
- Orders from every marketplace and wholesale channel are managed from one system instead of separate portals
- Inventory is tracked across warehouses, 3PLs and marketplace fulfillment programs, with quantities pushed to connected channels except Walmart
- Shipping labels are generated automatically, with carriers chosen by live negotiated rates
- Landed cost is calculated automatically on imported inventory instead of in spreadsheets
- EDI jobs run on schedule with their status and exceptions visible, so rejected documents are diagnosed rather than escalated
- Manual work is reduced across order processing, shipping, returns and deduction reconciliation
- Reseller pricing is monitored continuously against MAP agreements
This page shows no percentages or figures because none have been confirmed by the client for publication. Where a number is not verified, it is left out rather than estimated.
After go-live.
The ERP is the operational backbone of the business and has been in continuous development since it went live, with production alerts routed directly to our team. It now includes an AI assistant so staff can ask plain-language questions about ERP data such as inventory, orders, customers and sales, described in our ERP AI assistant case study.
The work behind this project.
Written up in more detail.
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