Accepted; six units reserved
- Shipped
- 0
- Cancelled
- 0
- Open quantity
- 10
- Still reserved
- 6
Retail & distribution
Custom software for retail and distribution operations
Custom retail and distribution software connecting orders, inventory, purchasing and partner portals. Integrate sales channels and accounting around one operational workflow.
One order record across sales, stock and finance.
Follow the order from sale to settlement
A retail or distribution order can pass through sales, stock, purchasing, fulfilment and finance. We map the handoffs and systems of record before building a new platform or connecting existing tools.
Where the work gets stuck
- Stock shown to sales differs from what a warehouse can actually allocate.
- Partner orders arrive through several channels and need manual re-entry.
- A refund or adjustment is visible in one tool but missing in another.
- Managers cannot trace a margin or fulfilment report back to source orders.
How we would approach it
- Define order and stock states with clear ownership of each update.
- Connect channels, warehouse and accounting tools through available interfaces.
- Test duplicates, returns and failed updates before cutover.
- Build reports from agreed definitions and reconciled records.
Functional modules
Coordinate orders, stock and fulfilment
Choose one order-to-fulfilment path, then connect the data and exceptions around it.
Orders and inventory
Track order status, stock availability, reservations and exceptions from the systems that own them.
Sales-channel integration
Connect selected commerce, marketplace or partner channels with update direction, retry and reconciliation rules.
Fulfilment workflow
Give warehouse and service teams the tasks, documents and status changes needed to complete an order.
Partner and customer portals
Show the right catalogue, pricing, order history and next action to each permitted user group.
Legacy data transition
Map products, customers, stock and transaction history; test imports and define coexistence before switching responsibility.
Sales and margin reporting
Agree formulas, periods and source records so teams can inspect the numbers behind a decision.
Orders / Stock / Customer updates
Ship part of an order without losing the rest.
A customer orders ten units, but only six can be allocated now. In this fictional workflow, sales agrees a split delivery, the warehouse reserves six and purchasing owns the shortage. Four units remain unallocated until stock or the order changes.
Ten-unit order: cumulative fulfilment states
First shipment recorded
- Shipped
- 6
- Cancelled
- 0
- Open quantity
- 4
- Still reserved
- 0
Two unshipped units cancelled
- Shipped
- 6
- Cancelled
- 2
- Open quantity
- 2
- Still reserved
- 0
Final two units shipped after replenishment
- Shipped
- 8
- Cancelled
- 2
- Open quantity
- 0
- Still reserved
- 0
Open quantity = original ten − shipped − cancelled. It includes any units still reserved. The customer later cancels two of the four unshipped units; those units were not reserved, so this cancellation releases no stock. After replenishment, the last two are reserved and shipped. Eight shipped + two cancelled = ten accounted for.
Give each update an owner
Sales records the agreed split and cancellation. The warehouse owns reservations and shipment confirmation. Purchasing resolves the shortage; finance applies the agreed invoice or credit rules. Closing fulfilment does not by itself settle payment.
Show what is known now
Keep shipment references, remaining quantity, latest source update and next responsible person on the order. A delayed warehouse update stays visible as pending; the portal must not turn it into a delivery confirmation.
Rehearse the exception
Repeat a shipment message without adding its quantity twice. Reject cancellation of more units than remain open. Reconcile the order and shipment identifiers, then confirm that another customer cannot see the order or documents.
The tools around the workflow
Bring orders into the workflow and return the agreed availability and order status.
Exchange reservations, picking and shipment events without counting the same operation twice.
Link invoices, payments and adjustments to the order and reconcile the agreed totals.
Match product references, purchase prices and lead times to the internal catalogue.
Trace stock, sales and margin measures to the source records, period and formula.
Apply staff and partner permissions to the records and actions each account can access.
Workflow examplesReview the assessment brief
Define one order workflow for the first release
One possible first workflow
One customer order reserves stock, updates a portal and appears in an exception report.
Keep accounting and commerce channels; additional warehouses, forecasting and automated purchasing are separate scope.
Bring product IDs, reservation/return rules, source-of-truth decisions and the warehouse and finance reviewers.
Checks for this example release
- An accepted order reserves the agreed stock once; a repeated channel message does not create another order or reservation.
- A partial shipment leaves the remaining quantity visible, while an agreed cancellation releases only the relevant reservation.
- A return follows its inspection and stock rules. The portal, operational report and accounting handoff reflect the agreed status rather than assuming every return is immediately restocked or refunded.
Delivery options
Connect the part of retail operations that needs attention.
A new storefront does not resolve every stock or fulfilment problem. Identify the records that disagree across teams, then choose the workflow and integration work needed to resolve the problem.
Unify orders, stock and purchasing
Define reservations, supplier orders, fulfilment exceptions and financial handoffs across the systems you intend to keep.
Explore custom ERP developmentConnect customer and partner work
Scope account ownership, order history and portal permissions so sales and service teams can act on the same customer context.
Explore custom CRM developmentPlan the move from existing records
Map product variants, customer identifiers, reservations and order history. Rehearse the transfer and reconcile stock before changing which system owns it.
Use the migration worksheetPlan the scope and operating costs together.
Channels, product variants, stock rules, warehouse locations and return handling shape the estimate. Full custom projects start at USD 50,000, with hourly teams or fixed-price modules agreed around the scope. Required paid support, hosting and third-party costs are planned separately from the build.
See a build and operating budget exampleCan we keep our existing commerce and accounting tools?
Yes. We identify which retained tool owns products, orders, stock and payments, then define the exchanges between them. The first release includes checks for failed updates and mismatched totals, with an agreed way for staff to resolve exceptions.
How do you handle stock changing across several channels?
We agree availability, reservation and update-ownership rules, then test concurrent orders, retries, cancellations and partial shipments. Delays between channels must remain visible so the team can resolve conflicting stock records before expanding the integration.
Can we preserve different prices and access for trade customers?
Yes. We define customer groups, price agreements, catalogue visibility and approval rules with your commercial team. Tests cover representative accounts and orders, including when a new price takes effect and whether it applies to existing orders.
Related project experience.
Retail & cross-border operations
Global Business Assistant
Orders, inventory and multi-currency accounting in a connected ERP and CRM.
ExploreYour next step
Where Does an Order Lose Context?
Bring an order, a stock discrepancy or a return that takes several tools to resolve. We will discuss the first release, source records and the teams that need to accept it.
Discuss retail operations