Confidential clientIn progress
FreshRoute Produce (pseudonym)
A WordPress website revamp for a fruit distribution business in the UAE, with planned and in-progress integration across ecommerce, inventory, ordering and payments.
Read the case study →Service
Ecommerce and business platform integration
Connect your ecommerce website with inventory, ordering, payments and back-office systems, so online sales run through operations without manual handling.
Sound familiar?
The problems this solves
- Stock on the website does not match stock in the warehouse, so you oversell or hide available products.
- Online orders are re-keyed into an inventory, ERP or accounting system.
- Payments, refunds and orders are reconciled by hand.
- Prices, products and customer accounts are maintained separately in several places.
- A website rebuild is planned, but nobody has worked out how it will connect to operations.
What I deliver
Typical projects
Examples of the work this service covers. Most projects combine several.
Stock synchronisation
Inventory levels flow from the system of record to the website, with clear rules for reservations, low stock and items that cannot be sold online.
Order flow to fulfilment
Website orders reach the inventory or ERP system automatically, and fulfilment status flows back to the website and the customer.
Payments and reconciliation
Payment gateway transactions are linked to orders and invoices, and mismatches are reported for action.
Trade and wholesale ordering
Business customers order online with their own price lists and terms, connected to the systems that fulfil and invoice their orders.
The website is only the front of the operation
An ecommerce website that is not connected to operations creates work. Every order needs to be re-keyed, every stock change updated by hand and every payment matched to an order. As volume grows, the manual work grows with it, and so do the errors customers notice.
What I look at
- Products and prices. Where they are maintained, and how changes reach every channel.
- Stock. The system of record, update frequency, reservations and what customers see when stock runs out.
- Orders. How they reach fulfilment, how status flows back, and how changes and cancellations are handled.
- Payments. Gateways, refunds, reconciliation with orders and invoices, and how failures are handled.
- Customers. Accounts, trade terms and data that sales and service teams need.
How the work is delivered
The integration is designed alongside the website, not after it. Each flow is built and tested separately with realistic data, so the business can switch flows on one at a time.
How it works
How an ecommerce integration project runs
- Map the flowsHow products, prices, stock, orders, payments and customer data move today, and where staff fill the gaps by hand.
- Agree the source of truthWhich system owns each type of record, and which systems only read it.
- Design for failureWhat happens when a system is offline, an order cannot be fulfilled or a payment does not match.
- Build and test each flowOne flow at a time, tested with realistic data before it touches live orders.
- Switch on in stagesFlows go live one by one, with monitoring and a clear way to handle exceptions.
Proof of work
Related projects
FAQ
Common questions
Which ecommerce platforms do you work with?
The approach is the same for any platform: understand what it can exchange and how, then design the flows. My current client work includes a WordPress-based website. Other platforms are assessed on their APIs and extension options during discovery.
Should the website or the inventory system be the source of truth for stock?
Usually the inventory or ERP system, because it sees every sales channel and every stock movement. The website reflects it. The exact rules depend on how you sell and fulfil.
Can the integration be built while the website is being redesigned?
Yes, and that is often the best time, because the website can be designed around the data and flows it needs rather than having them added later.
Insights
Further reading
Framer or WordPress? How to Choose a Platform for Your Business Website
Framer or WordPress for a business website? A practical comparison of cost, maintenance, SEO, content and integrations, and how to decide for your business.
· Read →PayTabs on WordPress and WooCommerce: Planning Beyond the Plugin
Installing the PayTabs plugin takes minutes. Order statuses, payment notifications, refunds and reconciliation take planning. A guide for UAE and GCC businesses.
· Read →Connecting WooCommerce and Xero: What to Plan Before You Switch It On
How to connect a WooCommerce store with Xero properly. Choosing a connector, tax mapping, payments, refunds, stock and the decisions to make before you go live.
· Read →Related services
Often combined with
Systems integration →Connect the software your business already uses so information moves between systems reliably, without re-keying, spreadsheets in the middle or manual reconciliation.Process automation →Find the repetitive, error-prone work in your operations, simplify the process, then automate it with clear rules and a defined place for human judgement.Consulting and implementation →Turn a business problem into clear requirements, the right technology choices and a delivered solution, with one person accountable from discovery to launch.
Have an operational problem worth solving?
Tell me what is slowing your team down and which systems you use today. You do not need a technical specification: describing the problem is enough to start.