Studios
For mid-sized distributors moving products across B2B accounts, retailers, and direct-to-consumer channels. Where inventory accuracy is everyone’s problem, the ERP can’t connect to the marketplaces that would unlock real revenue, and customers are starting to notice when orders ship a week late.
The system says you have 200 pallets and you have 180. Or you have 220 and the system thinks you have 150. Either way, somebody finds out the hard way.
You’re paying for the ERP, a separate CRM, separate accounting, separate warehouse tools, plus the spreadsheets your team actually runs the operation from. None of them talk in any useful way.
Your team has been trying to connect to additional sales channels for years. The ERP can’t do it without major customization. Revenue you could be capturing is sitting on the table.
You used to be known for delivering on time. Now you’re a week late on commitments to the customers you can’t afford to lose, and nobody can pinpoint exactly why.
When the systems don’t talk and the inventory is uncertain, the right move usually isn’t a new ERP. It’s connecting what you already have so the data finally flows in one direction. We’ll tell you when that’s the answer and when a custom rebuild is.
In about four out of five consultations we run with distributors, we recommend against a custom rebuild. The ERP is usually fine. The problem is between the ERP and the rest of the stack, and the actual fix is integration: connecting the warehouse tools, the accounting platform, the CRM, the marketplace channels, and the master Excel sheet your team trusts more than the software you pay for.
For the distribution businesses where custom is genuinely the right move (legacy systems on Visual FoxPro or Access, niche operations no off-the-shelf platform models well, or specific data needs that integrations can’t solve), we build the rebuild incrementally. The legacy system stays alive while we ship modern replacements one section at a time.
For the deeper service breakdown, see ERP Software Integration if integration is the right path, or Custom Enterprise Software for full custom builds.
Their core operations ran on a Visual FoxPro database older than the developers maintaining it. Orders, inventory, accounting touchpoints, customer data — all of it. The system worked, until Microsoft’s next compatibility update would have made it stop working. We rebuilt the data layer on a modern stack, integrated it with the rest of their operations, and migrated the business one feature at a time. The trucks never stopped rolling.
NetSuite and SAP Business One are general-purpose ERPs with distribution modules layered on. They work for many businesses. For others, the distribution module forces you to think the way the system thinks, instead of the way distribution actually works in your operation. Custom is the answer when the off-the-shelf platform’s assumptions don’t match your reality. If NetSuite or SAP would actually serve you, we’ll tell you on the call.
Yes. Most distribution engagements include integrations with WMS platforms, accounting (QuickBooks, Sage, NetSuite), marketplace channels (Amazon, Shopify, Walmart), EDI, and carrier APIs. Sometimes integration alone solves the problem and we don’t recommend a rebuild at all.
That’s a significant chunk of the work we do. Older distribution systems are usually held together by one developer’s knowledge, not by documentation. We rescue the data first, then run the legacy system alongside a modern rebuild, migrating functionality piece by piece. The business stays operational throughout. Read more on the Legacy Software System Modernization page.
We ship the highest-impact section in four to six weeks. Full system replacement typically takes twelve to eighteen months depending on complexity, but the business sees value early because we go incrementally. The new and old systems run side by side until each piece has migrated.
From day one. Every engagement transfers source code ownership at the start, not at delivery. If you ever decide to bring the work in-house or change vendors, the code goes with you.
A 30-minute call. We listen to how your distribution operation actually runs, where the system fights you, and what your team has built workarounds for. If a configured platform or an integration solves it, we’ll tell you. If custom is the right move, we’ll explain why. Either way, you leave with a written summary, free to keep.