Retail and e-commerce business process automation
Retail and e-commerce business process automation means the warehouse, the stores and every sales channel of a retailer share one stock figure inside its ERP, and every order, return and payout is recorded once and tied back to the ledger. Warehouse, stores and every sales channel must share one stock figure, and every payout must tie back to orders. FlyWei maps that chain in your ERP, from buying from brands to payout reconciliation, then joins the links up so the same fact is never typed twice. Start with the Chain Map: half a day on site, one written map.
Half a day on site, a written two page map, the one link to fix first and a fixed pilot quote. The fee is credited in full against the pilot.
One stock figure and payout reconciliation: we map it in your ERP
In a typical UK retailer the warehouse stock sits in one system, the website and each marketplace hold their own figure, and channels oversell on the same Saturday the store sells out. Marketplace and card payouts arrive as lump sums and are reconciled to orders on a spreadsheet at month end. A retailer with 15 to 150 staff runs the same seven links as any goods business, and each link is a place the same fact is typed twice.
Warehouse, stores and every sales channel must share one stock figure, and every payout must tie back to orders. We map that in your ERP.
- 7
- links in the chain, from buying from brands to payout reconciliation
- Half a day
- on site for the Chain Map, with the people who run each link
- 2 pages
- the written map you leave with, plus a baseline from your own data
- 1
- link to fix first, with a fixed pilot quote credited in full against the pilot
The seven links, in retail and e-commerce words
Every goods business runs the same seven links. Here is what each link is called in a typical UK retailer, and what keyed once looks like at each one. Our delivered track record is in wholesale; the retail and e-commerce chain follows the same method, mapped in your own ERP.
| # | Stage | In your words | Typed once |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Purchasing | Buying from brands | Purchase orders built from sell-through and live stock, approved by role and sent to the brand without re-keying |
| 02 | Goods in | Inbound against the shipping notice | Inbound stock booked in against the shipping notice and the purchase order, with shortages flagged on the day |
| 03 | Stock | One stock position | One stock figure per product, synced from the warehouse to every store and channel, so nothing is oversold |
| 04 | Allocation | Orders across channels | Website, marketplace and store orders landing in the ERP as one order record, priced and allocated from the same stock |
| 05 | Goods out | Pick, pack and ship | Picking on device, the carrier label and despatch confirmation written from the order, tracking sent back to the channel |
| 06 | Invoices | Receipts and VAT invoices | Receipts and VAT invoices generated from the despatched order, in the format each channel and trade customer needs |
| 07 | Accounts | Payout reconciliation | Marketplace and payment payouts reconciled to orders and fees automatically, with only the differences sent to a person |
What we would automate first
These are the four joins we would map first in a typical UK retailer. Each one is the same fact, typed by a second person into a second screen, and each one is where a difference hides until the customer or the supplier finds it.
- 01
Stock synced from the warehouse to every channel, so channels stop overselling
- 02
Marketplace and payment payouts reconciled to orders automatically
- 03
Returns booked to stock and refunded in one step, not two jobs
- 04
Purchase orders built from sell-through and sent to the supplier without re-keying
Map, design, build, run
- 01
Map
The Chain Map. One engineer spends half a day on site walking purchasing, goods in, stock, goods out, invoicing and accounts as they run today, and marks every point where a person re-keys or chases. You get a written two page map, a baseline taken from your own data and countersigned by both sides, the one link to fix first and a fixed pilot quote. One fixed fee, credited in full against the pilot.
Book a Chain Map - 02
Design
We decide which steps your ERP handles, which need a module, and which need a connection. Written down and agreed before anything is coded.
- 03
Build and connect
Modules, portals, device apps and integrations built and tested in staging, then released through a controlled route with rollback.
- 04
Run
Our AI specialist engineers stay on: users, changes, faults, documentation and the next stage of automation, under an agreed work plan.
Questions retailers ask
What does retail and e-commerce business process automation cover?
The seven links a retailer runs every day: buying from brands, inbound against the shipping notice, one stock position, orders across channels, pick, pack and ship, receipts and VAT invoices, and payout reconciliation. Each fact is entered once and every later document is built from it inside the ERP you already run. We map your version first, then join the links up.
How do channels stop overselling?
By reading one stock figure. The warehouse quantity is held in the ERP and pushed to every store, the website and each marketplace on a schedule or on every change, and every channel order is allocated from that same figure. When the last unit sells in the store, the channels see it, rather than each keeping a figure of its own.
Can marketplace payouts be reconciled to orders automatically?
Yes, by method. Each payout statement is read into the ERP and matched line by line to the orders, refunds and fees it covers, and the total is posted to the ledger as one receipt. Only the lines that do not match reach a person. The month end spreadsheet is replaced by a list of differences, usually short.
How are returns handled in one step?
The return is booked to stock on a device against the original order, which raises the credit and the refund from the same record. Stock, ledger and channel are updated together, rather than one person booking the goods in and another person refunding a day later from an email.
Does this work with the ERP and channels we already run?
Yes. We build inside the ERP through its API, its database or a scheduled import, and connect the website, marketplaces, payment providers and carriers around it. Where the platform lacks a step, such as a payout reconciliation or a returns screen, we write the module. The Chain Map shows which case you are in.
Have you done this for a retailer before?
Our delivered track record is in wholesale, where the chain we built and run takes orders online against live stock, records delivery on device and raises invoices from deliveries every day. In retail the chain follows the same method, relabelled as channels, payouts and returns, inside the ERP you run. We map your version before we quote for any build.
Start with the Chain Map for your retail and e-commerce business
Half a day on site with the people who raise the orders, book the goods in and chase the invoices. You leave with a written map, a countersigned baseline and a fixed pilot quote. No fee is published; it is credited in full against the pilot.
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