Someone is doing the same update twice
A parcel goes out in the shipping tool and the retail system has to be told by hand. Whatever the pair of systems, that second entry is the job we automate, triggered by the action staff already take.
Connect the work behind the storefront
System integrations
Orders, stock and shipments move through several systems, and someone is usually filling the gaps by hand. We build the connections, with clear rules for what moves, who owns it and what happens when it doesn't match, so the second entry stops being a person's job.
An order doesn't end at checkout. It has to reach the warehouse, come back as a shipment, sometimes come back again as a return or an exchange, and turn up in the accounts. Every one of those handovers is a place where two systems can disagree about what just happened, and where a customer or a buyer tends to find out before you do.
We build and maintain the connections between ecommerce, retail, warehouse, wholesale and finance systems: Shopify, Datapel, Apparel21, Retail Express, Magenta, Cin7, NuORDER, ShipStation and Starshipit so far. The work starts with a real transaction and the person handling it, then gets into identifiers, timing, ownership and the exceptions. What you end up with is a flow you can explain to a new staff member, plus the checks and recovery steps for when it needs attention.
Sounds familiar?
When an integration is the job
Usually one of these three. Often two at once.
A business rule lives in a spreadsheet
Regional pricing, product families, delivery windows, what an exchange does to stock. We work with your team to establish which system should own each rule and put the transformation where it belongs.
The existing connection is fragile
An API is changing, a platform is being replaced, or nobody can explain what the middleware does. We map the current flow, then repair, extend or replace it in stages you can verify. Sometimes a scheduled Matrixify import is enough, and we'll recommend it when it fits.
What you get
The connection, and the means to trust it
A map you can read
Which records move, in which direction, which system is authoritative and which identifiers tie them together. Field meanings as well as formats: variants, locations, statuses, timing.
Flows that cover the whole transaction
Products, availability, orders, fulfilment, and where you need them, returns and exchanges. Each flow has one job. A shipment update and an order import can share a reference and still be different things.
A plan for when it doesn’t match
Missing fields, ambiguous identifiers, a service that’s down, an event that arrives twice. We agree the behaviour up front, and records that need a human are held with enough context to decide.
Checks, not just logs
Run summaries and reconciliation that compare what was expected with what arrived, and a handover that explains how to review and recover. A successful API response is not the same as a correct record.
How it goes
Follow one order. Then all of them
We use representative records to test the flow and its failure cases, then we agree a rollout in stages.
Walk through a real transaction
Representative records, the decisions around them, who owns what, and the exceptions your team already knows about. Access gets sorted here too.
Test the examples and the exceptions
Missing data, repeated events, changed records, odd statuses. We test these in a reviewable environment and compare the results with what the receiving team needs.
Switch on in stages and reconcile
We agree the records and size of each rollout stage, then check the receiving system before expanding it. We investigate discrepancies and document the operating steps and who owns each part.
Recent integration work
Two connections, two shapes
One replaced existing middleware flows. One closes the dispatch loop.
ELK · Connected retail operations
Four systems in step at 7,000 orders a month
Shopify, NuORDER, Datapel and ShipStation, connected around the sale, stock and shipping handovers.
Bicycle Superstore · Fulfilment integration
7,391 courier orders, entered once
Dispatch information passes from Starshipit through Shopify to the matching Retail Express order.
Common questions
Before we start
Which platforms have you worked with?
Shopify, Datapel WMS, Apparel21, Retail Express, Magenta, Cin7, NuORDER, ShipStation and Starshipit, all in published work. Whether a new pair can be connected depends on their APIs and your access, which we assess early.
Can you review an integration we already have?
Yes. We can investigate a specific problem, map the current flow or assess an extension. Then you'll know whether it needs a repair, ongoing maintenance or replacing.
Does everything have to sync instantly?
No. Some changes need to be prompt, some can run on a schedule. We agree which is which and make sure operators can tell how current the information is.
How do you avoid duplicates?
Stable identifiers, a record of what has been processed, and retries that know about both. The exact controls depend on the APIs; repeated events are part of the testing.
What should we bring?
The systems involved, a redacted or fictional example, and the outcome you need. Leave out customer records and credentials; we can agree how to review further detail.
Work directly with Chris
Let’s map the connection
The systems involved, a redacted or fictional example, and what you want to happen.