Milestones in Custom Software and ERP Integration: Inoxoft’s Experience

TL;DR

• When integrating with ERP, you can benefit from centralized data, automated processes, enhanced team collaboration, and faster decision-making. 
• Process automation is set to grow from $13 billion in 2024 to $23.9 billion by 2029.
• In one of our cases, ERP integration resulted in reduced order processing time by 25% and improved inventory accuracy by 30%, cutting operational costs by 20%.
• CRM, eCommerce, HRMS, BI tools, project management, and accounting software are the solutions that can be integrated with ERPs; each adds unique value to streamline operations.
• Needs assessment, data mapping, API development, UI and workflow integration, testing, and go-live are key milestones in ERP integrations

How We Integrated ERP with WMS and Cut Order Processing Time by 25%

We first teamed up with this logistics company to build a custom mobile app, which turned out to be a great success. So, when a new challenge came up, they knew just who to call. After seeing real improvements with the app, they came back, this time needing to connect the Warehouse Management System (WMS) with the ERP. Having experienced our approach firsthand, the company trusted us to handle this next step and make the workflow even smoother.

The Challenge

Our client already had a solid WMS in place, tracking inventory and organizing stock movement. But there was a big problem: the WMS wasn’t connected to their ERP system, which handled everything else, like orders, purchasing, and resource planning. Without that connection, data had to be transferred manually—slowing everything down, and driving up costs.

There were some serious headaches:  

• Order processing was often thrown off by outdated inventory data, leading to stockouts. Workers would pull items from shelves only to discover they were out of stock, which delayed shipments and frustrated customers.  
• Employees also had to enter the same data twice—once in the WMS and then again in the ERP—which took up time and left plenty of room for human error.

The Project Goal

Our goal was to link the WMS and ERP to let data move automatically between the two systems. That’s what we wanted to achieve, and that’s exactly what we accomplished:  

• Inventory levels could be monitored in real-time, with updates instantly available across both systems.  
• The integration helped keep inventory levels accurate, reducing the risk of stockouts and overstocking.  
• Automating data transfers cut down on the time spent on manual data entry, freeing up employees for other tasks.  

In short, we wanted to transform their systems into a connected, efficient powerhouse that could handle the demands of a busy operation without missing a beat.

The Results

Once we completed our WMS ERP integration, our client saw some impressive changes:

• Inventory data accuracy jumped by 30%, which helped avoid stockouts and cut down on excess stock.
• Orders moved 25% faster, improving delivery times and customer satisfaction.
• With less manual data entry and more automation, the company reduced operational costs by 20%.

Struggling with the same problems? Give us a call, and we can help you tackle your challenges and bring exceptional value to your business.

What Other Systems You Can Integrate with Your ERP

Automation is picking up speed, and businesses are searching for new ways to deliver consistent value while lowering costs, while improving satisfaction for both employees and customers. Mordor Intelligence predicts the Process Automation Market is set to grow from US$13 billion in 2024 to US$23.9 billion by 2029. We’re seeing these digital changes especially in supply chains, customer service, and administrative tasks. If you’re just beginning this journey, ERP integration is a smart first step.

“The IT infrastructure of today’s companies can be quite complex. You’re juggling multiple systems at once, which often leads to chaos, as each element tends to operate in its own bubble. But here’s the good news: when you integrate all your systems with ERP, you’ll see a remarkable drop in costs and a noticeable boost in employee productivity. It’s amazing how bringing everything together can transform your operations.”

— says our COO, Nazar Kvartalnyi.

Let’s explore the systems you can connect with your ERP to make your processes even smoother and enjoy the full benefits of automation.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems

“Connecting your CRM system, like Salesforce or HubSpot, with your ERP, pulls everything together into one clear, up-to-date view of your customer data.”

— says our senior software engineer.

But what does that mean?

For instance, think of a company selling electronics. Their sales team uses HubSpot to manage customer interactions, while the ERP system handles inventory. Now, say a sales manager adds a new customer in HubSpot—this integration means the data automatically syncs with the ERP system. 

So, when the logistics team reviews orders, they can see up-to-date inventory levels and customer orders in real-time. No extra data entry or double-checking is needed! We saw this solution cut order processing time by 50% for one of our clients, giving them a serious edge in customer service.

eCommerce platforms

eCommerce integration with ERP is a very popular request among retail businesses. When you connect a platform like Shopify, Magento, or WooCommerce to your ERP system, it smooths out order handling, inventory tracking, and customer data management. So, your sales, stock, and finances all work together to provide a coherent experience from the moment a customer places an order to final delivery.

Once we implemented this setup for our client using Shopify for sales and an ERP for managing stock and accounts. With each sale, Shopify sent the order data directly to the ERP, which updated inventory and simplified billing. Our client saw immediate benefits—inventory levels stayed accurate even during big sales, and payment tracking became much simpler.

Human Resources Management Systems

Linking your ERP with HR systems brings all your employee data, payroll, and benefits together in one place, making HR tasks way simpler and more precise. This integration keeps payroll accurate, smooths out hiring processes, and gives HR teams the up-to-date info they need to make smarter decisions. 

Let’s imagine an international company using SAP ERP for finance and supply chain management, paired with an HRMS for employee records. With integration, details like payroll and benefits flow automatically from the HRMS into SAP. So, when an employee’s pay changes in HRMS, SAP reflects the update in financial projections immediately. In our experience, this connection also works great for compliance and planning purposes, especially helpful for teams spread across multiple countries.

Business Intelligence (BI) Tools

With the right BI tools integrated into your ERP system, you can transform raw production data into easy-to-read charts and reports that show trends and opportunities. Managers can see where things are running well and where there’s room to improve, like spotting bottlenecks in the process.

For example, when we worked with a manufacturing firm, connecting their ERP to Tableau helped them identify underperforming machines, which they quickly replaced—cutting down on downtime. Soon after, they were using these insights to fine-tune their production flow and clear up other bottlenecks.

Project Management Software

Connecting project management tools like Trello or Asana with your ERP pulls project timelines, resource allocation, and other key details into one easy-to-access spot. This setup is perfect for companies where project and product teams need to stay in sync with order management or invoicing.

Take a logistics company that uses Monday.com to manage deliveries and an ERP for customer orders. When someone updates a delivery in Monday.com, the ERP automatically shows that change, giving the finance team real-time timelines for invoicing. We can say that the improved communication between departments really smoothed out customer updates.

Accounting Software

Accounting software integration may be a game-changer for small businesses that have to track every dollar without the need to double-handle data. Such a duo can also streamline financial processes, keep records accurate, and cut down on manual entries. Let’s take a look at the example. 

A small manufacturing company uses an ERP to manage production and QuickBooks or Xero for accounting. Each time an order is completed, the ERP creates an invoice and automatically sends it to the accounting tool, recording revenue right away. After such integration, a company could save hours every month and achieve much cleaner, error-free financial records.

Key Milestones for ERP System Integration

We can’t speak for every company since everyone has their own way of handling integration, but we’re excited to share our personal experiences and the key milestones we’ve seen during the ERP integration process, along with insights from Inoxoft’s tech experts. Let’s dive in.

Milestone 1: Needs Assessment and Planning

Discovery phase

For our team, getting the integration right starts with understanding what really matters to you. We call this step the Discovery phase, where we work closely with you, your target audience, and key stakeholders to identify integration goals. 

We want to know: What are your objectives? Is it about getting faster, more accurate data? Cutting down on repetitive tasks? Or, maybe, getting a clearer view of your operations? Knowing these helps us keep our focus squarely on what’s valuable for your business.

“In the Discovery phase, we take a close look at your business needs from all angles. Our team—including business analysts, engineers, and technical experts—works directly with you over one to four weeks, depending on the project’s size. We meet with you and key people involved in the project, run surveys, and conduct interviews to really get a feel for your goals and challenges. By the end of this phase, we come back with a clear breakdown of development costs, a well-defined scope, and a plan for design and technical steps to make sure everything’s ready for the next stage.”

— explains our Head of Delivery, Maksym Trostyanchuk.

Analysis of existing systems

Next, we dig into your current ERP system to understand its full range of capabilities. We look at all custom software features you have in place, checking how they work and how they’re set up. We also review your data structures and formats to see how information is organized, stored, and transferred between systems. 

With this careful analysis, we find any potential compatibility issues, like mismatches between data formats or system requirements, and spot any areas that may need extra work, so everything integrates without surprises.

Development of a solid integration plan

With these insights, we pull together a detailed plan that lays out every key step. We define what exactly the integration will cover, what possible pros and cons of integration are, think through any risks, and map out timelines and resources needed for each phase. 

To keep you in the loop and set clear expectations, we share our own integration plan template, which shows every detail of our approach:

Milestone 2: Data Mapping and Synchronization

During this stage, we figure out which data elements need to be shared between the systems. In our experience, the most common requests usually are:

• Customer information
• Inventory levels
• Financial transactions
• Employee records

Next, we create a data mapping document to match up your data fields in each system—like connecting dots to make sure the same information is understood on both sides. Our team also makes any small changes needed so that data can move easily between systems without confusion.

Lastly, we set the rules for how and when data will move and update—this is what’s called data synchronization rules. Here’s how we do this:

• Our engineers set up triggers for real-time updates, so changes happen immediately, or schedule batch transfers, where updates happen at specific times.
• We also make rules for what to do if there are any differences between the systems, like deciding which data to trust if there’s a conflict.

“Before we finally sync up your systems, we carefully go through each piece to remove duplicates, fix errors, and put everything in a consistent format. We also run automated checks and sometimes manual reviews to confirm everything is accurate, so when the data finally moves between systems, it’s clean, reliable, and ready for smooth integration.”

— adds our ERP analyst.

Milestone 3: API Development and Integration

In this milestone, we focus on ERP API integration, which is basically like building bridges that let different systems communicate with each other. That’s how we do it step-by-step:

• First, we select the right API technology—this could be REST, SOAP, GraphQL, or any other solution depending on what fits best. For example, if you’re integrating shipping services, using a REST API is often a popular choice because it allows for easy communication. Or, if you need to integrate payment processing, a SOAP API might be better because of its security features.  
• Next, we design the APIs to define how both systems will communicate. It’s like creating a set of instructions that describes what each system can do and how they can share information.
• Once the design is in place, we begin the very development of the API, meaning we implement these connections in both your software and your ERP system so they can work together.
• Finally, we conduct detailed tests, using the best API testing tools, to make sure everything functions as expected. We check that the APIs are transmitting data correctly and that both systems respond in a proper way.

Keep in mind that these technical details are unique to each project, and you should discuss them with your integration partner to avoid costly trial-and-error situations. 

Contact our technical experts and schedule a free consultation so we can discuss your project needs.

Milestone 4: User Interface and Workflow Integration

That’s where our designers step in because even the best features can fall flat without a great user experience. When reaching this milestone, we focus on a few key things:

• Our team creates a cohesive user interface that feels consistent and easy to navigate across both systems, so users won’t feel lost or confused while doing their work.
• We also ensure that the workflows of your software and ERP system are perfectly aligned, meaning everything works together without a hitch.
• Finally, we provide hands-on training for your users. We want everyone to feel comfortable with the new integrated system, empowering your team to use ERP  to its full potential. 

“Here, at Inoxoft, we take great care with our UI/UX design and development services. Every step of the process is a conversation with our clients. We listen to their needs and requirements and create solutions that fit their audience, whether they’re tech experts with years of experience or everyday office workers just learning the ropes. Our clients can trust that their products will be inclusive and easy to use.”

— explains the lead of our design team.

Milestone 5: Testing and Quality Assurance

Being a well-known QA consultancy, we can’t overlook such an important step as testing. Here’s what happens during this stage:

• We create detailed test cases that cover a variety of situations. This way, we can see how the system performs in different scenarios and make sure it’s ready for anything.
• After that, our QA experts conduct functional testing, going through each feature to ensure it does exactly what you need it to do—no surprises!
• Next, we put the system through its paces by testing how it handles different loads, which we call performance testing. Whether it’s a handful of users or a surge in traffic, we want to see it stay fast and responsive.
• Finally, we run security tests to keep your sensitive data safe. Our goal is to build a system that is secure from potential threats, protecting your information as well as your clients’ sensitive data.

Milestone 6: Deployment and Go-Live

When the time comes to deployment, we want to ensure the ERP system is ready to handle real-world use seamlessly, without any surprises for our client. Here’s how we do it with minimal disruption.

• Reviewing your existing hardware to confirm they can handle the ERP system’s demands. If any upgrades are needed, we recommend the best options.
• Configuring the production environment (the one you’ll be using day-to-day) to match the testing setup as closely as possible. This includes setting up software, adjusting network settings, and adding unique security keys. 
• Creating a full backup of your existing systems before making any changes, which helps prevent data loss if any issues come up during deployment.
• Deploying your ERP system according to a clear plan that keeps any downtime minimal. Our engineers also move over any needed data from your old systems so you don’t lose anything important.

“At the end, we’ll do some quick checks—called smoke tests—to make sure all the key parts of the system are working smoothly. They cover the basics, so if anything major is off, we’ll catch it before you start using the system. This way, we know everything’s good to go, and you can start using the new ERP system without any worries.”

— concludes our senior software engineer.

Need to Integrate Your ERP System? Let’s Do It Together

Looking to level up with a powerful ERP system? We’re here to make it happen with expertise, experience, and a team that’s got your back every step of the way.

With over 200+ specialists, we bring a deep bench of talent to every project. From ERP integration strategy to quality assurance, our team has handled over 230 successful projects, working with WMS, CRM, eCommerce platforms, and even EMR integration, and our team is fluent in a range of tech like Python, JavaScript, .NET, and more. 

We also bring flexibility with a range of integration methods—native integrations, custom setups, point-to-point connections, and middleware solutions. No matter the system and the integration needs, we’ve been there, done that, and know how to make it work like you wish!

So, if you’re ready to see what a truly integrated system can do, we’d love to talk! Reach out today, and let’s get started on making your ERP vision a reality.

To Sum Up 

Let’s be real—your business processes are only going to get more complicated, and your customers always want more. To really achieve the most out of your enterprise software, you need solutions that can grow with you and adapt to your changing needs. An ERP is at the heart of your operations, so when it’s time to integrate, it pays to invest in professional services that deliver the quality and support you deserve.

Whether you’re looking for something simple or tackling a more complex setup, our team has the expertise to help you out. With over 230 successful projects under our belt, we’ve got a track record that proves we know how to get real results. 

If you’ve got a project that needs a dedicated team of engineers, reach out to us! We’re excited to help bring your vision to life