Talking Tables

We created and maintained a bespoke Shopify application to sync customer and order data between their e-commerce platform and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.

The Background

Talking Tables is a renowned online games, gifts, party and home accessories retailer. With a growing number of online stores in different territories, this retailer needed bespoke application development to successfully integrate the Shopify e-commerce platform with its legacy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. The robust integration of the systems is paramount to ensure orders are placed via Shopify only against up-to-date, real-time information about price, stock and supplies held in the ERP system.

The Challenge

While Talking Tables uses Shopify as its e-commerce platform, it uses the ERP system ‘WinMan’ for warehousing, purchasing and supply chain management. However, this ERP software did not easily integrate with their six Shopify stores. To resolve that issue, Talking Tables got a freelance Shopify specialist to build a custom Shopify app that would sync Shopify and the ERP data.

So when an order is made, the data should have been received from Shopify API and processed within the custom Shopify application, updating the order in the ERP system – but it often failed to do so. Also, the app was meant to periodically check the ERP system for any new products and these should then be added to each of Talking Tables’ Shopify stores, but this functionality didn’t function as intended either. All in all, it was a major disruption to the business as to keep customers happy and sales optimal, the Talking Tables team often had to do lots of manual work.

In short, Talking Tables were increasingly finding that the freelance Shopify specialist they were working with was not able to provide the level of technical expertise they needed. Hence they reached out to Bit Zesty for help.

The Solution

As soon as we took over the support of the custom Shopify application, we started rewriting it bit by bit, focusing on the most pressing problem areas, therefore improving Talking Tables operations from the start. Over time, we have rewritten most of the code, enhancing the integration between Shopify websites and the ERP system so that all systems are kept in sync at all times and working as intended.

As Shopify is built using Ruby on Rails, we were also able to help Talking Tables to improve Shopify templates for their stores by adding new functionality and fixing bugs.

As part of our ongoing support service, we continue to make sure the retailer is up-to-date with different versions, implement technical updates and continue to promptly fix any bugs that arise, ensuring that they are able to provide a seamless e-commerce experience for their customers.

The Impact

Enabling reliable syncing between Shopify and WinMan has transformed the retailer’s ability to accept, manage and process orders. They are also now able to launch new shops in new territories quickly and with the confidence that their technology is robust and fully supported by a team of Ruby on Rails and Shopify custom application experts.