CUSTOMER STORY
United Sports Brands
United Sports Brands: Ensuring Accurate Buy with Prime Order Synchronization with Microsoft Dynamics GP
The integration of Buy with Prime (BWP) orders from Shopify into Microsoft Dynamics GP had specific challenges, especially with mixed orders and timing. The solution that APPSeCONNECT provided helped United Sports Brands keep track of their inventory and financial postings clearly. This ensured smooth operations for their Amazon-fulfilled transactions.
The Story of United Sports Brands
United Sports Brands is a well-known company in the sports and active lifestyle sector, recognized for its high-quality products and gear. The company maintains a strong online storefront using Shopify, which is essential for direct customer purchases.
For their back-office operations, including inventory, financial reporting, and invoicing, the company uses Microsoft Dynamics GP.
With the increasing popularity of services like Buy with Prime (BWP), United Sports Brands saw a chance to provide their customers with faster, more reliable delivery by using Amazon’s logistics. They had to implement BWP on their Shopify store and ensure all order data synced properly with Dynamics GP.
Managing BWP Operations seamlessly
United Sports Brands needed an integration solution to manage two types of Buy with Prime orders:
- BWP Only Orders: Orders where Amazon fulfills all items.
- Mixed Orders: Orders that include both Amazon-fulfilled (BWP) items and non-BWP items fulfilled by the company’s own warehouse.
The synchronization solution had to do the following:
- Make sure invoicing in GP happens only after Amazon confirms shipment.
- Keep the fulfillment and invoicing for BWP and non-BWP items separate within mixed orders.
- Maintain clear segregation and reporting for all Amazon-fulfilled transactions within Dynamics GP.
To achieve the needed precision in order flow and data handling, United Sports Brands chose APPSeCONNECT to connect Shopify and Microsoft Dynamics GP.
The Challenges
Three major synchronization challenges were identified when integrating BWP orders:
1. Premature Order Import
- Before APPSeCONNECT: The standard integration process imported all order lines into GP right after an order was created in Shopify.
- Impact:
- Invoices for BWP items could be generated before Amazon actually shipped the product.
- This caused mistakes in inventory and financial reconciliation, especially for items that Amazon had not fulfilled for a time.
2. Handling Mixed Orders
- Before APPSeCONNECT: Orders that included both BWP and non-BWP items were imported as one document into Dynamics GP.
- Impact:
- It was difficult to identify which warehouse, either Amazon or internal, was responsible for each part of the order.
- The single document did not meet the need for separate invoicing for the two different fulfillment processes.
3. Identifying and Segregating BWP Transactions
- Before APPSeCONNECT: There was no automated way to easily label and separate Amazon-fulfilled orders from standard orders within Dynamics GP.
- Impact:
- Reporting on Amazon-related sales and logistics was complicated and required manual filtering.
- Lack of clear financial segregation for BWP transactions.
The Solution: Custom Integration for Buy with Prime Orders
The APPSeCONNECT team created a tailored integration solution to manage the specific needs of Buy with Prime fulfillment.
- Dedicated BWP Flow: They established a dedicated process to handle only Buy with Prime orders. This was done by using the unique ‘Buy with Prime’ tag on the Shopify order.
- Result: A clean, separate pipeline for BWP transactions, ensuring standard orders were not affected by the custom logic.
- Delayed and Conditional Sync: The system was adjusted to only bring in BWP order lines into Dynamics GP after Amazon updated the fulfillment status in Shopify.
- Result: Invoices are generated only for items that have been shipped. This approach solves the early import problem and ensures financial accuracy.
- Dual Mapping and Item Differentiation: The solution uses the Fulfillment Service field in Shopify to identify items: “amazon fulfilled” for BWP and “manual” for non-BWP. Two separate data mappers were used to process these lines.
- Result: Accurate identification of every item’s fulfillment source, setting the stage for document splitting.
- Automated Splitting of Mixed Orders: For mixed orders, the system automatically creates two separate sales documents in Dynamics GP.
- Result: One document for the Amazon-fulfilled (BWP) lines and one for the manually fulfilled (non-BWP) lines. This enables separate invoicing and clear inventory tracking for each fulfillment type.
- Standardized Reporting Assignment: All BWP orders are automatically assigned to a specific Customer ID: WABP001 and Location ID: AMAZ1 in Dynamics GP.
- Result: Easy and accurate reporting and segregation of Amazon-fulfilled transactions within the GP system.
The Implementation Journey
The APPSeCONNECT solution was implemented to create a reliable and secure data flow, focusing on precise timing and data structure. By using Shopify’s “Updated Date” as a trigger, the integration ensures that data synchronization happens at the right time, after fulfillment, which eliminates premature entries. The setup reduced disruption and immediately gave United Sports Brands a clear and accurate view of their BWP sales within Dynamics GP.
The Results & Impact
The custom integration brought tangible improvements to United Sports Brands’ operations:
- Accurate Invoicing: Invoices in Dynamics GP now reliably reflect only items that have been shipped by Amazon, correcting the financial posting cycle.
- Clear Fulfillment Tracking: Mixed orders are correctly split into two documents, allowing the company to track inventory and fulfillment for BWP and internal items separately.
- Segregated Financial Reporting: The automated assignment of BWP orders to specific Customer and Location IDs makes reporting on Amazon-fulfilled sales quick and simple.
- Operational Clarity: The delay control ensures data imported into GP is clean and complete, reducing reconciliation time and manual data checks for the accounting team.
Key Highlights
Key Highlights
- Conditional order sync for BWP items based on fulfillment status.
- Automated splitting of mixed BWP and non-BWP orders into separate GP documents.
- Dedicated integration processflow based on Shopify order tags.
- Standardized GP Customer and Location ID assignment for BWP transactions.
Why It Matters
For United Sports Brands, adding Buy with Prime was crucial for meeting customer demand for fast delivery. However, it brought new operational challenges. The APPSeCONNECT integration addressed these problems by creating smart, customized rules for order synchronization. By ensuring the right timing and precise document splitting, the company effectively adopted a hybrid fulfillment model without jeopardizing the integrity of its back-office records in Microsoft Dynamics GP.
G2 Review:
Headquarters:
United States – California
Industry:
Manufacturing
ERP System:
Microsoft Dynamics GP
Ecommerce:
Shopify
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