Software & Automation for Operations-Heavy Small Businesses

Why operations-heavy SMBs need custom systems

Generic SaaS struggles with operations-heavy SMBs for three reasons:

Inventory and orders are physical. A wrong digit in the system means a real pallet at the wrong location, a real customer waiting on backorder, and real shrink. Validation and audit trails are not optional.
Margins are tight. 2-point margin compression on $5M revenue is $100K. Automation that catches duplicate orders, late deliveries, or pricing errors pays for itself in months — sometimes weeks.
Multi-location is the default, not the exception. Even a 10-person company often has a warehouse, an office, and 2–3 sales reps in the field. Coordination has to be in the software, not in someone’s head.

Common projects we deliver

Inventory and order management system. Products, locations, transfers, stock alerts, ordering. Often replaces a spreadsheet that became critical infrastructure or supplements a legacy ERP that doesn’t fit the workflow.
Supplier portals. Suppliers submit POs, update lead times, upload invoices, see payment status. Replaces email chains and PDF attachments.
Multi-location dispatch and coordination. Job assignment by location, route optimization, real-time status, customer notifications, field-to-office data flow.
Quality and compliance tracking. Inspection logs, certifications, training records, expirations, audit-ready exports. Critical for regulated verticals (food, medical devices, hazmat).
ERP integration and modernization. When NetSuite/Acumatica is in place but the team works around it: build the integration layer that connects ERP to ops tools, CRM, and dashboards instead of replacing the ERP.
Operations dashboards. Open orders, stock levels, supplier performance, on-time delivery rate, margin by SKU. One screen, live data.

Stack we typically work with

ERPs — NetSuite, Acumatica, Cin7, Odoo, custom builds on Supabase/Next.js
Inventory-specific — Sortly, Fishbowl, Katana (manufacturing), Airtable (for sub-$5M ops)
Accounting — QuickBooks, Xero, Sage
E-commerce — Shopify, BigCommerce (when SMB sells both B2B and DTC)
Logistics / shipping — ShipStation, Easyship, Shippo, EDI integrations
Workflow engine — Make, n8n, custom Node for high-volume or sensitive operations

Pricing for operations-heavy smbs projects

Project	Range
Inventory + order management (small)	$6,000–$10,000
Inventory + order management (multi-location)	$10,000–$18,000
Supplier portal	$8,000–$15,000
Multi-location dispatch system	$12,000–$20,000
ERP integration layer	$10,000–$25,000+
Operations dashboard	$5,000–$12,000
Retainer	$2,000–$3,500/mo

Frequently asked questions

Do you replace NetSuite or Acumatica?+

Almost never. Replacing an established ERP is a 12–18 month project and we don't take those on. We add the operational layers around the ERP that the team uses daily — order management UI, supplier portals, dashboards — while keeping the ERP as the system of record.

Can you do EDI?+

Yes for standard transaction sets (850, 855, 856, 810) via existing EDI translators (SPS Commerce, TrueCommerce, custom). We don't write EDI maps from scratch — we use the established partners and build the workflow around them.

What about regulated verticals (food, medical, hazmat)?+

Yes — we build the compliance tracking and audit trails. We don't certify the system for FDA/USDA/DOT compliance ourselves; that requires specialized partners. We integrate with what they build.

Can you handle multi-warehouse / multi-location inventory?+

Yes. Multi-location is the default in our designs for this industry — transfers, location-specific stock, picking rules, replenishment by warehouse all built in from day one.

What about a small wholesaler still on a spreadsheet?+

Very common. We usually do a $8K–$12K Airtable + custom UI build that gives them real inventory tracking, supplier records, and order management. Scales fine to $5–10M revenue before needing a real ERP.

Can you build for hybrid B2B + DTC operations?+

Yes. Shopify B2B + DTC + custom inventory layer + accounting integration is a frequent shape. The trick is keeping inventory accurate across channels — that's where most off-the-shelf solutions break.