Sporting Goods Retailer — Custom Mobile WMS + Shopify Integration

Home Success Stories Sporting Goods Retailer — Custom Mobile WMS + Shopify Integration

Customer Background

The client is a sporting goods retailer operating both physical stores and a rapidly growing Shopify e-commerce channel. Their business spans Finance, Sales, Purchasing, Inventory, Warehouse, and E-Commerce operations, supported by a custom-built solution developed by a 5-person team to streamline and integrate processes across channels.

Industry

Sporting Goods Retail & E-Commerce, Full Finance, Sales, Purchasing, Inventory, Warehouse and E-Commerce Integration, Extensive custom AL development, 5-person team

The Challenge

The client operated a high-volume sporting goods retail business with both brick-and-mortar stores and a fast-growing Shopify e-commerce channel, processing thousands of orders daily across both channels.

Warehouse operations were manual and paper-based—pick lists were printed, inventory counts relied on spreadsheets, and there was no barcode scanning capability, leading to frequent mis-picks, shipping errors, and inventory discrepancies. The Shopify store operated as a silo—orders were manually re-keyed into the accounting system, inventory was not synchronized in real-time, and overselling was a recurring problem during promotional events.

Our Approach

  • We conducted a comprehensive discovery phase covering retail operations, warehouse workflows, and e-commerce order fulfillment processes. A detailed fit-gap analysis identified where standard BC functionality met requirements and where custom AL development would be needed.
  • The warehouse mobility solution was designed from the ground up—we mapped every warehouse process (receiving, put-away, picking, packing, shipping, cycle counting, physical inventory) and designed mobile-optimized interfaces for each, leveraging BC’s mobile app framework with custom AL extensions. The Shopify integration was architected for real-time bidirectional sync.

Solution Delivered

  • Custom Mobile WMS (AL Extension): Goods Receiving: barcode scan inbound shipments against POs, auto-populate receiving journals, capture lot/serial numbers, flag quantity discrepancies in real-time. Put-Away: directed put-away with bin suggestions based on item velocity and zone capacity. Pick and Pack: wave-based pick list generation with optimized pick paths, barcode validation at each pick point to eliminate mis-picks, packing station integration with weight capture and carton assignment. Shipping: carrier selection, shipping label generation, and tracking number capture from mobile device, with automatic Sales Shipment posting. Cycle Counting: mobile-driven cycle count programs with automated variance reporting and approval workflows. Physical Inventory: barcode scanning interface with staging tables, auto-generating Physical Inventory Journals. Custom staging tables, 7+ AL code objects (tables, pages, codeunits, page extensions, reports), and mobile-optimized page layouts.
  • Shopify Integration: Real-time inventory sync—BC adjustments immediately reflected on Shopify, preventing overselling during high-traffic promotions. Automated order import—Shopify orders pulled into BC as Sales Orders with full customer, item, pricing, and shipping details. Product and pricing sync—item catalogue managed in BC and pushed to Shopify as single source of truth. Returns and refund processing managed in BC with status updates flowing back to Shopify. Promotional pricing and discount rules managed centrally in BC.
  • Finance & Operations: Full GL, AP, AR, Cash Management. Multi-location inventory with real-time stock visibility across warehouse, stores, and in-transit. Purchasing with automated reorder point planning and vendor performance tracking. Unified sales order processing for both retail and e-commerce channels.

Key Outcomes

  • Picking accuracy improved from approximately 94% to over 99.5% through barcode validation at every step.
  • Order fulfillment time reduced by approximately 60%.
  • Inventory accuracy improved to over 99% through real-time sync and mobile cycle counting.
  • Overselling incidents eliminated through real-time Shopify inventory synchronization.
  • Manual data entry (Shopify order re-keying) fully eliminated, saving approximately 20+ hours per week.
  • Unified reporting with single source of truth across all channels.

Technology Stack

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (SaaS), Custom AL Extensions (mobile WMS), BC Mobile App Framework, Shopify API Integration, Barcode Scanners (Wi-Fi enabled), Power BI for sales and warehouse dashboards.

Use when

Prospect has warehouse operations (especially manual/paper-based), e-commerce channel needing ERP integration, or multi-channel inventory visibility gaps.

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