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Puhdistamo customer case
Customer case
Puhdistamo
"The most important thing is that the connection between Shopify and Business Central is reliable."
ERP system: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central SaaS
E-commerce platform: Shopify Plus
Puhdistamo – Real Foods Oy, leads the way in food innovation. They offer not only food and refreshing beverages but also a range of sports products, from electrolytes to protein bars and energy drinks. Supplements are central to their range. Quality and authenticity are their trademarks, aiming for top-notch products. Their offering is mainly found in Finland and Sweden, but with their B2C Shopify webshop, integrated with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central SaaS ERP, they serve the entire Europe. Martti Tapanila, Business Controller at Puhdistamo, shares his thoughts on the integration and use of the Tinx Shopify Connector.
Challenges before the integration between Business Central & Shopify
“We used an old and simple ERP platform that was only suitable for small businesses. It was a basic connector that essentially bridged the gap between the existing Shopify webshop and the ERP platform. The connector worked in only one direction, from Shopify to ERP, and provided information on the quantity of products to be shipped from the Shopify orders. We were stuck using paper prints of Shopify orders for picking and packing. In practice, this meant that our processing workflows for B2B and B2C customers were entirely different and separate processes.
Fortunately, we have now outgrown the old ERP with its basic connector and have started using Microsoft 365 Business Central in combination with the Tinx Shopify Connector.”
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Introducing: Puhdistamo & Martti Tapanila
“My name is Martti Tapanila, and I work as a Business Controller at Puhdistamo – Real Foods Oy. We are located in Lempäälä, Finland. I have been with Puhdistamo for 2 years now. One of my responsibilities is implementing the Shopify Connector to integrate Shopify Plus with Microsoft Business Central SaaS. This has been done in collaboration with our partners, Fellowmind Finland (ERP partner) and Tinx (Integration partner).
“My role as a Business Controller is quite diverse. Firstly, I take care of performance reporting development at Puhdistamo. I also manage the finances of our Swedish subsidiary and report to the executive management team. Additionally, I am responsible for co-managing our ERP implementation project of Business Central and overseeing the implementation of financial, sales, and reporting activities, including the E-commerce Connector.
“Puhdistamo was founded 12 years ago. The current growth phase started about 5 years ago. In the beginning, it was a relatively small company with limited operations focused on the webshop where premium products were sold. We have grown into a company emphasising a B2B strategy, primarily selling to resellers. The growth comes from resellers, the backbone of our operations. Additionally, we are currently focusing more on our own B2C webshop.”
Functionality of the Tinx Shopify Connector
“All product management is done in the Shopify interface. The most crucial flow for us is the fully automated order flow from the Shopify webshop to Business Central. We also heavily rely on the functionality that updates product stock levels back and forth. Our warehouse stock is updated at the BIN level, making this stock update connector functionality more advanced. We also feed Shopify with order status updates from BC. Whenever an order in BC is updated to ‘shipped’ or ‘dispatched,’ an update message is sent to the customer with information like the tracking code, the courier used, the contents of the shipment, and so on.”
“Another feature we use is that when an order is placed, customer information is stored in a universal customer account in BC. We do separate customers by name and email address. We have so many customers that it’s not interesting for us to register them all as unique customers in BC. The whole idea is to keep things simple and reliable. The connector offers many extra features on top of BC, of which we have only used a select few so far. This has been a deliberate choice because we wanted to have the simplest possible setup.”
Experience with the Shopify Connector
“Since we started using the integration, it has been fully functional. There have been no significant errors in any way after going live. Since the go-live of our ERP system and the connector, the Shopify Connector has been the best-performing part of the overall ERP project. There have only been a few errors since then, and these were caused by human errors on the Shopify side. So, the basic functionality of the connector is reliable, which was the main goal of this project!”
Since the go-live of Business Central and the Tinx Shopify Connector, the Shopify Connector has been the best-performing part of the entire ERP project!"
What is the profit you gain?
“The biggest victory is that we are now working with LOT number tracking. (LOT number = the production batch number. The idea is to be able to distinguish products based on which batch they were produced/purchased, etc.) We didn’t have LOT number tracking in our old ERP, which means that we used to ship products without LOT number tracking. Now, with BC, we can use it. In short, Tinx has made it possible to connect Shopify to Business Central so we can use LOT number tracking.”
“It allows us to work faster and more efficiently. The people working in our warehouse don’t have to figure out where to gather the products because they now get the right information. This means they select the corresponding LOT from a predefined location or storage location. In the future (goal for 2023), we can use different types of picking methods, such as using EA and barcode scanners, and make the picking process more digital.”
Key Benefits of the Tinx Shopify Connector
“The first part is that the reliability is very good. I have to say the way it works has exceeded my expectations. I mean, as a financial person, I am usually a critical person, and during the testing phase, there were quite a few issues, and the go-live date was approaching quite quickly. But both during and after the go-live, there have been no significant errors.”
“The second part is that the support we received through Tinx’s support desk was really great. When I contact the support desk of any company, I expect a certain level of service, but on the first attempt, I don’t always get great results. With Tinx’s customer service, this was the case. You are available in the late part of the day (after office hours), which is something we find very important. I’ve been in touch with your colleagues Sam, René, Kasper, and Erica. Also, the response time and accessibility are excellent.”
What would you tell someone from another company about Tinx?
“I would say that Tinx is a reliable company. They provide assistance promptly, so you can count on Tinx!”