We are a small but growing internet business that urgently needs an
ERP solution, that will integrate into a shopping cart. We are looking
for advice on what is out there, how to proceed with getting a
shopping cart/ order processing/ shipping back end/ accounting
software integration, and some understanding of what the scope or
costs for implementation.
Right now:
We are using agoracart (open source) to take orders, authorize credit
cards (via authorize.net) and mail order information to a designated
email address.
We have written extensions to forward limited order information to the
shipper who then fills the order and updates a standalone php form
with their order cost and tracking number. All information - order
info, shippers info gets stored in a flat file. This is what we use
for accounting, analysis etc. downstream (in Excel).
This process is tedious and error prone.
What we are looking for:
An integrated solution (like NetSuite) that has the following features:
1. Non-hosted (so we can run on our own servers) - that eliminates NetSuite
2. Open source or customizable since we always find unique needs that
require a custom solution to be written
3. A solution/ software that includes a flexible shopping cart or
integrates with a standard one
Shopping cart either has a shippers back end or plugs into one, where
shipper has limited access to order information (he does not see
billing info or price) but can enter details like date shipped,
product cost, shipping cost. System sends out a shipping notice email
to customer and manger whenever the shipper updates order info, along
with shipping details like tracking number etc.
Finally, all the price, cost or other info get fed into some simple
accounting software (preferably not Quickbooks, thank you!) that
allows one to see basic numbers such as revenue, profit margin etc
real time.
Possiblities:
One possibility would be to extend Agoracart but it does not appear
that very much support is available for this cart.
Another alternative might be to switch to OS commerce and see if these
capabilities exist already or can be written in.
Or go with an entirely different solution.
We are looking for advice on what is out there, how to proceed, and
some understanding of what the scope or costs for implementation. We
do not have many users so we do not need/ want a complicated solution
that requires a lot of training and support. Something simple and easy
to use with some extensibility. |
