Live with it
Choose it when
The volume is small and the cost of an error is low.
What it costs
Staff time, errors, and reporting nobody trusts. Usually the most expensive option, paid quietly.
Connect the systems that do not talk to each other.
A customer, order, or job entered once is right in every system, so staff stop re-typing and reconciling exports. The first integration takes on the flow with the most manual work, with an exception queue from the start.
You know this is you when
- A record entered in one system is typed again into another.
- Two systems disagree about a customer, a balance, or a stock count, and nobody knows which is right.
- Month-end means reconciling exports.
- A change in one system is discovered in another only when something goes wrong.
- Someone built a spreadsheet to bridge two systems and it has become a system itself.
Why it is happening now
Systems accumulate. Each one was the right choice when it was bought, and none of them was chosen to work with the others. The cost shows up as re-typing, reconciliation, and decisions made on numbers that disagree. It gets worse with every acquisition, every new tool, and every new location, until the bridge spreadsheet breaks.
What we would do first
The first steps, in order.
- 01
Inventory the records
We list every system, every shared record, and every place a person re-types it, on one page.
- 02
Decide who owns what
We decide which system owns each record and field, and what happens when two disagree, and put it in writing.
- 03
Connect the flow with the most re-typing
Built against real records, with an exception queue from the first day.
- 04
Monitor, then extend
The responsible team can see status and volumes. Then we connect the flow with the next most manual work.
What it looks like after
A record entered once is right everywhere. The systems that were worth keeping still do their jobs, without a person carrying data between them. When something does not sync, someone can see why and fix it once. Reports build from records that agree.
Commercial printer
The web store, production, and accounting show the same customer and the same order.
A commercial printer often takes orders through a web-to-print store, retypes them into the production system, and invoices from accounting, with a slightly different customer record in each. The first integration writes down which system is authoritative for customers, orders, and invoices, matches the customer lists, and sends store orders straight into production. Invoice status flows back to the store so customers can see it. Orders that fail to match land in an exception queue with the reason, and paper stock inventory is a natural next flow.
The path from here
What we would build, and for whom.
The service
Systems integrationCRM, ERP, and accounting sharing one set of records.
ReadWhat we build
Reporting from connected systemsNumbers the leadership team trusts, built from ERP, CRM, and field records that agree.
ReadBy industry
Logistics and distribution businessesOrders, stock, and shipment status that agree across the ERP, the warehouse, and the carriers, so customers see where their order is without calling.
ReadA guide
Integrating systems after an acquisition: a practical sequence.Written for the decision, not the sale.
ReadQuestions
Before you decide.
What companies in this situation ask us first.
Do we need an integration platform?
Sometimes. For a few flows between well-known systems, a direct integration is simpler to own. For many flows, a platform can help. We recommend from the inventory, not a preference.
Which system should be the master?
Usually the one where the record is created and maintained most carefully, decided field by field. Often the CRM for prospects and the accounting system for billing.
Will this break what works?
Integrations are built in a test environment against real records, exceptions are visible from the start, and any flow can be paused without stopping the business.
Should we consolidate instead?
Only where two systems do the same job. Integration first makes the consolidation decision clearer and less risky.
Describe the systems.
Tell us the situation and the systems around it.We’ll come back with what we would do first, and what it would take.