Shopify + ERP: scaling fashion growth with cost control and margin clarity
A mid-sized French fashion retailer (€35M turnover) faced
a familiar dilemma: fragmented commerce systems, hidden
costs from prior consultancy engagements, and eroding trust
in technology investments. Their leadership set a clear
mandate: restore control, reduce operational risk, and scale
responsibly without locking the business into spiraling SaaS
spend.
The client had burned budget in the past with a “big consultancy” that promised full ERP digital transformation, but delivered over-engineered systems they couldn’t maintain. They came to us cautious: “Prove you can fix my problems without locking me into costs I can’t control.”
How the client found us
The client discovered GetDevDone through a referral from a partner agency that had worked with us on complex MarTech and eCommerce integrations. They were looking for a partner they could trust to deliver results reliably, after experiencing fragmented delivery and hidden costs with previous vendors.
Initial Challenges (Before engagement)
Overselling & stock conflicts
Shopify + WooCommerce stock not syncing correctly.
Backorders ~6–8% of total orders → refunds, unhappy customers.
ERP disconnect
Odoo ERP used for finance + warehouse.
No direct integration → manual CSV imports.
Warehouse often packed products that were already “sold out” online.
Cost fear
Prior consultancy had pitched “middleware + SaaS stack” costing €8–10K/month in licenses.
Client lost trust in “expensive software subscriptions.”
Margin blindness
Leadership couldn’t see margin differences between wholesale (Zalando) and D2C (Shopify).
Promotions sometimes ran at a loss without visibility.
Our Approach: Transparency First
We acknowledged these client fears directly and structured delivery to minimize risk:
Pilot-first delivery → 6-week, fixed-price scope. No hidden costs.
Total SaaS savings: ~€4,000/month vs big-agency approach.
Key lessons for our next Clients
Agency rates ≠ agency bloat: Yes, our engineering rates are not “freelancer cheap.” But we deliver ROI-focused pilots first, so you see value before scaling spend.
We don’t oversell: Case proves we can start with 200 SKUs → expand to full inventory, only after ROI is visible.
You won’t be trapped: Everything built runs on your AWS, your ERP, your dashboards. No hidden SaaS subscriptions.
Shared ownership: 80% of operations now handled by client’s IT — dependency risk eliminated.
Business impact
Overselling: ↓ from 7% → 1.5% (quarterly average)
SaaS savings: €4K/month avoided
Forecast accuracy: ~82% vs baseline
Exec margin visibility: 100% across channels
IT independence: 80% ops handled internally
Hidden aspects we’re open about
Forecast model is good, not perfect — ~82% accuracy is solid, but demand shocks (e.g., influencer campaign) still require human judgment.
Metabase dashboards lack polish compared to Tableau, but the client accepted “80% functionality at 0% license cost.”
Knowledge transfer takes effort — client’s IT had to invest ~60 hours in training.
Client testimonial (unedited)
“We were burned by a big consultancy before, so we demanded a pilot-first, no hidden costs. GetDevDone delivered exactly that. We saved thousands in SaaS fees and got real margin visibility. Today, my IT team runs 80% of the system. That independence is priceless.” — COO, French Fashion Retailer
Future growth roadmap
Expansion into digital product passports (EU requirement for apparel in 2026).
Preparing to connect marketplaces beyond Europe (Farfetch, ASOS).
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A mid-sized German electronics retailer with pan-European
ambitions was constrained by operational inefficiencies.
Outdated syncs between Shopify, Amazon, and ERP caused
overselling, cancellations, and customer frustration. Seller
performance was flagged, and leadership feared losing Buy
Box eligibility — a revenue-critical KPI.