Case Study: Utah Manufacturer Connects Nationwide Operations with Business Central
A Utah-based manufacturer of Beauty and Hair Care products partnered with AltiusERP to implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and unify its manufacturing, distribution, and e-commerce operations. With five distribution centers across the country and a complex B2B Shopify channel, the company needed accurate, real-time inventory visibility and faster fulfillment. AltiusERP implemented Business Central as the operational foundation, connecting sales, finance, inventory, production, warehousing, and shipping within one integrated cloud platform.
AltiusERP configured Business Central’s native Shopify Connector to move B2B orders from Shopify into Business Central in real time. New orders can be released automatically to the appropriate warehouse, allowing employees to begin picking and fulfillment within minutes of an order being placed. AltiusERP also implemented the Insight Works Order Fulfillment Worksheet, which provides visibility across all locations into outstanding orders and stock availability at the individual sales-line level. Fulfillment teams can see what inventory is available across locations, determine which order lines are ready to ship, allocate stock, and manage partial fulfillment from a centralized workspace. This automation significantly shortens the order-to-cash cycle by reducing the time between order placement, warehouse execution, shipment, and invoicing.
Across the company’s five distribution centers, AltiusERP configured advanced warehousing with directed put-away and pick. A Warehouse Management System (WMS) by Insightworks was deployed on 20 handheld devices, enabling warehouse employees to perform picking, put-away, fulfillment, replenishment, and inventory movements directly from the warehouse floor. AltiusERP also implemented Insightworks’ shipping add-in, Dynamic Ship, to connect packing and shipping activities with Business Central, helping employees process shipments, compare carrier services, produce shipping documentation, and return tracking information to the order workflow.
For this Utah based manufacturing company, AltiusERP configured simple bills of materials and routings that reflect the company’s production processes without unnecessary complexity. Insightworks Shop Floor Insight provides production reporting and shop-floor visibility, while FIFO costing and backflushing streamline material consumption and maintain accurate inventory valuation. AltiusERP also configured capacity planning to help the manufacturer identify resource capacity constraints, balance production requirements, and align output with demand across its nationwide distribution network. The resulting solution connects Shopify ordering, production, inventory, warehouse execution, shipping, and financial processing from beginning to end.
-Key Takeaways-
1) Business Central’s native Shopify Connector can move orders into the ERP in real time and initiate warehouse fulfillment with minimal manual intervention.
2) Automatically releasing eligible orders to the warehouse via handheld mobile device can allow picking to begin within minutes of the Shopify order being placed.
3) The Order Fulfillment Worksheet gives teams global visibility into orders and inventory availability at the individual sales-line level.
4) Sales-line visibility helps employees determine which orders can be fulfilled completely and which require partial shipment or replenishment.
5) Directed put-away and pick require well-designed locations, bins, zones, replenishment rules, and warehouse workflows.
6) Handheld warehouse devices are most effective when transactions are performed in real time at the point of activity.
7) Connecting e-commerce, fulfillment, warehousing, shipping, and invoicing significantly reduces the order-to-cash cycle.
Why It Matters
For a nationwide manufacturer, the speed and accuracy of fulfillment directly affect customer satisfaction, working capital, and scalability. By combining Business Central’s native Shopify Connector with the Insightworks Order Fulfillment Worksheet, Warehouse Insight, Shop Floor Insight, and Dynamic Ship, AltiusERP created a continuous process from online order placement through warehouse fulfillment, shipment, invoicing, and payment. Orders can reach the warehouse within minutes, while fulfillment teams gain sales-line-level visibility into demand and available stock across the business. The result is a substantially shorter order-to-cash cycle, improved inventory control, and a scalable foundation for growth.
ERP Story | Modernizing a Configure-to-Order Manufacturer in Idaho
The challenge: A configure-to-order manufacturer operating five distinct companies and locations had outgrown a fragmented mix of QuickBooks, spreadsheets and a decades-old Microsoft Access application. The Access database contained critical product-configuration logic, but its original developer was no longer available to support it—creating both operational risk and a barrier to growth. AltiusERP implemented Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central as the company’s new ERP foundation.
Why it matters: Legacy systems often contain years of institutional knowledge. Replacing them isn’t simply a software migration; it requires identifying the business logic that must be preserved while eliminating the risk and inefficiency of unsupported applications.
The solution: AltiusERP created an integrated Business Central environment capable of supporting all five companies, including a purpose-built multi-entity management extension. Instead of employees moving between disconnected accounting systems and spreadsheets, the organization could manage its entities through a coordinated ERP environment with stronger financial, inventory and operational visibility.
Why it matters: ERP consolidation creates the most value when it connects operations—not just accounting. Bringing multiple entities onto a common platform can reduce duplicate work, improve data consistency and give management a clearer view across the organization.
The manufacturing challenge: This wasn’t a standard make-to-stock operation. Customer specifications determined product attributes and components, requiring the manufacturer to configure BOMs during the quoting process and carry those configurations through to production. AltiusERP replaced the legacy Access system with Product Configurator from Insightworks, integrating configurable BOMs directly with Business Central and creating a more connected quote-to-production workflow.
Why it matters: Configure-to-order manufacturing sits at the intersection of sales and production. If configuration data has to be manually recreated between quoting and manufacturing, complexity, delays and the potential for errors increase. Connecting configuration directly to the ERP helps turn customer requirements into actionable manufacturing information.
The final piece: Shipping was brought into the integrated environment with Dynamic Ship from Insightworks, supporting parcel and LTL shipments, freight rate shopping and shipping documentation. Together, Business Central, Product Configurator, Dynamic Ship and Multi-Entity functionality replaced a collection of QuickBooks files, spreadsheets and legacy applications with a more scalable platform connecting quote → configuration → manufacturing → inventory → shipping → financials.
Why it matters: The real benefit wasn’t any single application. It was the integration between them. Fewer disconnected systems meant fewer handoffs, better inventory visibility and a more streamlined path from customer order to finished product.
Lessons Learned
The big picture: Modernizing a manufacturing ERP environment doesn’t mean recreating every legacy process in new software. The better approach is to understand why the old process existed, preserve the business logic that creates value, and redesign everything else around an integrated platform.
Why it matters: Manufacturers can accumulate years—or decades—of spreadsheets, databases and workarounds. Successful ERP projects separate essential manufacturing knowledge from technical debt.
–Key Takeaways–
1) Don’t underestimate Legacy systems. An old database may contain critical product and manufacturing knowledge that must be understood before migration.
2) Design around the manufacturing process. Configure-to-order requirements should connect quoting, BOM configuration, production, inventory and fulfillment. This takes time!
3) Consolidate before adding complexity. A unified ERP platform can eliminate many spreadsheets, duplicate databases and manual handoffs.
4) Extend where it creates value. Targeted solutions for Multi-Entity Management, product configuration and shipping can address specialized requirements without rebuilding the ERP.
5) Integration is the multiplier. Connecting sales, manufacturing, inventory, shipping and financials creates more value than optimizing each function independently.
6) Manufacturing expertise matters. ERP configuration decisions—particularly around BOMs and Configure-to-Order workflows—require an understanding of both the software and how products actually move from customer specification to production. Choose a partner with a solid background in Manufacturing.
7) Change management is a huge challenge in companies with outdated Legacy systems. Begin the change management process early, ensure User Acceptance Testing has appropriate feedback loops and concerns are getting addressed quickly.