How We Helped a Retail Brand Cut Manual Work by 30% and Stay on Top of Inventory in Real-Time

How We Helped a Retail Brand Cut Manual Work by 30% and Stay on Top of Inventory in Real-Time Client Overview A Germany-based e-commerce business selling across multiple platforms needed a better way to manage inventory, pricing, and product data. They relied on Airtable, Shopify, and Pixi, but these systems weren’t connected, leading to inefficiencies, manual work, and data inconsistencies. They came to us looking for an integrated solution that could automate their workflows, reduce errors, and help them scale. Disconnected Systems & Data Inconsistencies Challenges The client used Airtable as a central database, but it wasn’t syncing properly with Shopify and Pixi. This led to SKU mismatches, duplicate product IDs, and outdated pricing data, causing errors in inventory tracking and order processing. “We had no idea which SKU was right. Sometimes the same product showed up three times in different systems.” Manual Image & Invoice Management Uploading product images to Shopify and managing invoice updates required manual work, slowing down operations. Missing or incorrect invoices also led to accounting discrepancies. “Every image had to be manually linked in Shopify. It was frustrating and time-consuming.” Limited Shopify Metafields Support Shopify’s default metafield system wasn’t enough to store complex product data. The client needed a way to manage additional product attributes directly from Airtable. “We had all the data in Airtable, but couldn’t push it to Shopify without doing it manually. It wasn’t sustainable.” Solution We designed and implemented a fully automated inventory and product lifecycle management system by integrating Airtable, Pixi, Shopify, and OneDrive. Phase 1: Onedrive to Airtable Integration We created a dedicated Airtable table to handle cost management. This included fields for old prices, new prices, and average price calculations. Our solution automated the process of archiving old prices when new ones were added. This ensured accurate tracking of cost trends. SKU validation checks were integrated into Airtable to prevent duplicate entries before syncing with other systems. Phase 2: Airtable to Pixi Integration We addressed Pixi’s limitations by building pre-synchronization validation workflows. These workflows identified duplicate IDs and generated EANs to resolve conflicts. Our team also automated real-time inventory updates and purchase order creation processes. Notifications were set to alert the team of any unresolved issues. Phase 3: Airtable to Shopify Integration Our team integrated Airtable with Shopify via Make.com. We did that to automate the creation of Shopify products. Custom API workflows were developed to manage Shopify metafields. This helped our client to handle complex product attributes directly from Airtable. The client also wanted every product to be accurately updated with its corresponding image, so we designed a system that automated the syncing of images stored on Onedrive with Shopify.  Phase 4: Invoice Confirmation and Configuration We developed a robust workflow to automate invoice confirmations between Airtable and Ondrive. This included real-time tracking of invoice changes and syncing updates efficiently. Comprehensive error detection mechanisms were implemented to flag discrepancies, and alerts were configured to notify the team of mismatches, ensuring reliable and accurate invoice management. Portfolio Results 30% reduction in manual tasks, freeing up valuable team time Real-time inventory updates, ensuring accurate stock management. Eliminated duplicate SKUs and pricing errors, improving data integrity. Faster product updates, with automatic image and metafield syncing. Scalable automation, ready for future integrations and upgrades. Cut Manual Work by 30% and Keep Inventory Updated in Real Time Disconnected systems cause duplicate SKUs, pricing errors, and slow updates. With the right automation, your data stays accurate, your team saves hours, and your operations scale smoothly. Book a call today. Let’s build your automated inventory system. Get your system done today