Bee Inspired, a South African family-owned business producing and selling natural honey, implemented an integration for its sales channels using software from Rise SA Business Solutions, as reported by ITWeb Africa. The project connects Shopify, an e-commerce and point of sale platform, to Rise Business, an enterprise resource planning system built on the 1C platform.
Before the deployment, the honey producer managed its online store and retail operations through disconnected systems. This separation required Achmat Kazie, Founder of Bee Inspired, to count jars and branded labels by hand to maintain accurate records. The disconnected files obscured product costs and made it difficult to adjust prices when supplier rates changed.
“As I have a small business, I manage supplies such as jars and labels myself, ordering them for delivery to my home. Without a reliable overview of stock levels, I have to check and count everything manually. Sometimes, I don’t manage to replenish supplies in time,” Kazie said.
The software implementation designates the ERP as the primary data source for pricing and stock balances. It synchronizes product descriptions, variants, barcodes and images directly into Shopify. When a customer places an online order, the integration imports the discount and delivery details while checking for previous entries to prevent duplication. For physical retail transactions, the software sends data to the ERP to generate cash register receipts and reserve stock.
“Small businesses need technology that helps them spend less time managing routine operations and more time developing their business. By connecting Shopify with Rise Business, we help bring sales and inventory information into a more structured workflow, giving business owners a clearer view of their operations,” said Ilia Shikhov, Founder of Rise SA Business Solutions.
Kazie noted that linking the sales channels gives the company better visibility into its costs. “Having our sales channels connected makes it easier to manage the business and keep important information organised. It gives us a better starting point for making decisions as we grow,” Kazie said.
