The IT manager says: “Our ERP can't do that.” The Shopware partner asks: “What interface does your ERP have?” And the e-commerce manager sits in between - knowing both are right, yet no one has provided a solution.
This is the reality in many mid-sized manufacturing companies. The ERP system - be it SAP, proALPHA, abas, PSIpenta, or an industry-specific solution - works excellently for production, materials management, and accounting. But for B2B e-commerce? No shop connection. No real-time inventory for the webshop. No automated order acceptance. And an interface documentation last updated in 2014.
The standard response: “Then we'll build a custom interface.” That takes months, costs tens of thousands - and lasts until the next ERP update arrives. The other response: “Then we'll change the ERP.” That takes years and costs millions.
There is a third way. This is exactly what we implement at Commerce Partner for manufacturers and wholesalers in the mid-sized sector.
The Problem: Why industry ERPs and B2B e-commerce don’t match
An ERP system designed for manufacturing thinks in terms of bill of materials, work plans, and cost centers. A B2B online shop thinks in shopping carts, customer sessions, real-time availability, and checkout flows. Connecting these worlds is not a configuration task - it's an architectural challenge.
This concretely manifests in five typical bottlenecks we recognize from over 25 years of project experience: Prices (lack of customer-specific online prices and tiered pricing), inventory (no real-time conversion to shop format), orders (manual reentry in customer service), product data (technical master data without e-commerce attributes), and customer data (completely different data models in ERP vs. shop).
The Solution: Reybex as the e-commerce layer between ERP and Shopware
Instead of bending the industrial ERP or building an expensive custom interface, we rely on a two-ERP architecture in this scenario: The existing ERP stays where it is - and a second, lightweight system is added for the e-commerce channel: Reybex.
Reybex is a cloud ERP specifically developed for e-commerce and multichannel trade. It provides native interfaces to Shopware, marketplaces (Amazon, Otto, eBay, Kaufland), and shipping providers. Simultaneously, it has an open API that allows data exchange with the existing industrial ERP.
The result: Reybex becomes the translator between the production world of your ERP and the commerce world of Shopware. It takes the data that the industrial ERP can provide (master data, inventory, prices), converts them to e-commerce-friendly formats, and synchronizes them with Shopware. Orders from the Shopware shop flow back to Reybex, are processed into orders there, and - depending on the setup - passed on as customer orders to the industrial ERP.
The Architecture: What flows where
From the industrial ERP to Reybex: What gets synchronized
Item master data (material numbers, descriptions, weights, units), inventory levels, base prices, customer master data (debtor numbers, payment terms) - depending on the ERP via API, CSV export/import, or dedicated middleware. The frequency depends on the use case: Master data often daily, inventory several times daily or in real-time.
What Reybex makes of it: Item master data are enriched with e-commerce data - descriptions, images, categories, variants, shop-specific prices. Inventory is converted into a unified availability model. Customer prices and conditions are prepared for the Shopware shop.
From Reybex to Shopware: What your customers see
Complete product data (including texts, images, prices, inventory, variants), customer data, order status - through the native Reybex-Shopware connector, automatically in real-time or at configurable intervals. What the B2B customer sees in the Shopware shop: current inventory, their individual prices, accurate delivery times - without the industrial ERP having to communicate directly with Shopware. The Shopware connection runs via a ready-made connector, and the ERP side relies on standard export formats.
Why this architecture convinces for manufacturers and wholesalers
The industrial ERP remains untouched. You don't need an ERP migration project, no new licenses for the existing system, no months-long adaptation projects.
Time-to-market in weeks, not years. Six weeks to the first visible result, twelve weeks to productive operation are realistic. No comparison to an ERP migration project that takes 18–24 months.
Multichannel from day one. Reybex brings ready integrations for Amazon, eBay, Otto, and Kaufland in addition to the Shopware connection. Inventory, prices, and orders are synchronized across all channels - managed from one system.
E-commerce processes the industrial ERP doesn’t know. Reybex handles processes not foreseen in an industrial ERP: Print shipping labels, return tracking numbers to the shop, process returns, reconcile payments, create pick lists with route optimization.
Scalable and ERP-independent. If your company grows, the ERP changes, or a second shop is added - Reybex remains the stable e-commerce layer. Dependency on the industrial ERP is reduced, not increased. If you eventually switch to a more modern ERP, the e-commerce channel doesn't need to be rebuilt.
What your B2B customers gain from it
Real-time inventory in the shop. No “Please inquire about availability” - but a clear number. Reybex takes over the stock from the industrial ERP and forwards it to Shopware. Customer-specific prices after login. Not the list price, but the true price for this exact customer - maintained in Reybex, synchronized to Shopware. Self-service in the B2B customer portal: Reorders, invoice downloads, delivery status - no call, no email, because the data from Reybex arrives automatically in the shop. Relief for the customer service: No more manual order entry, no inventory inquiries, no invoice sending via email. Processes that previously ran manually now run automatically.
When this solution fits - and when not
This two-ERP architecture fits if your industrial ERP lacks documented shop interfaces or if existing interfaces are insufficient for B2C/B2B e-commerce, if you want to build the e-commerce channel without starting a multimillion ERP project, if your customer service currently manually transfers online orders into the ERP, if you plan to service marketplaces alongside the Shopware shop and need centralized control, or if your e-commerce department should operate independently from the IT department.
It is less suitable if your industrial ERP already provides a complete, stable end-to-end e-commerce integration, if you are planning an ERP change anyway and the timeline is less than twelve months, or if your business model is exclusively B2C with standard pricing lists (meaning no customer-specific prices or terms).
The path to setup: No mammoth project
The two-ERP architecture sounds complex. In practice, the opposite is true - because complexity is not increased on the industrial ERP side. The project is divided into three phases:
Phase 1 (weeks 1–3): Data analysis and interface design. What data comes from the industrial ERP? In what format? How often? What does Reybex need to enrich? What will be passed onto Shopware? The result is a clear data flow diagram.
Phase 2 (weeks 3–8): Reybex setup and Shopware connection. Reybex is configured, the Shopware connector activated, product data imported and enriched, price logic set up, test orders played through.
Phase 3 (weeks 8–12): ERP connection and go-live. The interface with the industrial ERP is set up and tested. Inventory flows, orders are synchronized, and the shop goes live.
The right question you should be asking now
Not: “Can our ERP do e-commerce?” - because you probably already know the answer.
Instead: “How quickly can we build our digital B2B sales without risking our ERP?”
The answer: Faster than you think. With an architecture that respects your existing system, adds an e-commerce-capable layer, and gives your B2B customers what they expect: a shop that works.
Learn more about Reybex here: Reybex at Commerce Partner
About Commerce Partner
Commerce Partner facilitates manufacturers and wholesalers in the mid-sized sector in building their digital B2B sales - from strategy to ongoing operations. We implement the combination of Reybex and Shopware for companies with industrial ERPs not built for e-commerce. From architecture planning through Reybex configuration to Shopware-based B2B customer portals, we build the bridge between your production world and digital sales.
Contact us - we will show you in an initial compact meeting whether the two-ERP architecture fits your situation and how quickly you can go live.
