Marello: The New Open-Source ERP for Commerce

In the many years that we have been active in the world of e-commerce, we have regularly seen retailers struggle with their back-office processes. Their existing solutions often turn out to be less flexible and future-proof than expected, and, as a result, they are unable to keep pace with the new dynamics of retail.
We decided to build an ERP solution that actually delivers what it promises: meeting retail needs and boosting business. Marello is that solution. It has been designed for webshops, as well as omni-channel retailers, looking for a better grip on their business processes.
To illustrate this, here are just four of the many ways in which Marello will help streamline the operations of your retail business:

Inventory Management – Easily manage omni-channel inventory
Retail is a dynamic and complex branch: the number of product introductions is continually increasing, the pressure on product promotion is huge, and turnover is spread out over multiple locations and channels.
Consumer expectations are completely different than they were only a few years ago. For instance, shopping is increasingly interactive, dynamic, and social: the boundaries between physical and online shopping are becoming less distinct. As a result, many retailers are struggling with their inventory management: an item can sell out in one shop, but still be available in another. To solve this, Marello ensures that your inventory level is sufficient and available in all channels by providing you with at-a-glance control over what’s in stock where.

Forecasting – Match future supply and demand
According to industry statistics, stock-outs cause a projected $25 billion in losses every year. With accurate forecasting, retailers will never need to worry about out-of-stock situations again. The lack of clear, timely, and reliable forecasts — especially during product promotions — is often the cause of hiccups between supply and demand. Marello compiles forecasts to measure future demand based on a range of criteria, including historical demand, overall trends, product promotions, and seasons.

Product returns – Boost sales by gaining a grip on returns
As online purchases have increased, so have the number of returns. It is estimated that 30-35% of all products that are ordered online will be returned by customers. Processing these returns more quickly, accurately, and efficiently is what every retailer is looking for, and for good reason: it is an easy way to not only increase customer satisfaction, but to rein in costs. Flexible management tools such as Marello can help synchronize and control how products move between distribution centers, shops, and customers by putting in place an efficient returns stream so that returned products are available for sale again as quickly as possible.

Omni-channel – Enhance customer experience
A seamless multi-touchpoint experience (e.g., smartphones, tablets, and both physical stores and webshops) plays a key role in online purchases. 95% of customers who have a low-effort service experience will buy from that same company again. With this in mind, Marello allows retailers to establish a clear-cut customer and brand experience with a consistent information stream for all touchpoints. For instance, businesses can make the same promotions available regardless of what sales channel their customers prefer, making sure every touchpoint is connected with the other so that customers can always continue their journey. With Marello, businesses can also utilize multiple stock locations and treat them as a single source of supply. This will ensure that the total product supply is available for sale in all sales channels.