Case Study § 01 / Retail

Legacy ERP
Modern AI
Operating Platform

A modern operating layer on top of an existing ERP — without replacing it.

For a specialty retail chain we built a modern web platform that turns the existing desktop ERP into the back office of a contemporary operation: AI-assisted procurement, finance, employee self-service and automated workflows.

Faster procurement cycle
Real-time
Financial visibility
AI
Assisted operations
Zero
Changes to the ERP
platform / overview
LIVE
Overview Procurement Finance HR Compliance
Revenue today
€ 14,820
↑ 12.4%
Margin (Apr)
28.6 %
↑ 1.8 pp
Open tasks
7
3 exceptions
AI procurement suggestions
7 items
Rx Lisinopril 10mg · 30 tabs 42 u Suggested
OTC Vitamin C 1000mg · eff. 120 u Suggested
Other Digital thermometer · supplier A 8 u Min. order
Rx Atorvastatin 20mg · 30 tabs 36 u Suggested
§ 02 / Starting point

The system worked. The business outgrew it.

The existing ERP was stable but a closed desktop system. Core operations depended on local machines, manual procedures and scattered communication. The company didn't want a risky ERP replacement — they wanted a modern layer that turned the legacy system into the foundation of a contemporary operation.

Before ~2003 · desktop only
Legacy ERP · single Windows 10 PC
Procurement — Excel "ordering_apr.xlsx"
Re: order — 4 suppliers · 4 formats
Branch margins — manual export & pivot
📋Compliance — paper, folder, cabinet
HR contracts — Word + printer + scanner
Disconnected systems
After v1 · web · live
Web platform · access from any device
AI-assisted procurement · streaming decisions
Suppliers — auto-routed (email · REST · portal)
Real-time finance · margin · PNL · costs
Compliance · 9 monthly forms · self-control
HR self-service · DOCX → PDF · 9 documents
Connected workflows
§ 03 / Challenges

Core operating challenges

01

Manual, uncontrolled procurement

Orders were assembled by hand — staff estimating stock and re-typing the same items into the same templates every day, with no standard and no control over the outcome.

02

No financial transparency

Leadership had no fast, centralised, real-time view of profitability, margins or branch-level performance.

03

Fragmented supplier flows

Every supplier ran a different channel — email, spreadsheet, web portal or API — turning ordering into operational chaos.

04

HR document generation

Every new hire meant manually filling in nine documents, printing, signing and distributing them by email — over and over.

05

Large dead stock

With no systematic stock tracking per branch and per SKU, dead stock grew quietly — tying up capital, blocking shelves and deepening shortages elsewhere.

06

Inadequate compliance records

Monthly inspections and regulatory forms were kept on paper and in disconnected files. Nine forms were digitised, introducing a standard and centralised, branch-level tracking.

§ 04 / Solution

A modern operating layer on top of the existing ERP

Instead of replacing the legacy system, we built a web platform that keeps the ERP as the system of record while modern operations run in a new digital layer.

  • AI-assisted procurement
  • Financial dashboards
  • Supplier process automation
  • Digital HR & admin flows
  • Regulatory documentation
  • Real-time work via web interface
System of record Legacy ERP untouched · stable
Layer Integration Layer REST · stable IDs
Intelligence AI & Business Logic domain · rules · Claude
Interface Web Platform React · real-time
Operators Management Employees Suppliers
§ 05 / AI

AI-assisted procurement

Replenishment is one of the most consequential daily decisions in retail — and one of the hardest to make manually. The platform analyses sales velocity, stock, seasonality, supplier conditions, order minimums and product expiry, and generates ranked purchase suggestions for the operator to review.

AI does not replace the team. It removes the repetitive part of the work and lets people focus on exceptions, decisions and control.

step 01
Sales Trends
velocity over 2/7/30/120d
step 02
Inventory Signals
stock + lost-sale signals
step 03
Supplier Conditions
prices · minimums · terms
step 04
AI Decision Layer
optimisation · liquidity · coverage
step 05
Purchase Suggestions
ranked list per branch
step 06
Operator Approval
review · adjust · dispatch
Procurement timing · per branch / day
Manual procurement 30–45 min
AI-assisted workflow ~5 min
AI cost
< 2 USD
per month
Streaming
SSE
live decisions
Mappings
23k+
SKUs
§ 06 / Sales

Sales, incentives and contracted protocols

The platform connects sales data to staff incentive lists and contracted protocols with suppliers. Margin per staff member, dead stock, and quantities hit against each protocol — all centralised in real time, with automatic incentive calculation at month-end close.

sales / incentives · may 2026
close · jun 1
Incentive lists · per staff member € 540 total
M.J. Branch 01 · margin 32% € 4.2k + € 145
A.D. Branch 02 · margin 28% € 3.8k + € 95
S.K. Branch 02 · margin 31% € 3.1k + € 110
N.P. Branch 01 · margin 29% € 2.6k + € 80
J.V. Branch 04 · margin 26% € 1.9k — dead stock
Contracted protocols · Q2 12 active
Protocol A · supplier X 18.6k / 24k · 78%
Protocol B · supplier Y 11.0k / 12k · 92%
Protocol C · supplier Z 5.4k / 12k · 45%
Protocol D · supplier X 8.2k / 9k · 91%
Protocol E · supplier Y 3.1k / 8k · 39%
12
active supplier protocols
Auto-calc
incentives at month-end close
Dead stock
tracked per staff member
Margin
per branch and per staff
§ 07 / Finance

Real-time financial visibility across the business

Leadership now has a centralised view of profitability, margins, costs, sales and branch performance. Data that used to take hours of manual work is presented through a clean web interface — live.

finance / pnl · q2 2026
refresh · 30s
Revenue (Q2)
€ 482.1k
↑ 8.2% YoY
Margin
28.6 %
↑ 1.4 pp
OpEx
€ 96.3k
↑ 2.1%
Inv. turnover
11.4×
stable
Revenue · 6m trend live
NovDecJanFebMarAprMay
Performance · per branch
Branch 01 € 168.4k · 31.2%
Branch 02 € 142.7k · 28.4%
Branch 03 € 96.1k · 26.9%
Branch 04 € 74.9k · 25.1%
§ 08 / HR

Automated HR document generation

When a new employee is onboarded, the full pack of nine documents is generated in a single click — pre-populated with the employee's data, exported as DOCX and PDF, and emailed automatically to the worker, the branch and administration. Internal regulations get an auto-generated cover page with the date and signing party.

9
documents per pack
DOCX → PDF
placeholder fill-in
HR / document pack
GENERATING
M
M. M.
Master of pharmacy · Branch 02 · 01 May 2026
Document pack 9 / 9 ready
01Employment contractDOCX · PDF
02Decision on employmentDOCX · PDF
03Workplace anti-harassment statementDOCX · PDF
04Whistleblower statementDOCX · PDF
05Regulation · WorkplacePDF · cover
06Regulation · Health & SafetyPDF · cover
07Regulation · Data ProtectionPDF · cover
08Regulation · CompoundingPDF · cover
09Receipt of regulationsDOCX · PDF
Email distribution · employee · branch · admin
§ 09 / Quality & compliance

Operational quality — digitised

The platform digitises internal control and regulatory tracking. Compliance and operational records used to live on paper and disconnected files, making oversight and standardisation across branches difficult.

The new system covers monthly operational forms, standardised inspection procedures, compliance tracking, corrective measures and operational improvement workflows. 9 monthly forms have been digitised, providing a structured way to monitor the quality of operations.

compliance / overview · may 2026
audit · v.79
Compliance score · per branch
Branch 0196%
Branch 0292%
Branch 0378%
Branch 0488%
Audit status
FORM-01 · TemperatureSent
FORM-02 · HygieneSent
FORM-03 · Smoking controlReview
FORM-04 · ComplaintsSent
FORM-05 · CalibrationSent
FORM-07 · TrainingSent
FORM-08 · WastePending
Corrective actions · open
Re-calibrate thermometer · Br.03 Open
due · May 12 · M.J.
SOP — order intake In progress
due · May 18 · A.D.
Training · regulations Overdue
was · May 02 · S.K.
Corrective Action Workflow
01
Self Control
responsible person
02
Detected Issue
deviation · risk
03
Corrective Measure
plan · deadline · priority
04
Responsible
assigned individual
05
Follow-up
progress + verification
06
Resolved
auditable closure
9
digitised monthly forms
Centralized
compliance tracking
Standardized
operational procedures
Workflow
corrective actions
§ 10 / Automation

Automating supplier, financial and regulatory flows

Processes that used to require manual work — sending orders, processing e-invoices, generating regulatory and HR documents — now run automatically.

step 01
Supplier
step 02
Order Dispatch
step 03
Invoice Matching
step 04
ERP Sync
step 05
Reporting
Supplier integrations
4 channels · 4 protocols
E-invoices
auto-pull + matching
Regulatory reports
PDF from live data
HR documents
9 templates · DOCX → PDF
Audit trail
every operation · immutable
§ 11 / Results

Outcome: modernisation without business interruption

KPI · 01
Faster procurement cycle
KPI · 02
Real-time
Financial insight
KPI · 03
Automated
Supplier flows
KPI · 04
Zero downtime
ERP modernisation
KPI · 05
Self-service
Employee access
KPI · 06
AI-assisted
Operational decisions
Transformation timeline
Legacy ERP
Integration Layer
AI Operations
Modern Platform
0+ lines of domain logic
0+ SKU mappings
0 digitised forms
0 changes to the legacy ERP
§ 12 / Technology

Technology framework

Backend
  • Java 21
  • Spring Boot 4
  • PostgreSQL
  • Flyway
Frontend
  • React 19
  • TypeScript
  • Vite
  • Tailwind
AI
  • Claude / Anthropic API
  • Server-Sent Events
Integrations
  • ERP gateway
  • Supplier portals
  • SEF e-invoicing
  • EPP / VAT
Infrastructure
  • Docker
  • CI/CD
  • S3-compatible storage
  • Headless browser service
§ 13 / Next step

Modernize legacy systems
without replacing them.

We help companies transform outdated operational systems into scalable modern platforms with automation, AI and real-time visibility.

Legacy systems · Modern operations · AI-enabled workflows