Case Study — Distribution & B2B Commerce
Transforming B2B Commerce:
Akeneo, IBM A+ ERP
& Salesforce, Unified by Celigo
Overview
Unifying Product, ERP and Commerce Data for the Client
The client is one of the largest pet product distributors, serving dealers across a broad regional footprint. Their goal was to build a modern B2B Commerce platform, unified with ERP and Product Information Management, so dealers could order, track, and manage their accounts without relying on manual back-and-forth with the distribution team.
Getting there meant connecting three systems that had never talked to each other directly: Akeneo for product data, IBM A+ ERP for orders, inventory, and pricing, and Salesforce B2B Commerce as the storefront dealers would actually use.
"The systems all held the right data — they just weren't talking to each other. Bringing product, order, and inventory information together was what turned three separate tools into one commerce platform."
Akeneo PIM + IBM A+ ERP
Product & Order Source Systems
Parent Products & Variants
Categories & Attributes
Product Images
Inventory & Pricing
Celigo
⇄
iPaaS Middleware
Salesforce B2B Commerce
Dealer-Facing Storefront
Synced Product Catalog
Bi-Directional Orders
Invoice Visibility
Real-Time Pricing
Key Workflow: Celigo sits between the two source systems and Salesforce, keeping product, order, and inventory data moving in both directions. Product data flows from Akeneo and IBM A+ ERP into Salesforce, while orders placed in Salesforce route back to A+ ERP — with inventory, pricing, and invoice data kept in sync on a regular schedule.
Challenge
Disconnected Systems Were Slowing Down the Dealer Experience
Akeneo, IBM A+ ERP, and Salesforce each held a piece of the picture, but none of them shared it with the others automatically. That gap forced the team into manual product updates and manual order entry, and it left dealers without a clear view of their own invoices.
Manual product updates: New products, variants, and category changes made in Akeneo had to be manually pushed into the systems dealers actually used, creating lag between what existed in the catalog and what was visible online.
Manual order entry: Orders placed through Salesforce weren't automatically reaching IBM A+ ERP, so someone had to re-key order details into the ERP system before fulfillment could begin.
Inventory and pricing delays: Without a live connection between A+ ERP and Salesforce, inventory counts and pricing shown to dealers could fall out of step with what was actually available.
No invoice visibility for customers: Dealers had no self-service way to see their own invoices, which meant routine billing questions turned into support requests instead of something they could check themselves.
A catalog too large to manage by hand: With more than 150,000 SKUs across parent products, variants, categories, attributes, and images, keeping everything in sync manually simply wasn't sustainable at that scale.
Strategic Solution
Celigo as the Bridge Between PIM, ERP and Commerce
TGH used Celigo iPaaS to orchestrate product, order, and inventory data between Akeneo, IBM A+ ERP, and Salesforce B2B Commerce — connecting three systems that had been running independently into one integrated commerce platform, without asking dealers or internal teams to change how they worked day to day.
Product, Order & Inventory Orchestration: Celigo coordinates the flow of product, order, and inventory data between Akeneo, IBM A+ ERP, and Salesforce Commerce, so each system reflects the same information.
150K+ SKUs Synchronized: Parent products, variants, categories, attributes, and images are kept in sync across systems, giving dealers an accurate, complete catalog to shop from.
Bi-Directional Order Flow: Orders move both ways between Salesforce and IBM A+ ERP, with routing logic that decides whether to create a new order or update an existing one.
Automated Inventory & Pricing Sync: Batch processing keeps inventory and pricing current, running on a schedule every 15 minutes so dealers see numbers that reflect reality.
Invoice Visibility for Customers: Invoice headers, line items, and their associated orders are delivered directly to customers, giving dealers a self-service view they didn't have before.
Celigo iPaaS
Integration Middleware
Akeneo PIM
Product Information Management
IBM A+ ERP
Orders, Inventory & Pricing
Salesforce B2B Commerce
Dealer Storefront
Bi-Directional Sync
Order Routing Logic
Invoice Data
Customer Self-Service
Implementation
Bringing PIM, ERP and Commerce Together Step by Step
Phase 1
Discovery & Data Mapping
Phase 2
Product Catalog Sync
Phase 3
Order, Inventory & Invoice Flows
Phase 4
Testing & Go-Live
01
Mapping the Data Across Three Systems
TGH started by mapping how product, order, inventory, and invoice data was structured in Akeneo, IBM A+ ERP, and Salesforce — identifying where the same information lived in different forms across each system, and where the gaps were that were forcing manual work.
02
Building the Product Catalog Sync
With the mapping in place, TGH built the Celigo flows that sync parent products, variants, categories, attributes, and images from Akeneo into Salesforce — bringing all 150,000-plus SKUs into a single, consistent catalog dealers could browse and order from.
03
Connecting Orders, Inventory, Pricing and Invoices
Bi-directional order flow was built between Salesforce and IBM A+ ERP, with routing logic to determine whether an order should be created fresh or updated. Inventory and pricing sync was set up as a batch process running every 15 minutes, and invoice data — headers, line items, and order association — was connected so customers could see it directly.
04
Testing and Rolling Out to Dealers
The full integration was tested end-to-end across product sync, order routing, inventory updates, and invoice visibility before rollout, confirming that dealers would see accurate, current information the moment the platform went live.
Results & Outcomes
A Unified Platform for Product, Order & Invoice Data
With Celigo orchestrating data between Akeneo, IBM A+ ERP, and Salesforce, the client moved from manual, disconnected processes to a commerce platform where product, order, and invoice information stays consistent across every system dealers and staff rely on.
150K+
SKUs Synchronized Across Akeneo, A+ ERP & Salesforce
Real-Time
Inventory & Pricing Visibility for Dealers
Full
Invoice Visibility Delivered Directly to Customers
Reduced
Manual Effort Across Product Updates & Order Entry
Bi-Directional
Order Flow Between Salesforce & IBM A+ ERP
Scalable
Reusable Integration Architecture for Future Growth
Technology Stack
The Platforms Behind the Client's B2B Commerce Platform
Celigo iPaaS
Integration Middleware — Orchestrating Product, Order & Inventory Data
Akeneo PIM
Product Information Management — Catalog, Variants & Attributes
IBM A+ ERP
Orders, Inventory, Pricing & Invoicing
Salesforce B2B Commerce
Dealer-Facing Storefront & CRM
Bi-Directional Order Routing
Create or Update Logic Between Salesforce & A+ ERP
Scheduled Batch Processing
Inventory & Pricing Sync Every 15 Minutes
Invoice Data Integration
Headers, Line Items & Order Association
API Integration
Reliable Connectivity Across PIM, ERP & Commerce
Advantages of This Integration
What the Integration Actually Changed for the Client's Dealers & Team
Automated, Real-Time Inventory & Pricing Visibility
Dealers see inventory and pricing that reflects what's actually happening in A+ ERP, refreshed automatically instead of waiting on a manual update.
Full Invoice Visibility, Self-Service
Customers can check their own invoices — headers, line items, and the orders they relate to — without needing to call or email for a status update.
Reduced Manual Intervention
Across the order lifecycle, from catalog updates to order entry to invoicing, far less of the process now depends on someone manually keying data between systems.
Scalable, Reusable Integration Architecture
The Celigo-based integration layer is built to extend, giving the client a foundation that can support additional data flows or systems as the business grows.
Key Takeaways
1
A middleware layer beats forcing systems to talk directly: Rather than building custom point-to-point connections between Akeneo, A+ ERP, and Salesforce, routing everything through Celigo kept the integration manageable and easier to extend later.
2
Catalog sync at scale needs structure, not just speed: Syncing 150,000-plus SKUs correctly meant getting the mapping right for parent products, variants, categories, and attributes — not just moving data fast.
3
Order routing logic matters as much as the connection itself: Bi-directional order flow only works reliably when there's clear logic for deciding whether an order should be created or updated — without that, duplicate or missed orders become a real risk.
4
Customer-facing visibility is often the most valued outcome: Giving dealers direct access to invoice data turned out to reduce support load as much as any of the backend automation did.
Ready to Get Started?
Ready to Unify Your
PIM, ERP & Commerce Platform?
Partner with TGH to connect your product, order, and inventory data across PIM, ERP, and commerce systems — giving your team and customers the real-time visibility a modern B2B platform needs.