Custom ERP for 15-Country Retail Operations
Building an ERP that works across 15 countries is no small task. Key Brains brought structure to what felt like an impossible requirement.
-- Pooja Iyer, Founder, NordRetail Group
The Challenge
NordRetail was operating across 15 countries using 6 different inventory management systems that couldn’t talk to each other. Stock visibility was delayed by 24-48 hours, leading to over-ordering in some markets and stockouts in others. They estimated the inefficiency was costing €2.4M annually in excess inventory and missed sales.
Our Approach
The first 6 weeks were spent embedded with operations teams in 4 countries to understand the full scope of regional variations: different tax regimes, currency handling requirements, supplier relationships, and reporting obligations. We documented 340 distinct business rules before writing a line of code.
The Solution
We built a custom ERP on a React/Node.js stack with a PostgreSQL data warehouse. Real-time inventory sync across all 15 markets with conflict resolution logic. Multi-currency purchase orders with auto-conversion. Regional tax calculation engine supporting VAT, GST, and local taxes. A unified reporting layer feeding executive dashboards in the local currency of each region.
The Results
Stock visibility dropped from 48-hour delay to under 15 minutes. Over-ordering reduced by 31%. Stockout events fell by 44%. The operations team estimates €1.8M in annual savings in the first year alone, and the CFO now has real-time visibility across all markets from a single dashboard.