Company replaces internally developed solution with Pipe17, reducing operational costs by nearly $250,000 on day one.
Background
Aterian, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATER) is a leading consumer product platform that builds, acquires, and partners with more than 2000 ecommerce brands in 12 countries. Founded in 2014, the company leverages its own proprietary software to create and scale top-selling consumer products. Aterian owns, operates, and sells products in multiple categories—including home and kitchen appliances, health and wellness, beauty and consumer electronics—across the world’s largest online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Walmart as well as through brands individual storefronts running on Shopify Plus.
Some of the brands under Aterian include Squatty Potty, hOmeLabs, Spiralizer, Mueller, Pohl+Schmitt, PurSteam, RIF6, TRUWEO, Vremi, and Xtava.
In 2023, to better respond to evolving business needs and launch in new marketplaces and with new inventory partners more quickly, Aterian made the strategic decision to focus more resources on new product creation, optimizing business efficiency, and improving operational agility.
The company’s proprietary software and internally developed systems had served them well, but had become costly to maintain—let alone expand to incorporate new sales channels like TikTok Shop—so they began looking for a third-party order operations solution.
Challenge
Aterian’s order operations are complex, with orders originating from more than 40 selling points that span marketplaces and direct-to-consumer (DTC) webstores and being fulfilled by a delivery network that includes four third-party logistics (3PL) providers as well as their own warehouse.
They needed an order operations solution that could:
- Seamlessly integrate all their selling channels and fulfillment providers with their existing back-office ERP system (Acumatica)
- Support order routing, both today and in the future as business goals evolve and their channel matrix changes, to minimize fulfillment costs
- Ensure compliance with stringent privacy regulations and audits, given their status as a major Amazon seller and a publicly traded company
Solution
After evaluating several options—including traditional order management systems and iPaaS tools—Aterian chose Pipe17’s Omnichannel Order Hub.
Pipe17’s ability to integrate Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Walmart Marketplace, and TikTok Shop with Aterian’s multiple 3PL providers and ERP system, strong Acumatica support, robust order processing capabilities, and innovative approach to order operations made it the ideal order operations solution.
“We looked at a number of solution options but made the decision to go with Pipe17 based on their strong capabilities as well as the team and their unique vision for order operations. I especially like how Pipe17 is able to support our business users but still give me the ability to quickly fine tune our configuration.”
Roi Zahut
CTO, Aterian
Implementation
Aterian opted for a phased implementation approach, starting with one of the company’s best known and most successful products, Squatty Potty. Pipe17 completed this pilot project in less than 30 days, demonstrating its ability to efficiently manage and route omnichannel orders from Shopify Plus and TikTok Shop to multiple 3PL providers, reconcile inventory in Acumatica, and ensure compliance with privacy regulations.
The pilot project was a smashing success and Aterian swiftly expanded the implementation to encompass their entire omnichannel order operations. Within 90 days, Pipe17 had connected Aterian’s various selling channels—including Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime, Walmart Marketplace, Mirakl, eBay, Shopify Plus, as well as Aterian’s UK and EU stores—with their ShipStation warehouse management system, multiple 3PL vendors, and Acumatica ERP.
“The project has gone very smoothly and much faster than we thought possible. The team has been great to work with, I would have expected a project of this size to have taken a year to get live but we were up and running in less than 90 days.”
Roi Zahut
CTO, Aterian
To stay on top of order flow and status, Aterian is using Pipe17’s LiveOps Dashboard. The dashboard provides a “live traffic” view of their orders and inventory with the ability to drill down to specific items for review. They also receive real time notifications for any errors and exceptions that may occur during an orders lifecycle.
All their order operations data is streamed into Databricks for analytics via Pipe17’s Amazon S3 connector, and personally identifiable information (PII) is automatically redacted before it enters the companies ERP and data warehouse thanks to Pipe17’s global PII enforcement capabilities.
Today using Pipe17, Aterian processes thousands of orders a day across 40 distinct selling points, with minimal human intervention required. Omnichannel orders are routed to different fulfillment centers depending on customer location and reconciled at every step of the lifecycle with Acumatica.
Results
The adoption of Pipe17’s Order Hub yielded significant benefits for Aterian including:
- Cost Savings. By transitioning to Pipe17, Aterian immediately reduced operational costs by nearly $250K annually. This cost-saving allowed the company to reallocate resources to other strategic initiatives.
- Efficiency and Agility. Pipe17’s streamlined order operations and real-time visibility enabled Aterian to enhance its agility and respond rapidly to changing market dynamics. The automated processes and live monitoring provided by Pipe17’s LiveOps Dashboard empowered Aterian to stay ahead of order flow and address any issues promptly.
- Compliance and Security. Pipe17’s robust privacy enforcement capabilities ensured compliance with consumer privacy regulations, safeguarding personally identifiable information (PII) and maintaining Aterian’s reputation as a trusted retailer.
- Strategic Advantage. With a more efficient and agile order operations infrastructure in place, Aterian is well-positioned to execute its omnichannel strategy, explore new market opportunities, and drive continued growth and profitability.
“Going live with Pipe17 let us immediately remove nearly $250k a year in cost from our operation. As we continue with Pipe17, I expect we will see further impact on both top and bottom line revenue.”
Joe Risico
Co-CEO, Aterian
Aterian’s partnership with Pipe17 has not only optimized their order operations but has also positioned them for future success in an increasingly competitive e-commerce landscape. By leveraging Pipe17’s innovative solution, Aterian has unlocked cost savings, operational efficiency, and strategic agility, enabling them to focus on creating new products, expanding into new markets, and delivering exceptional customer experiences across all channels.
“Our shift to Pipe17, is not only expected to lead to cost-savings but is also expected to increase our speed and agility to support our push to an omnichannel strategy and address our continually changing marketplace environment.”
Arturo Rodriguez
Co-CEO and CFO, Aterian
Through collaboration and innovation, Aterian and Pipe17 continue to drive value and excellence in e-commerce order operations, setting new standards for the industry.
