Commerce is changing fast—and the brands thriving today are those transforming how they operate behind the scenes. In The Modern Commerce Blueprint webinar, Rick Watson, CEO of RMW Commerce, was joined by Ben Noonan, CEO of RunDTC; Dan Yawitz, Head of Technology at Aterian; and Anthony Hockaday, Sr. Director of Product Management at Radial, for a dynamic discussion on how unifying Shopify’s front-end flexibility with Pipe17’s back-end agility is driving a new era of efficiency.
Together, they revealed how brands are slashing costs, accelerating time to market, and using AI to put operations back in the hands of business users—not developers.
Legacy order management systems (OMS) were built for a single-channel world. Today, that model no longer works.
The Shopify + Pipe17 stack gives brands a modern alternative. A unified front-end and back-end designed for speed, flexibility, and scale.
Together, they deliver:
Up to 80% lower operating costs than legacy OMS solutions
Channel launches in 30 days or less
Sub-$10K implementationcosts
No-code, AI-driven workflows managed by operators instead of developers
“Shopify solves the front end. Pipe17 solves the back office,” said Rick Watson. “Together, they unlock millions in trapped costs and let brands move at the speed of modern commerce.”
Cutting Commerce Costs by Up to 80%
Before adopting Pipe17, both Radial and Aterian faced the same challenges: developer bottlenecks, legacy infrastructure costs, and slow onboarding cycles.
“We went from 2–4 months to onboard a client to as little as three days,” said Anthony Hockaday of Radial. “Operators, not developers, now manage the workflows.”
By connecting Shopify and their fulfillment systems through Pipe17’s managed network of integrations, both companies eliminated manual work, reduced IT dependency, and freed teams to focus on high-value client and customer experiences.
Real-World Results: Launching in 30 Days, Not 6 Months
Dan Yawitz from Aterian described a common problem: slow channel expansion caused by in-house integrations.
“Adding a new channel used to take up to 16 weeks,” Yawitz said. “Now, with Pipe17 as the connective layer between our Shopify stores, 3PLs, and ERP, we can stand up a new channel in days.”
This kind of speed-to-market doesn’t just improve operations—it directly impacts top-line revenue by enabling brands to capture demand wherever it emerges.
From Developer-Dependent to Operator-Led Workflows
Legacy OMS and iPaaS solutions often lock control behind IT. Pipe17 turns that model inside out.
With its no-code interface and embedded AI capabilities, operators can now onboard clients, configure integrations, and modify workflows without writing code.
“We wanted to empower operators, not developers,” said Hockaday. “Pipe17 lets business teams handle onboarding and automation directly.”
That means faster changes, fewer tickets, and greater agility when brands need to pivot to new markets or partners.
Inside Pippen: The AI Power Behind Modern Commerce
At the heart of Pipe17’s intelligence is Pippen, the AI assistant built to simplify backend operations.
Pippen enables users to troubleshoot issues, write complex rules, and even generate automation logic with natural language prompts.
“I use it daily,” said Hockaday. “If I need to understand an exception or create a new rule, I just prompt Pippen. What used to take hours of dev time now takes minutes.”
Yawitz added,“Pippen wrote a complex routing rule for us in one shot. We tested it and deployed it immediately.”
By turning AI into a trusted operations partner, brands can eliminate repetitive IT work and maintain complete visibility across their order and fulfillment ecosystem.
Why Agility and Scalability Matter
The webinar closed with one key takeaway: the ability to adapt quickly is now the single biggest competitive advantage in commerce.
Brands that unify Shopify and Pipe17 can:
Cut implementation and operating costs by up to 80%
Launch on new channels in 30 days or less
Reduce developer dependency through AI-powered no-code tools
Scale across fulfillment partners and regions without legacy friction
“The brands that win tomorrow,” Watson concluded, “are the ones transforming their back office today.”
The Bottom Line: From Transactional to Transformational
Modern commerce isn’t just about selling more—it’s about operating better. By connecting Shopify’s front-end flexibility with Pipe17’s back-end intelligence, brands are creating the blueprint for scalable, efficient, and AI-driven growth.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
