Custom ERP and inventory systems.

ERP stands for enterprise resource planning, which makes it sound bigger than it is. For a small or medium business it usually means one system that knows what was ordered, what is in stock, what needs buying, what has been delivered and what has been invoiced. Everyone works from the same records instead of their own copy.

Many SMEs get there in stages without calling it an ERP: an accounting package, a stock spreadsheet, a purchasing folder, orders arriving by email and chat, and a person who keeps it all in their head. It works until that person is on leave, or the business adds a second warehouse, a marketplace or a sales team.

A custom ERP joins those pieces into one system built around your own process: your product codes, your approval steps, your delivery orders and the reports you actually read. It runs on accounts you own, and the code is yours.

Packaged ERP products are good, and for many businesses one of them is the right answer. If your process looks like the standard one in the box, buy the box. We will say so.

A custom system tends to pay off when the way you work is part of why customers pick you: unusual pricing rules, made-to-order products, batch or expiry tracking the packages handle awkwardly, several channels feeding one stock pool, or a mix of trades that no single product covers well. It also makes sense when you already pay for a packaged ERP but your team works around it in spreadsheets.

Our off-the-shelf or custom guide sets out the trade-offs in more detail.

• Order management. Quote, sales order, delivery order and invoice as one record, with the status visible to sales, the warehouse and the office.
• Inventory across locations. Stock on hand, reserved and in transit for each warehouse, outlet or van, with transfers recorded instead of guessed.
• Purchasing and reordering. Reorder points, supplier price lists, purchase orders and goods received, matched against the supplier’s invoice.
• Batch, serial and expiry tracking. Which batch went to which customer, and what expires first, for food, health and electronics products.
• Pricing rules. Customer-specific prices, volume breaks, contract rates and promotions applied the same way every time.
• Stock counts and adjustments. Cycle counts on a phone, with differences explained and approved rather than overwritten.
• Reports people read. Sales, margin, slow stock and overdue invoices, on screen or in your inbox.
• A B2B ordering portal. Trade customers place repeat orders, see their prices and download invoices themselves.

A custom ERP rarely replaces everything. Most businesses keep their accounting software, and the ERP sends it invoices, payments and purchase bills so the accountant still works where they always have. Orders can flow in from your web shop and marketplaces, and stock levels flow back out so you stop overselling.

Connecting those tools is its own kind of work, and our system integration page covers how we approach it.

An ERP is the kind of project that goes wrong when it is designed all at once and switched on in one weekend. We build it in modules, usually starting where the pain is worst, such as orders and stock, and run it alongside the old way until the team trusts it. Purchasing, reporting and portals follow once the core records are solid.

Moving your existing data is planned up front: product lists, customers, opening stock and open orders, cleaned and checked before go-live, not on the night.

1. Tell us what you need

   A few lines on WhatsApp or email is plenty. A photo of the spreadsheet or the whiteboard helps.

2. Get a plan and a quote

   We write down what we’d build and what it will cost before any work starts.

3. Try it as we go

   You use working versions along the way, so changes happen early, while they’re easy.

4. Go live

   It runs on your own accounts and the code is yours. We stay around for fixes and whatever comes next.

Enterprise Singapore’s EDGE grant has activities for integrated enterprise systems and larger digital transformation projects, each with its own rules on vendors, caps and timing. GeekScience is not a pre-approved vendor and does not apply on anyone’s behalf. Our EDGE grant explainer sets out what the official pages say; check your eligibility with Enterprise Singapore before planning around it.

• Custom software Systems built around how you run.
• System integration Connecting accounting, shops and marketplaces.
• Retail & e-commerce Stock across marketplaces and the counter.
• What custom software costs What moves the number.