01 / THE OPPORTUNITY
A new customer relationship. A different operating rhythm.
Selling directly to consumers gives a manufacturer another way to reach the people who use its products. A web store can make that opportunity visible quickly. What happens after a customer clicks “buy” deserves just as much attention.
Consider a manufacturer that usually ships products to distributors. It already knows how to make the product, purchase materials, and fulfill wholesale demand. Adding consumer sales introduces a different pattern of orders, availability questions, individual shipments, and customer updates. Those activities still need to connect to the manufacturing business.
The useful question is: how will a consumer order move through our operation, from the product listing to the financial record? Answering that question before launch helps turn a new sales channel into a manageable part of the business.
IN THIS GUIDE
- Understand the operational changes behind a B2C launch.
- See where MAGI and Channel Hub fit in the conversation.
- Bring a concrete order scenario to your software demo.
02 / THE OPERATING SHIFT
The same product can create very different work.
A wholesale order might put many units on one purchase order and send them to one receiving location. Consumer sales can spread those same units across many orders and addresses. The product is familiar; the work around each order changes.
AN ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE
240 units. Two ways to sell.
One buyer orders 240 units for one delivery location. Picking and customer communication can be organized around that order.
Illustrative scenarios: one 240-unit wholesale order or 240 separate one-unit consumer orders.
This is why B2C readiness reaches beyond the storefront. Before opening a new channel, work through a few specific decisions:
| Area | The operating question |
|---|---|
| Product information | Do product identifiers, descriptions, options, and prices mean the same thing in the store and in your business system? |
| Inventory commitments | What stock can consumers buy, and how will you protect commitments already made to wholesale customers? |
| Fulfillment | Who picks and packs individual orders, and how do shipping decisions reach the people doing the work? |
| Customer communication | How will customers learn that an order has shipped or that a delivery expectation has changed? |
| Exceptions and returns | Who owns a cancellation, return, or mismatch, and how will the relevant records be reconciled? |
You do not need every possible sales channel on day one. A focused launch, with a defined product range and an understood order flow, gives your team a clearer starting point.
03 / THE CONNECTION
Give the new channel a place in the whole business.
Consumer demand still draws on the inventory, production capacity, purchasing, and financial processes that serve the rest of the company. Evaluating those connections together is useful whether you are selecting your first manufacturing ERP or replacing a system your business has outgrown.
A WORKFLOW TO EXPLORE IN YOUR DEMO
From storefront to business system.
- Consumer
sales channelProducts & orders - MAGI
Channel HubThe connection - MAGI
ERPThe wider operation
Conceptual workflow. Review the supported connections and information flow for your intended channels during the demonstration.
MAGI brings manufacturing and business functions into the same ERP environment, including inventory, purchasing, material requirements planning, production scheduling, order processing, and accounting. That broader context matters when a consumer-sales opportunity changes what you need to make, buy, allocate, or ship. [1]
04 / WHERE MAGI FITS
Bring B2C into the MAGI conversation with Channel Hub.
MAGI Channel Hub supports manufacturers expanding into B2C. The value of that connection is keeping consumer sales tied to the operation behind the product: the people and processes that handle orders, manage inventory, ship goods, and maintain financial records.
MAGI’s e-commerce capabilities address four practical handoffs. Use them as the starting point for exploring Channel Hub with your intended selling channels. [2]
Connect product and availability information
Inventory and price information can be exported to the selling website. Consistent product identifiers and clear availability rules give that connection a useful foundation.
Bring online orders into the business
Online orders can be received into MAGI automatically. The operating team can then work with those orders in the ERP environment used for the wider business.
Follow the shipment and customer update
Shipment updates and shipped-order notifications connect fulfillment with customer communication. Define who will handle a delay or a difference between an order and its shipment.
Keep the financial handoff in view
E-commerce integration connects with MAGI financials. Review the reconciliation work your team will own and how your intended channel’s exceptions should be handled.
Your demonstration is also the place to confirm the channels supported for your setup, the timing of updates, and how returns or other exceptions would be handled. That makes the discussion concrete before you commit to a software decision.
05 / YOUR NEXT STEP
Bring these five decisions to the table.
You can prepare for a useful MAGI discussion without writing a lengthy requirements document. Start with the choices below. Check the ones you have already mapped out.
Your B2C starting brief
0 of 5 mappedOpen questions are useful too. Bring them to your demonstration.
For a first-time ERP buyer, this exercise connects the storefront decision to the manufacturing system you will need behind it. For a manufacturer considering a switch, it creates a practical scenario for evaluating whether MAGI fits the next stage of the business.
MAGI’s implementation and training services support customers adopting and using MAGI. The discussion starts with the software and the way your manufacturing business needs to operate. [3]
Product references & article notes
This article was prepared for MAGI with AI-assisted research and drafting. The order comparison and workflow are illustrations. The Channel Hub overview follows MAGI’s stated B2C positioning; specific connections and configuration should be reviewed for your intended use.
- MAGI modules and features
- MAGI e-commerce integration overview — published background; confirm current platform details in your demo.
- MAGI software and services