Most ecommerce leaders know their stack is fragmented. They can see it with orders flowing through disconnected systems, inventory out of sync across channels, an ops team spending half its day on exceptions that should never reach a human.

When they ask IT to fix it, the answer is rip out the ERP, rebuild the integrations, budget 18 months and spend a few million dollars.

But often the ERP isn't the problem. The gaps between it and everything else are. And you don't have to replace your core systems to close them.

At Maze, we partner with Pipe17 because we kept running into the same problem with enterprise clients: fragmented operations that no single system was built to solve. Pipe17 closes that gap - and we've seen firsthand what it does for brands running complex, multi-channel stacks. 

Are your operations ready? Reach out for a complimentary operations assessment from Maze.

Built for a Different World

ERPs and traditional order management systems weren't designed for the way commerce works today. Today's brands are selling on Shopify, Amazon, TikTok Shop, and their own DTC site simultaneously. Fulfilling from owned warehouses, 3PL partners, and retail locations. Managing inventory that needs to be accurate everywhere, all the time.

The ERP sitting in the middle of all of it was built to be a system of record. Not a real-time operations engine.

The result is a stack that's technically connected but operationally fragmented. Inventory syncs run on a 15-minute delay. Exceptions pile up because the system can't resolve them automatically, and no one has clear visibility into why they keep happening.

Pipe17's CEO Mo Afshar has made the case that enterprise is done paying for complexity: "Enterprise stopped paying for complexity. Multi-million-dollar OMS renewals don't survive a finance review when the platform feeding orders into the system costs less than the bill to manage them."

The good news is legacy systems don't have to be a blocker to digital transformation. They just need the right layer around them.

The brands coming out ahead are finding a smarter way to work.

The Layer Your Stack Was Missing

This is where Pipe17 comes in, and why Maze has made them a core part of how we solve this problem for our clients.

Pipe17 is an order operations platform. Pipe17 connects your existing systems (commerce platform, marketplaces, ERP, 3PLs, WMS, carriers) and orchestrates operations across them in real time: routing orders, syncing inventory, and resolving exceptions automatically, without ripping and replacing anything you already run. No ERP replacement. No NetSuite migration. No Shopify replatform.

What Pipe17 does replace is the brittle middleware and bolt-on order management you'd otherwise stitch together to close those gaps, doing both in one platform while your ERP stays the system of record. It connects through pre-built, actively maintained connectors. When Shopify ships an API update, Pipe17 absorbs it. Your team doesn't have to.

Three things it actually changes:

Inventory sync that's actually real-time. Event-driven updates replace batch syncs. When a unit sells on any channel, every other channel knows in seconds. For brands running the same inventory across five or more channels, that's the difference between operating confidently and constantly chasing oversells.

Routing decisions based on real conditions. Which 3PL has capacity right now? Which carrier is on time today? Which location can hit the SLA? Handled automatically - not by static rules nobody has revisited in two years.

Exception resolution in minutes, not hours. Problems surface with full context. The ops team that used to spend its day triaging starts spending it on work that actually moves the business.

One enterprise brand cut annual order operations spend by ~75% running Pipe17 alongside its existing stack. Starting with inventory sync as the highest-impact, lowest-risk entry point, then expanding from there.

Where Maze Comes In

Pipe17 is a powerful platform. Extracting value from it quickly - without disrupting what's already running - is where strategy and implementation matter.

We don't start with technology. We start with operations.

Where are the exceptions actually coming from? Which channels have the worst inventory accuracy? Where is your team burning time on work that should be automated? Those answers determine where to start and how to sequence the rollout for maximum impact with minimum risk.

From there, we handle the technical lift: connecting your existing stack to Pipe17, mapping data correctly, configuring routing rules that reflect how your business actually works, and getting inventory sync live so value shows up in weeks, not quarters.

We also build adoption alongside the technology. The tools don't create value if the team doesn't trust the outputs. We make sure that doesn't happen.

The end result isn't a new system your team has to relearn. It's your existing stack, finally running the way it was supposed to.

What Changes When the Gaps Are Closed

When a brand gets real-time order visibility across its full commerce stack, the impact goes beyond operations.

Oversells drop. Marketplace seller ratings improve. Customer service volume tied to cancellations and backorders falls. And leadership gets an accurate view of order status, inventory position, and fulfillment performance across every channel — not a report that ran overnight.

None of this requires replacing your ERP, a big-bang cutover, or an 18-month implementation timeline.

Your ERP isn't broken and it doesn't have to be a blocker. The gap between your ERP and everything else is. Pipe17 closes that gap. Maze makes sure it's done right.

Not sure where your gaps are? Reach out for a complimentary operations assessment from Maze.