Xentral blog

Automation

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Warehouse

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AI ERP

Getting Ready for Peak Season: How to Set Up Your ERP Before Black Friday and Christmas

Get your ERP planning done in good time before Black Friday and the holiday season, and you won't be scrambling once peak season hits. This guide shows you what to do and when, plus a concrete checklist at the end.

Accounting

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e-Commerce

ERP Requirements for EU Expansion: These 5 Features Are Essential

Delivery thresholds, country-specific tax rates, Intrastat filings: solve these manually and you slow down the very growth expansion is supposed to bring. This article shows you the 5 ERP features you need for scaling into EU markets, and what happens if they're missing.

Returns

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e-Commerce

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ERP

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Automation

How Do I Find the Returns That Are Actually Costing Me Margin?

You know how to calculate your return rate and what an average return costs. This article picks up from there: you have the numbers, but they aren’t telling you where your margin is going.

Automation

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AI ERP

When Does Automated Replenishment Pay Off Financially in Your ERP?

How many hours does your purchasing team spend each week checking stock, researching lead times and manually creating orders? This article shows you at what volume automated replenishment becomes cheaper, with a concrete cost example, a clear threshold framework, and an overview of what configuration means in practice.

AI ERP

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Automation

Order-to-Cash 2026: What AI Agents Automate, and What They Don’t

A finance team that spends its day matching bank transactions to open invoices and reviewing return requests isn’t really a finance team. It’s manual data entry. In 2026, that doesn’t have to be the setup anymore. The question CEOs and CFOs of growing retail businesses are asking has shifted from "Does AI work?" to "What is my team still doing by hand?" This article walks through the answer, step by step.

Inventory Management

EDI vs. API vs. CSV: Which Method Wins for Inventory Sync in Your ERP?

When it comes to inventory sync in retail, you've got three options: EDI, CSV, and API. But which one holds up when volume grows, and your partner isn't willing to make exceptions? Search online for an EDI vs. API vs. CSV comparison for ERP inventory sync, and you'll find plenty of explanations, but no real breakdown of where each one breaks down. This article gives you the answer.

Xentral functions

3 real Xentral Flows: Practical examples that save your team hours every day

How many clicks does your team make per order? If the answer is "more than three," there's at least one Xentral workflow that can handle it directly in your ERP, with no coding skills or middleware required. Here are real-world examples of Xentral Flows that make daily work easier for your team and save your business money.

Automation

Automating Dunning: The Parameters You Need to Adjust for 90% Less Manual Work

You’ve set up automated dunning in your ERP, and yet your team is still handling exceptions by hand, checking open items, and stopping reminders for customers who paid weeks ago. That’s a configuration problem. Here’s how to adjust the parameters that matter when you automate dunning.

Automation

Building Stable Finance Processes in E-Commerce Through Automation: Here’s How

A growing company in my circle had a working dunning process, until the finance team grew to three people. Then nobody knew exactly who owned which reminder. This happens whenever finance processes are person-dependent instead of system-based. So what does a stable finance process in an e-commerce ERP actually look like?

Multichannel

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Automation

Avoiding Data Chaos in Multichannel Retail: Without an ERP, It Gets Hard at Channel 3

Why does multichannel growth almost always tip into data chaos at the third connected channel? And what does an ERP do about it? Here's the full walkthrough.

Automation

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Accounting

Automating Dunning: When the ROI Adds Up

Does automated dunning really pay off? People who run the ROI numbers on automated dunning are usually surprised. The threshold is lower than expected. So how do you actually run that calculation? Here are worked examples and a simple formula for figuring out when automated dunning becomes the cheaper option.

AI ERP

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ERP

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Automation

ERP Workflows vs. Zapier and Make: Which One Is Cheaper and More Stable for Commerce Processes Long-Term?

External automation tools like Make and Zapier are quick to set up. But compared to native ERP workflows, they get significantly more expensive as E-Commerce businesses scale. This guide shows you where Zapier and Make are a solid choice, and where an ERP is the better alternative.

ERP

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Multichannel

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e-Commerce

The 10 Most Common Problems with Old ERP Systems, from 500+ Conversations

An old ERP system rarely dies overnight. It creeps in: a spreadsheet here, a workaround there. Across 500+ conversations with retailers in the DACH region, the same ten patterns show up year after year.

AI ERP

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Master Data

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Multichannel

More Margin with AI Agents: The Next ERP Shift in Multichannel Commerce

Every new channel brings a new tool. At some point, a merchant stops running their business and starts running their tech stack. Brooklyn Soap shows how the next ERP shift wins back margin, and why clean processes are the price of entry.

ERP

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Xentral functions

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Automation

Automate Your Business Processes with the Xentral Flow Editor

Manual clicks eating into your margin? With the Xentral Flow Editor, you build your own automations by drag-and-drop. No code. No developers.

ERP

ERP Under 500 €: What You Actually Get, and What You Don't

500 € a month sounds like a hard budget ceiling. Here's what each pricing tier actually delivers, which features you need no matter what, and where AI already makes a measurable difference from the entry-level plan on.

AI ERP

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ERP

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Automation

Scaling Order Volume Without Adding Headcount: How to Grow Your E-Commerce Without Hiring More People

This guide walks through three levers that let you scale order volume without adding headcount proportionally.

Warehouse

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Multichannel

Syncing Inventory Between Shop and ERP: How to Permanently Prevent Overselling and Negative Stock in E-Commerce

This guide walks step by step through how to permanently solve the problem of unsynced shop inventory in the ERP, so overselling losses never wreck your revenue again.

Warehouse

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Master Data

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e-Commerce

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Returns

What are the real costs of bad master data: returns, errors, downtime

Here's a look at the damage bad product data does most often, which data fields cause the most trouble, and how a properly set up ERP data model prevents it.

AI ERP

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ERP

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Procurement

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Accounting

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Warehouse

Scaling Your Business with an ERP: How to Configure Purchasing, Warehouse, and Finance for Growth Without Chaos

Here's a walk-through of the configuration decisions in purchasing, warehouse, and finance that make the difference when your order volume grows. This guide helps you keep all three areas in sync. At the same time, you create the conditions for AI agents to work independently and prepare your decisions.

ERP

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Automation

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Master Data

How to standardize processes across multiple sites in your ERP: Blueprint with roles, workflows, and permissions

Here's how to set up roles, workflows, and inventory management in the ERP for a multi-site business so everyone works by the same rules, without constant back-and-forth.

AI ERP

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Automation

More Than Automation: What AI in ERP Actually Delivers Today

What does AI in ERP actually mean, and how is it changing day-to-day work for merchants? Benedikt Sauter, Co-CEO of Xentral, explains how AI agents work inside an ERP and where the limits are.

ERP

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AI ERP

On-Premise vs. Cloud vs. AI-ERP: The Big Comparison

On-premise, cloud, or AI-ERP: what actually sets these systems apart, and which one won't slow your company's growth.

ERP

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Multichannel

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Shopify

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e-Commerce

The Best ERP Systems for Shopify Shops in 2026

Which is the best Shopify ERP in 2026? We compare the top options and break down their strengths, use cases, and pricing.

ERP

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Xentral functions

ERP for Startups: When Does the Investment Make Sense?

When do startups need an ERP system? Xentral breaks down the typical triggers, the key processes to centralize, and what to look for when choosing and rolling one out.

e-Commerce

10 Best CMS for e-Commerce in 2026: Headless CMS, commerce solutions, and more

Looking for a new CMS for your e-commerce website? Take a look at our quick overview of the best CMS systems in 2026 and get inspired.

Expand Your Business Across Amazon European Stores: A Complete Guide for 2026

Learn how to expand into Amazon in 2026, reach new European customers, and scale your e-commerce business internationally.

ERP

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Xentral News

Xentral Event Highlights 2026

Meet Xentral – here are all the events where you can find us in 2026. Check the dates now and join us!

EDI, APIs, and AI: Growth Levers for Retail

EDI, APIs, and AI decide whether retail businesses grow steadily. Here’s how growing brands use them to automate B2B processes and scale cleanly with Xentral.

AI ERP

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e-Commerce

AI in E-Commerce: No Clean Data, No ROI

AI in e-commerce only works when your data is clean. Here's which use cases actually pay off for mid-sized retailers, and how Xentral builds the data foundation.

ERP

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Shopify

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Shopware

Connecting your online shop to an ERP: Methods, data flows, and timelines

Connecting your online shop to an ERP automates inventory, orders, and payments. Here's a look at the methods, the data flows, and how Xentral integrates.

e-Commerce

Agentic AI in E-Commerce: How Xentral Is Using AI Agents Today

Agentic AI is reshaping online retail. Here's how AI agents shop autonomously, why clean data is the deciding advantage, and what Xentral already has live.

Xentral functions

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ERP

Xentral ERP Business Software

Focus on your core business with Xentral and take your business to the next level!

ERP

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Food

Lizza: About lions, linseed and label workarounds

Food start-up Lizza was looking for a tool for clean processes and found an out-of-the-box experience.

e-Commerce

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ERP

How to make your business the next scale-up: insights from e-commerce champions

Well-known e-commerce greats give you tangible tips on how to go from start-up to scale-up.

Fulfillment

E-commerce trends: 10 exciting developments that online sellers should not sleep on

Find out what trends are currently circulating and how you can use them for your business

ERP

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Xentral functions

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Multichannel

The Xentral test: what the ERP has in store for you!

The Xentral test

Food

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ERP

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Multichannel

2022 Food Industry Trends in eCommerce

What´s hot, what´s not?

Fulfillment

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Inventory Management

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Warehouse

5 Qualities for an Ideal Multichannel Inventory Management Tool

With inventory levels increasing at an all-time high, inventory management has become a top priority. Learn about the qualities that make a good multichannel inventory management tool.

Amazon

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ERP

E-commerce with an Amazon interface – simplifying the chaos

eCommerce with Amazon

Food

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Multichannel

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Amazon

e-food marketplaces: How to sell your food products at Amazon, Kroger, etc.

To list your food products on e-food marketplaces like Amazon, you need to follow a few guidelines and regulations beforehand.

Xentral News

xentral Raises $75 Million Series B Funding led by Tiger Global and Meritech

Strong growth proves SMEs’ need for a modular, easy-to-use cloud-based ERP platform

Xentral News

Xentral acquires Otaja ERP video learning platform

Integrating the platform, Xentral strengthens its position as the most attractive automation solution for small and medium-sized e-commerce companies

B2C

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Multichannel

Expand your Food Startup to B2B and B2C customers with Xentral

Learn how to expand your food startup by accessing B2B and B2C customers worldwide. Boost your revenue and reach with Xentral.

Food

Food Retail Automation: A Guide for Food E-Commerce

How to automate best-before tracking, warehousing, shipping and accounting in food retail, so your business scales profitably even as costs rise.

Food

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Shopware

How to start up: The KoRo founders on growth, Pareto, and gut feeling

7 Business Tips from KoRo