Project Overview
Symplee is a custom Distribution & Sales Management System developed for an Australian business and integrated with the Unleashed Inventory Management System.
The platform was designed to simplify the company’s sales and distribution operations by providing a dedicated interface for administrators and salesmen. Instead of requiring sales representatives to work directly with the complete Unleashed platform, Symplee provides a focused workflow for managing products, customers, product assignments, and orders.
The Challenge
The business was already using Unleashed as its core inventory management system, but the sales and distribution workflow required a more specialized solution.
Administrators needed a way to retrieve products and customers from Unleashed, manage salesmen, and distribute specific products to individual sales representatives.
Salesmen needed a simple interface where they could view their assigned products and customers and place orders without having to navigate the complete Unleashed Inventory Management System.
The objective was to build a dedicated sales and distribution platform that could work alongside Unleashed while keeping Unleashed as the underlying inventory and order management system.
The Solution
Symplee was developed as an operational layer on top of Unleashed.
Administrators can synchronize products and customers from Unleashed and manage them through Symplee. Products can then be distributed to specific salesmen according to the business requirements.
Salesmen can log into Symplee, access their assigned products and customers, create orders, and submit those orders through the application.
The submitted orders are then integrated with the connected Unleashed account, allowing the business to maintain its existing inventory infrastructure while providing its sales team with a much simpler workflow.
Core Workflow
Unleashed Inventory Management
Products and customer information are retrieved from the connected Unleashed account.
Symplee Administration
Administrators manage products, customers, salesmen, and product distribution through Symplee.
Salesman
Sales representatives access their assigned products and customers through their dedicated interface.
Order Creation
Salesmen select customers, add products and quantities, and create orders through Symplee.
Unleashed Order Processing
The order is submitted to the connected Unleashed system for further inventory and order management.
Key Features
Product Synchronization
Symplee retrieves product information from Unleashed and makes the required product data available within the platform.
This allows administrators to manage and distribute products without manually maintaining a separate product catalog.
Customer Synchronization
Customer information is synchronized from Unleashed so that sales representatives can work with the appropriate customers directly through Symplee.
Product Distribution
Administrators can distribute products to individual salesmen based on their assigned responsibilities.
This provides sales representatives with access to the products relevant to their sales activities rather than exposing the complete inventory catalog.
Salesman Management
The platform provides dedicated functionality for managing sales representatives and controlling their access to the relevant products, customers, and sales workflows.
Order Management
Salesmen can select a customer, choose the required products, specify quantities, and create orders directly through Symplee.
Unleashed Integration
One of the core components of Symplee is its integration with Unleashed.
The integration allows Symplee to work with the business’s existing inventory and order management infrastructure while providing a customized sales experience.
Role-Based Access
Different users have different responsibilities within the platform.
Symplee provides role-based access so administrators, sales representatives, and other users can access the functionality relevant to their roles.
How the System Works
Administrator Workflow
The administrator logs into Symplee and manages the overall distribution process.
Products and customers are retrieved from Unleashed. The administrator can then manage the available products, assign products to salesmen, and manage the sales workflow through Symplee.
Salesman Workflow
The salesman logs into Symplee and accesses the products and customers assigned to them.
They can select a customer, choose the required products and quantities, create an order, and submit it through the application.
Order Synchronization
Once an order is submitted, Symplee communicates with the Unleashed system and places the corresponding order into the connected Unleashed account.
This allows the business to continue using Unleashed as its core inventory system while providing sales representatives with a dedicated and simplified ordering experience.
Technical Architecture
Symplee was developed using a full-stack architecture focused on business workflow management, external API integration, data synchronization, authentication, and role-based access control.
My Contribution
I worked on Symplee as a Full Stack Developer, contributing to the development of the core distribution and sales management workflows.
My work included developing product and customer management, salesman workflows, product distribution, order creation, role-based access control, API development, external system integration, and synchronization between Symplee and Unleashed.
A major part of the project involved working with the Unleashed integration and ensuring that data and order workflows were handled reliably between the two systems.
Challenges & Technical Considerations
External System Integration
Symplee depends on Unleashed as an external inventory management system, making reliable API communication and synchronization an important part of the architecture.
Data Synchronization
Products and customers needed to remain synchronized between the external inventory system and Symplee while supporting the application's own business workflows.
Controlled Product Access
The platform required a distribution mechanism that allowed administrators to control which products were available to individual salesmen.
Order Reliability
Orders created by sales representatives needed to be successfully communicated to the Unleashed system while providing appropriate handling for different order states.
Multiple User Roles
The application needed to support different user types and provide each role with an appropriate interface and level of access.
Business Impact
Symplee provides the business with a dedicated platform for managing its sales and distribution operations while continuing to use Unleashed as its core inventory management system.
The platform simplifies the sales process by giving representatives access to the products and customers relevant to their responsibilities.
For administrators, Symplee provides greater control over product distribution, salesmen, and order workflows.
Key Outcomes
Centralized Distribution Management
A dedicated platform for managing products, customers, salesmen, and distribution workflows.
Simplified Sales Workflow
Sales representatives can manage customers and create orders through a focused interface.
Controlled Product Distribution
Administrators can control which products are available to individual salesmen.
Integrated Inventory Workflow
Symplee works alongside Unleashed instead of requiring the business to replace its existing inventory infrastructure.
Streamlined Order Processing
Salesmen can create orders through Symplee and have them integrated with the connected Unleashed account.
Scalable Architecture
The application provides a foundation for expanding the business’s sales and distribution workflows as operational requirements grow.
Final Result
Symplee transformed a complex inventory-driven sales process into a focused Distribution & Sales Management experience.
Instead of replacing Unleashed, Symplee extends its capabilities by providing a purpose-built platform for the business's specific sales and distribution requirements.
The result is a streamlined system where administrators can manage products, customers, salesmen, and distribution while sales representatives can efficiently access their assigned products, manage customers, and place orders through a dedicated application.
