General distribution, retail & e-commerce, B2B services, FMCG distribution, and light manufacturing — for each typical industry on Merlin ERP: real pain points, activated Azuvio modules, end-to-end flow, and <strong>before/after</strong> KPIs with figures from representative scenarios.
Figures are indicative estimates based on observed patterns in comparable Merlin ERP customers.
General B2B Distribution (Equipment, Materials, Office Supplies)
Distributor 10-30M€ revenue, 3-5 warehouses, IKA + traditional B2B clients
Mid-size distributors using Merlin for multi-warehouse and financial management. Deliveries to modern retailers requiring EDI, combined with a network of small B2B clients placing orders via phone or Excel.
- EDIFACT ORDERS/DESADV/INVOIC not native in Merlin → dependency on expensive third-party brokers (8-12k€/year)
- Merlin generates e-Invoice XML only syntactically → ANAF rejections 4-6% due to CIUS-RO errors
- Manual allocation of couriers for B2B parcels/pallets → 15-20% higher transport costs
- B2B order taking is done manually by agents/telesales → operational errors and wasted time
- Preparing SAF-T D406 requires manual reconciliation with the balance, blocking the finance department for days
EDIconnect (30+ pre-mapped retailers)
Native EDIFACT message exchange directly from Azuvio. Zero per-transaction costs with third-party broker.
B2B self-service portal
Electronic catalog, live stock from Merlin, per-client pricing, order history directly in the portal for resellers.
Smart Layer semantic e-Invoice
Applies 40+ CIUS-RO rules over Merlin XML before sending to SPV → rejections under 0.3%.
Multi-Courier Orchestrator
Runs scoring on 15+ couriers (cost, volume, SLA) and automatically issues the AWB, optimizing routes.
SAF-T D406 Reconciler
Automated mapping and reconciliation of 8.3.x accounts with the Merlin balance sheet. Generates a valid ANAF XML file.
- The IKA order arrives via EDIFACT in Azuvio / The B2B order is placed by the client in the B2B Portal.
- Azuvio receives and injects the order automatically into Merlin as Data Import via CSV/XML or API view.
- Merlin reserves the goods in the warehouse and generates the outbound documents (delivery note).
- Azuvio Multi-Courier allocates the most efficient courier and prints the AWB directly in the warehouse.
- Upon invoicing in Merlin, Azuvio retrieves the invoice: generates EDI INVOIC for IKA and UBL semantic CIUS-RO for SPV.
- At the end of the month, the SAF-T module extracts data from Merlin, applies the ANAF nomenclatures, and publishes the valid declaration.
EDI broker cost/year
8.500€ - 12.000€
0€ (Azuvio included)
Orders via B2B Portal
0%
65% of SME volume
B2B transport cost
Base
-18%
e-Factura SPV Rejections
5.5%
0.2%
SAF-T D406 generation time
4-6 days/month
4 hours
Equipment distributor, €18M turnover, 85 employees, 4 warehouses. Smart Layer enabled in 6 weeks for IKA and B2B flows independently. After 6 Months: 3 EDI retailers live, OTIF increased by 18%, e-Invoice without errors, €240k cash unlock by optimizing transport and eliminating brokers.
Retail & eCommerce Mid-Size (Fashion, IT&C, Home)
Retailer €5-20M turnover, 2-10 physical stores + online + eMAG
Mid-size retailers who use Merlin for financial management and aggregated stock, but sell heavily on marketplaces (eMAG, Allegro) and their own online store (Shopify/Magento).
- Merlin doesn't publish stock status to eMAG in under 15 seconds → overselling and order cancellations (Cancel rate > 2%)
- Marketplace versus online prices managed manually → margin loss or buy-box blocking
- Synchronizing AWBs between the site/marketplace and ERP consumes hours of manual operation daily
- Issuing fiscal receipts and combined B2C/B2B e-Invoices causes chaos in Merlin accounting
- Lack of clear visibility on seasonality for procurement (high dead inventory)
OMS Marketplace (eMAG / Allegro)
Real-time stock synchronization under 15s from Merlin to marketplaces. Price updates directly from the hub.
AI Forecasting SKU-level
Ensemble ML on historical Merlin data + market trends to generate accurate supply proposals.
Multi-Courier B2C
Integrates with Sameday/Fan/Cargus, allocates based on zonal success rate and cost.
Smart Layer e-Invoice B2B/B2C
Filters transactions, validates postal codes and automatically issues semantic e-Invoices only for necessary entities.
- Client sells on eMAG → Azuvio intercepts the order and immediately deducts virtual stock from all connected channels.
- The order is sent asynchronously to Merlin for financial recording and inventory deduction.
- The Multi-Courier module directly generates the AWB, closing the 'Shipped' status loop on eMAG.
- Azuvio picks up the generated invoice, converts it to UBL with CIUS-RO validations, and automatically sends it to ANAF.
- Weekly, the AI Forecasting module analyzes the rotation speed from Merlin and suggests the necessary order quantity to the importer.
eMAG Cancel Rate (out of stock)
2.8%
0.4%
AWB & Invoice allocation time
5-8 min/order
Automatic (0s)
Demand forecast accuracy
55-60%
85%
Dead inventory
14% of Turnover
8.5%
Stock synchronization
Batch hourly
< 15 seconds
IT accessories retailer with €12M turnover, Magento store + active eMAG. OMS Marketplace implemented in 4 weeks. The eMAG cancellation rate dropped from 3.1% to 0.3%, saving the account from suspension. Real-time synchronized inventory increased overall sales by 17%.
B2B Services & Maintenance (Subscriptions, Facilities, IT)
Company with €5-15M turnover, hundreds of recurring monthly contracts and field services
B2B service companies (facility management, equipment service, IT, recurring subscriptions) use Merlin for monthly invoicing, simple CRM, and accounting. They bill based on timesheets or fixed subscriptions.
- Monthly invoicing of the subscription stack involves manual invoice generation in Merlin per client.
- For complex services, the e-Invoice system reports unit of measurement errors (e.g., month, hour), lacking strict CIUS-RO semantic validation for services.
- B2B clients request proof (intervention reports) via email, decoupled from the invoice
- Approving technical team timesheets using spreadsheets makes reporting difficult
B2B Client Portal
Clients self-service invoices, intervention reports, and submit support tickets.
Subscription & Billing Engine
Orchestrates the bulk generation of monthly drafts and imports them into Merlin for official accounting.
Smart Layer e-Invoice Services
Correct mapping of service-specific UoM (H87, MON, etc.) to standardized e-Invoice coding.
Field Service / Time-tracking
Mini-application / SFA for field technicians, validated timesheets sent directly for invoicing.
- On the 1st of each month, the Azuvio subscription engine generates billing proposals from active contracts.
- An automatic import into Merlin is performed, which receives the correct line items and issues the official invoices.
- Azuvio extracts the XMLs generated by Merlin, applies semantic logic for service UoM, and sends them to ANAF SPV without rejections.
- The invoice and maintenance report (attached from Field Service App) become directly available in the B2B Portal.
- The client receives a smart notification, enters the portal, validates the work, and can pay the balance.
Time allocated to monthly invoicing
4-5 days
1 day (validation)
e-Invoice rejections due to UoM
8-10%
0%
Time to resolve invoice copy request
Hours (by email)
0 (self-service)
Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)
42 days
30 days
Mid-sized B2B service company, 55 employees, €11M revenue. Implemented a subscription engine and B2B Portal in 5 weeks. The monthly invoicing process, which used to tie up one accountant for 5 days, now only takes one day for review. e-invoice accuracy is 100%, and the reduced DSO unlocks €160k in cash flow.
FMCG Food & Beverages Distribution (SME)
Distributor: €15-40M turnover, field agent team, HoReCa + Traditional clients
Local/regional distributors of food, beverages, or cosmetics operating warehouses in Merlin ERP. They process portfolios of over 3,000 SKUs, with agents needing precise customer information and purchasing requiring perishability planning.
- No demand prediction (AI Forecasting non-existent in Merlin) → expired products, overstock, or stockouts
- Field sales agents take blind orders, without suggestions based on the HoReCa customer's history
- Management of promotional campaigns (e.g., 3+1 free) is manually calculated and complicates invoicing in Merlin ERP
- The need to align accounting accounts 8.3.x for SAF-T reporting adds significant stress and errors
AI Forecasting & Replenishment
Analyzes historical data from Merlin databases, models seasonality, and suggests SKU requirements for specific intervals.
SFA with AI Suggested Order
Mobile agent application with optimized routes, live Merlin balance, and client-specific order proposal (30 sec vs 5 min).
Trade Promotions Management
Rule-engine for volume/bundle discounts on the fly; the order arrives pre-calculated in Merlin.
SAF-T D406 reconciler
Automates the export + verification of accounts to ANAF in an auditable manner.
- The AI Forecasting system analyzes past summer sales history from the Merlin database and predicts beverage requirements.
- The sales agent opens the SFA application in the field. AI Suggested Order provides the ideal package + current Trade Promo promotions.
- The order goes directly from the application into Merlin's management, where the warehouse initiates picking (by parcels/batches).
- Upon delivery, Azuvio's e-Invoice module takes the delivery note/invoice, validates it against 40 strict semantic rules, and automatically sends it to SPV.
- All reconciled documents align with the Merlin balance to issue SAF-T with minimal human intervention at month-end.
Forecast accuracy per SKU
58%
84%
Time to place an order from the field
4-6 minutes
< 1 minute
Incorrectly applied discounts
3.5%
0%
Returns and perishables
6.2%
2.8%
Visit productivity/agent/day
12-14
18-22
HoReCa/Retail food distributor with €22M turnover and 18 agents, Merlin implemented 6 years ago. Connecting AI Forecasting + SFA in 8 weeks doubled forecast accuracy and reduced the spoilage rate. Average revenue per agent order increased by +18% using Suggested Order.
Light Production & MTO Assembly (Packaging, Furniture, Components)
Production/assembly company with €8-25M turnover, heavily based on Make-To-Order
Mid-size industrial manufacturers: custom furniture, cardboard/plastic packaging, simple metal parts. They use Merlin ERP for managing simple BOMs, customer orders, and procurements but lack B2B transparency and raw material forecasting.
- Poor processing of recurring orders (B2B), all entered manually by a Key Account Manager based on PDFs
- Limited visible overstock of raw materials, production cannot model parts orders with long lead times, without BOM-aware forecasting
- B2B customers lack visibility into manufacturing order status, generating an enormous volume of calls ('When will the pallet be ready?')
- Outbound logistics (delivery of finished goods pallets) is manually sub-optimally planned without Multi-Courier
B2B Portal - Order & Track
Self-service for recurring customers with PUSH visibility on every production status change exported from Merlin.
AI Forecasting BOM-aware
B2B demand prediction explodes Merlin's BOM matrix, clearly showing the aggregated need for raw materials/auxiliaries.
Multi-Courier Freight/Pallet
Orchestrates costs and plans LTL (Less-Than-Truckload) for finished products to industrial customers.
Smart Layer e-Invoice semantic
Validates and bulk-sends invoices upon truck loading, complying with CIUS-RO technical description regulations.
- The client enters the B2B portal and copies a previous packaging order. Azuvio pushes the order via API to Merlin.
- Based on the AI Forecasting BOM-aware prediction, the procurement department has already secured the necessary raw materials in time.
- Once the order is launched in the internal Merlin workflow, Azuvio updates the 'In Production' status in the client portal.
- Upon completion, logistics uses Multi-Courier for LTL delivery at an optimal cost. The system issues the AWB for the pallet.
- Merlin generates the notice+invoice, sent immediately with the courier and as a clean / 0 error e-Invoice to ANAF via Azuvio.
"Production status" calls per day
40+
< 5
Raw material overstock
18% of value
10%
LTL pallet shipping cost
Sub-optimal
-14%
Percentage of self-service B2B orders
15%
80%
Packaging manufacturer in the Mid-West Romania area (15M€ turnover). Activating the B2B Portal and AI Forecasting debureaucratized the work of 2 KAMs, increasing self-service order placement from 15% to >80%. The accuracy of modeling for critical raw materials freed up 110k€ cash locked in inventory in just 5 months.