iTOPCStreamline business
ECi Horizon specialists for office products

Grow the business. Not the overhead.

We help office products businesses take the manual work out of ECi Horizon and the supply chain around it. Supplier data, customer orders, integrations and live reporting, automated and running hands off.

Book a Teams call See the results
Order and data flowAutomated
cXML / OPXMLCustomer punchout
ECi Horizon
Supplier ordersEDI, CSV, FTP
Customer APIsDirect to platform
Pricing and stockHands off updates
Web and emailAutomated capture
InvoicingGenerated, sent
Supplier feedsPrice files, stock
Live reportingDaily figures, KPIs
Processed automatically: 1,284Keyed by hand: 0
3×Turnover growth at a leading UK office products supplier, without growing the overhead
20–30%Of processing we aim to automate for most dealers, using the tools they already own
28Roles' worth of manual processing replaced by automated workflows
30+Years in office products, using Horizon since 2006
Results

Case studies

Client names are kept private. The numbers are real.

Office products supplier

From good sized business to one of the UK's largest independents

Then
£20m
Now
£60m+

Annual turnover, with no matching growth in processing staff

The starting point
A handful of automation tools covering daily jobs such as supplier pricing and invoicing. Most orders, supplier updates and platform changes were still keyed by hand.
What we built
  • A full automation framework moving supplier data in and out hands off
  • Customer orders taken straight into Horizon from APIs, punchout and other sources
  • Live data connections updating other platforms that used to be maintained manually
The outcome
Turnover £20m → £60m+ 10% of processing automated Equivalent of 28 roles
Beyond office products

The same approach, other industries

7%

Average share of processing moved to automation across clients outside office products

What we built
  • Supplier integrations replacing manual ordering and updates
  • Customer ordering direct into the client's platform
  • Cloud data services turning API data into files, and files back into API updates, on a schedule
Why it matters
Every order or update that runs on its own is one less thing for the team to key, check or chase. The gain compounds as the business grows.
Automation at work

Work that runs itself

Scheduled jobs pick up supplier files, customer orders and stock changes, check them against Horizon and pass on only the exceptions for a person to look at.

  • Runs on a schedule, day and night
  • Every change checked before it touches live data
  • Exceptions flagged, everything else hands off
itopc schedulerIllustrative
Any supplier, any format

If it happens routinely, it can run hands off

Plenty of suppliers still send acknowledgements, invoices and dispatch notes by email. We turn those emails into digital documents that update Horizon automatically, whatever technology the supplier uses. No supply chain is too small: if there is a routine, it can be automated.

Delivery notificationsCustomers told when orders are dispatched and delivered, with nobody sending emails by hand.
Out of stock alertsCustomers warned early, with alternatives, before the order is late.
Supplier back order chasingOutstanding lines chased on a schedule and replies matched back to the order.
Invoice matchingSupplier invoices checked against purchase orders and costs before they reach accounts.
Supplier inbox
PDF
Order acknowledgementSmall supplier, sent by email
PO 48213
PDF
Invoice 20931Wholesaler, emailed attachment
£1,284.60
TXT
Dispatch noteCourier details in the email body
2 parcels
Read, checked, converted
Purchase order confirmed in Horizon Invoice matched to cost and quantity Customer sent tracking automatically
Services

What we take off your team's plate

Horizon

ECi Horizon configuration and APIs

Getting Horizon set up to match how you trade, fixing what has stopped working, and connecting other systems through the Horizon APIs.

Setup, upgrades, Horizon APIs
Reporting

Live reports that answer real questions

Daily figures, margin, backorders and KPIs delivered automatically, so decisions are made on today's numbers.

Report Designer Inside, SQL
Integrations

Customers and suppliers, connected

Orders, invoices, price files and stock moving between systems without anyone rekeying them.

OPXML, cXML, CSV, FTP, APIs
Automation

Full use of Horizon automation

Most dealers use a fraction of what Automate, Robot and ORIS (Order Receipts Import Service) can do. We put them to work across order processing, pricing, accounts and alerts.

Horizon Automate, Robot, ORIS
Cloud data

AWS data services

Reliable, scheduled feeds that pull data from one platform, reshape it and push it to the next, built test first, then live.

AWS Lambda, S3, APIs, CSV
Tools and training

Excel tools and team training

Practical Excel and VBA tools for the jobs that sit outside Horizon, and training so your team gets the most from what you have.

Excel, VBA, on site or Teams
Automated reporting

Reports that arrive on their own

Built in Horizon and sent automatically to the right person, on a schedule or the moment something needs attention.

Daily sales forecastSales, forecast and margin by category for each region, sent to every area manager each evening.
Back orders by repEach rep gets their own outstanding orders, with supplier chasing already done.
Missed quote alertsQuotes close to expiry go to the account manager with three months of customer spend.
Data quality alertsA product set up without a weight is caught straight away, with the fix explained in the email.

Examples use sample data and fictitious companies. Client data is never shown.

Approach

How a project runs

  1. Assess

    We walk through your processes, systems and pain points, and agree where automation will pay back fastest.

  2. Design

    A clear plan built around how you actually trade, using what you already have before adding anything new.

  3. Build and test

    Everything is built and proved in a test setup first, so live trading is never put at risk.

  4. Go live and support

    Switched on with your team trained, then monitored and refined as the business grows.

Industry knowledge

We know the trade, not just the technology

Over 30 years inside the office products industry means we understand the products, the people and how information moves through the supply chain.

That matters, because most of the time and cost in a dealer sits in getting supply chain information in, right and up to date: prices, stock, orders, deliveries and invoices. Automate that flow and the rest of the business can grow on top of it.

ECi HorizonHorizon APIsAutomate, Robot, ORISReport Designer InsideOPXMLcXML punchoutSupplier price filesCSV and FTPAPIsAWS
  1. ManufacturersProduct dataRanges, descriptions, images and list prices
  2. WholesalersPrice, stock and deliveryTrade price files, availability, lead times, dispatch and invoices
  3. DealerWhere we workHorizon kept current automatically, orders placed and confirmed without rekeying
  4. CustomersOrders and visibilityPunchout and API orders straight in, live status and accurate invoices back out
Questions

Common questions

Do you work with ECi Horizon?

Yes. We have worked with ECi Horizon since 2006, covering configuration, upgrades, Report Designer Inside reports, SQL reporting, Automate, Robot, ORIS and integrations through the Horizon APIs.

Can customer orders come into Horizon without anyone keying them?

Yes. Orders can arrive by cXML or OPXML punchout, API, CSV or email and be placed in Horizon automatically, with only the exceptions passed to a person to check.

Our suppliers are small and send everything by email. Can that be automated?

Usually, yes. Acknowledgements, invoices and dispatch notes sent in a regular format can be converted into digital documents that update Horizon, whatever system the supplier uses.

Can you build reports Horizon doesn't have as standard?

Yes. Reports are built with Report Designer Inside and SQL, then scheduled through Automate so they arrive by email when they are needed, from daily figures to exception alerts.

Do you only work with office products dealers?

Office products is our specialism, but the same automation and integration work applies to wholesalers, suppliers and businesses in other industries.

How does a project start?

With a Teams call to understand your processes. From there we agree either a fixed piece of work or a monthly retained support arrangement.

Contact

Let's talk about your processes

Tell us a little about your business and what is taking up your team's time. We'll reply quickly and set up a Teams call.

  • No obligation first conversation
  • Office products dealers, suppliers and beyond
  • Based in the UK, working remotely or on site
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